Nurse Practitioner: Certification Examination and Practice Preparation, 3rd Edition

Ok, im kinda siked up because i just passed boards today. Actually just a few hours ago. But i wanted to take the time to write this review for those with all that test anxiety like i had. First and foremost, buy this book. Next step buy the certification practice question book by amelie hollier. These are the only two practice books you will need. If i could do everything all over after taking the exam tonight here is what i would do. I would get this book by fitzgerald and read it from cover to cover, and ill tell you why. In this book you are proposed the questions first, then the material over the subject is presented. Now i would not spend my time trying to memorize the questions etc. I would focus on the subject material and explanations in this book because alot of it is basically evidence based articles or publications from a certain group ie: diabetes= ADA. And guess where alot of the questions on the exam are from ? thats right, the specialized group who makes recommendations. Basically in a nut shell, you have alot of articles and guidelines from the specialized bodies ie: ADA, AHA, all in one place. Now with the education you already have in A&P, peds and adult, i cant see any reason why someone could not read this book from cover to cover and pass the exam. Often i would read something in the articles that i did not understand ie: a type of sign or exam finding. I would then access youtube for a video demonstration so i could incorporate a visual learning style. For medical terms or definitions that i had forgot or did not understand, i would quickly look is up on wikepedia. Using this format will greatly expand your understanding of anything you might encounter on the test. The other book i recommended above, is also very useful. It is full of nothing but questions and rationals. The reason i say to incorporate or buy both books is for this reason. Lets say you read the chapter over COPD in the fitzgerald book. Now obviously when you look at the questions again in the fitzgerald book you are going to know the answer because the questions are taken from the reading. Now if you have the other book i mentioned you are going to be proposed a completely differently worded question over that subject. If you answer it wrong a rational is supplied with this book. You can use this to direct your areas of weakness and know what you need to study more. I hope this helps. And just so you know how good this book actually is....i am NOT selling mine. i am going to keep it as a reference... Yes it is that good.

I can't say enough good things about this book. It was recommended to me over a year ago by a fellow FNP student who was a year ahead of me in the program and has since graduated and passed boards using this book exclusively. Luckily, I was convinced to go ahead and buy it for use during my classes, and it's made a huge difference in my understanding of information, my studying style, and my preparedness for testing. I've improved my grades thanks to using the practice questions in my exam prep for Adult Health I and II.There are 16 sections, from health promotion to geriatrics to childbearing, and each one has multiple practice questions, rationales, and helpful info tables such as immunizations and common medications. There's also a section for FAQ about Boards. My only concern is that some of the information is becoming outdated, such as the JNC 7 HTN guidelines. However, 95% of the information remains relevant and will be for years to come.I will likely research and purchase at least one more book with practice questions prior to taking Boards next year, but this book is my #1 resource. My professors sing the praises of Fitzgerald and consider her to be the leading expert in the NP field. Please do yourself a favor and get this book as soon as possible for Boards prep, or better yet during the program for use throughout.

Today I passed the FNP AANP certification examination with the aid of this book and Fitzgerald's Audio CDs. Woohoo! So, in summary, it works. However, there are a few things that could be excluded/included in this version (3rd) of Fitzgerald's Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination and Practice Preparation that would make it even more superior to other review texts/courses. Hence, that's why I gave it four out of five stars.1. As one previous reviewer pointed out, the question formatting was less than optimal as the questions were at the beginning of each section and subsequently followed by the answers (hard not to cheat). Suggestion - locate the answers at the end of the chapter/text. Also, this may just be me, but the questions should come after the related section's literature not the other way around.2. Though she clearly states that the generic and trade names of drugs are given on the ANCC and AANP exams this does not hold true in this text. The majority of her questions listed either the generic or trade name of a drug. Found this distracting as there's only a million different drugs names out there. A little help please.3. The tables. First let me say that most of the tables were straightforward and concise. However, some of them were cluttered with needless information and hard to follow (i.e., Treatment of Sinusitis). I'm a big fan of algorithms (hint hint). Again, just a suggestion.4. Very comprehensive but still lacking. When I took the AANP exam I found myself cursing the review book as a great deal of information on the exam was never mentioned in this text. I had to reach into the deep recesses of my mind (scary) to retrieve some gray/foggy/probably incorrect information to answer some of the questions. Now, I know that cramming two years of full time graduate study into just under four hundred pages isn't feasible. So, I would suggest to future candidates to briefly (and I mean briefly) skim their graduate texts before dedicating majority of their time to this text.5. Which is which? Let me elaborate. I know that the name of the book entails Certification Examination and Practice Preparation but it would be nice if the difference in the material was eluded to in the text. Example - knowing the equiopotency of corticosteroids is great for practice but would that really be on the exam? Perhaps practice preparation material could be labeled as such so that future candidates would not feel so overwhelmed with needless (for the exam that is) information.With all of that said this book is still far superior to other review texts that i've encountered. I highly recommended utilizing it for exam preparation with a minimum of six weeks preparation (with about two hours a day on average of study). It can be used as a singular study tool for board preparation but must be studied intensely. Also, I wish all of those who will be sitting for the AANP and ANCC exams in the future the best of luck. Study hard. Don't let this test intimidate you (even while you're taking it). Just focus, breathe, chew on a peppermint (worked for me), and push forward while in the exam room and all will end well. Good luck!

Great book to help study for boards. Would recommend!