Free Nursing Career Information: Expert Tips for Success
September 8, 2021
11 Comments
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I have a confession to make. I didn’t really start studying for the Nurse Practitioner board exam until after graduation. And even after graduation I found it difficult to get the motivation to study. I mean I had been jumping through hoops in school for two and a half years and it was summertime. I’d much rather go on vacation!
I first attempted to study on Christmas break with a book I bought from Kaplan. However, it was so dense and overwhelming I didn’t make it through the first section. I felt somewhat underprepared by my online education that I felt I needed to start with more of an overview. The review courses by Amelie Hollier had come recommended to me by a couple preceptors. Then I heard about Sarah Michelle’s review courses and debated between the two for a while. I ended up using both. The Leik book had also been recommended to me but, again, when I tried to pick up a book to study I lost motivation.Below is my experience with each of these resources.
APEA course with Amelie Hollier
The Live review course was strongly recommended to me by one of my preceptors who had used it herself. I liked the idea of going to a live 3-day review with other students, like myself, to study and cram for the exam. However, due to COVID-19 the live review course was not being offered at the time. The alternative choices were several on-demand options: video, audio, or MP3 player. I was debating between the video and audio options and ultimately decided that I didn’t think the video would be totally necessary, since you can print off the study guide. I assumed most pictures you would want to see would be in the study guide and I think they were. The other reason I chose the audio option was because you have access for a full year and can listen to it as much as you want. The video option only allows you to view the videos twice. In hindsight, I really didn’t feel the need to go through more than 2 times but I still wanted the option. I was worried that I might get kicked out of a video or have technical trouble and it might use up one of my two times I get to view it.
After listening to all the lectures, you are allowed access to two practice quizzes that are about 75 questions each. They were somewhat helpful although one main criticism I have is that out of all the practice questions I used they were least like the actual exam. And they were worded in the way Amelie Hollier speaks, rather than how the test will word them. For example, she repeatedly talks about where you might hear certain murmurs and will state you hear a murmur at the “mitral listening point” or “aortic listening point.” So some of her questions were, “where would you hear an aortic murmur?” and the answer is “ At the aortic listening point!” Well, duh!! But that still doesn’t tell me where it is and that is certainly not going to be how it’s worded on the test. The test is going to say something like “at the right sternal border in the second intercostal space.” So learn that instead.
Overall, this course was a great introductory way to review the information. There was a lot of good information, especially things that will help you in clinical practice. And Amelie Holllier has a way of breaking things down so you can understand it and she is very animated so she keeps your attention. She’s a really great teacher! I wasn’t as keen on the other teacher that Hollier alternates with, however, who was just less interesting and still made things seem complicated
The main thing I didn’t like about Hollier’s review course is that it wasn’t as comprehensive as I was hoping to have. At the end of each section she had a list of topics for you to study and some of them were not even touched on in the lectures. It kinda felt like she was holding out on me. However, she covered the biggest and most important disease topics so it was still a good start.
FNP Mastery
This phone app has 1600+ review questions that are similar to the board exam. I used NCLEX Mastery to study for my RN board exam and felt it was critical to my studies so I already felt like this was going to be a great product. It worked basically the same as the NCLEX mastery app, so you could mark questions as you go through as ones you “know,” “don’t know” or “partly know.” I went through all the adult questions and about half the pediatrics questions and then went through the “don’t know” questions again until I got them right.
The most important advice I can give you when using any question set is ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS READ THE RATIONALES! This is so important because you learn the concepts behind the questions. Otherwise, you are just learning the answer to that question, but the board exam questions won’t be exactly the same.
It also really helps just to practice answering questions so that on the day you take your exam you are used to applying the knowledge you have learned to the question format. One criticism that some have had of the FNP Mastery app is that the questions are harder than the exam. I don’t consider that a problem because if you can get used to answering harder questions, the exam will seem easier. However, I wouldn’t want anyone to get discouraged. It is recommended to score about 65% on the FNP Mastery questions to gauge whether you can pass the real exam.
Sarah Michelle NP Review
Having gone through the Hollier lectures twice, I still felt there were some subjects that were not covered and felt I could use more review. Her courses were recommended to me by a recent graduate and newly practicing NP I met at one of my clinical sites. She had done both Hollier and Sarah Michelle and stated that Sarah Michelle taught more specifically to the exam. I found this to be very true. She even gave a lot of hints about how to eliminate certain answer choices and about the specific wording that would be used to describe many conditions.
I also liked the Facebook community Sarah Michelle has around her courses and you can join that without even purchasing the course. She asks review questions and lots of other students will post study problems and questions that are helpful as well. In fact, I only had about three weeks until my scheduled exam date and I asked the FB group how long it takes to go through her course. Many said it could be done in one week. However, I have a very busy schedule with three teenagers at home and found that it took me the whole three weeks to get through everything.
I should explain that I purchased the comprehensive course she offers which includes the content from three different review courses she has: the Crash-Course, an in-depth pharmacology review, and an in-depth diagnosis course. This kind of made it repetitive because some of the content was repeated in different courses. However, I am glad I purchased the comprehensive course because the crash-course does not go over much of the pharmacology. And I feel like it is helpful to get information from several different angles, it reinforces your retention of the information.
I will admit that the cost of this program was a factor for me, which is why I think I left it until the end. You pay monthly for access to this program so I wanted to leave it until I had less than one month to my exam. I know that seems scary butI think that is why I was using other review materials first and getting some of the basics down. I highly recommend this course though because I felt it covered so much that was on the test and even some of the more obscure conditions that I might have been blind-sided by if I hadn’t used her review course.
Finally, The Leik book has been highly recommended for board review. Because I love to find free stuff I found online access to this book through the school library at my employer ( I work at a teaching hospital). However, I again found my motivation waning when it came to having read and teach myself. I’m sure by now you’ve picked up that I chose the lazy way to review for boards – of course my excuse is that my brain is fried from school and that I am thoroughly exhausted from working and raising a family while in school. Have I mentioned that I have three teenagers?
So the only thing I really used this book for was the review questions. I decided to switch it up from the FNP Mastery questions and take on questions written from a different source. I only did about 300 questions from the Leik book. It started out great because I was getting about 75% in the beginning but then toward the end my performance was going down to 62%. With only a few more days until my exam it started to freak me out because it’s recommended to score around 75% on the Leik questions. I then decided that it wasn’t worth getting myself worked up about and just to take the exam. At some point, you just have to decide to take the exam and hope for the best.
But you might be asking, How Did I study?
So you know what I used to study but your next question might be how? It may surprise you that my study habits aren’t the most conventional. I have a super busy life! I am married with 3 teenagers and they all go to different schools (I have some creative and gifted kids in special programs). They also have activities… soccer, cross country, karate, choir etc. I am also a registered nurse working night shift on the weekends so I can run my kids around all week. At first I studied sporadically, listening to Hollier’s audios while driving or walking my dog. I don’t know your learning style but listening is not the best one for me. My ADD causes my mind to drift and I am suddenly lost, wondering what she is talking about. So I did try to look at the study guide at least one time through while listening. But sometimes it still meant looking at it while I was waiting in the school pick-up line.
Then in the last three weeks I felt I really needed to buckle down but still didn’t spend more than 1-2 hours each day studying. I went through Sarah’s Crash course while sitting and taking notes. She has a study guide meant to quiz your knowledge and I did look at the first few sections but then gave that up. About halfway through the pharmacology review I pretty much went back to listening while walking my dog or driving in my car. Some of it was review and I felt a lot of the in-depth diagnosis course was more review so it worked out fine.
in the check out-line at the grocery store,I also did FNP Mastery questions while waiting to pick up my kids, at the doctors office, and while sitting and watching TV with my husband. I really hit the Leik questions hard in the couple days right before the test so I had to find time to actually sit at a computer for that. But I started to freak out a little bit and decided not to do too many of those.
Leading up to the exam
When you’re exam is only a day away you aren’t going to be able to cram much more into your brain and you’ll just stress yourself out trying. I suggest doing something relaxing the day before your exam. I took a break from studying and watched a movie instead of cramming.
A lot of people recommend having a “dump sheet” of things you have trouble recalling and reviewing it right before you go into the exam so you can “dump it” on the scrap paper they give you. I think it is a good strategy for a couple reasons. One is that sometimes when you get nervous you may “draw a blank” and maybe that is one time when your dump sheet will be useful. However, I think the more likely scenario is that in practicing writing your dump sheet it will actually force you to memorize the info so you won’t really need it once you get in there.
I do recommend getting exercise the morning of your exam. But also make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get to the testing center and not feel rushed. Take your time in the exam. You are given at least 3 hours to take the test which is more than enough. Take a break if you need it. It really helped me to recharge my batteries just to use the bathroom and get a drink of water after an hour or so of testing.
The Bottom Line
Overall, here are my top recommendations:
- I feel the best review course is Sarah Michelle’s NP review (If time and money are limited the crash-course will do in a pinch but I also suggest the pharmacology review)
- FNP Mastery is the best for practice questions
- Start studying even BEFORE clinicals, if possible
- Practice good self care – get plenty of rest, eat well, exercise, spend time with loved ones
- Take a break if needed, you deserve it!
I really feel that if I can pass this test, so can you. You got through grad school right? It was a lot of work but I didn’t even feel very prepared by all my grad school courses. And you only need to score about 70% to pass. I brushed up on the main topics with these resources and I made it through. Just remember, you got this!
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Categories: Healthcare, Nursing, Careers
11 replies›
Amber
May 13, 2022 • 3:10 pm
Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I was trying to decide between the question bank offered by APEA and FNP Mastery. I think I’ll go with FNP Mastery per your experience. Congrats on your success.
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Mir
June 22, 2022 • 12:26 am
Thank you for the wonderful review and life-saving tips. Your story pretty much resembles mine, minus the kids part. I took Fitzgerald’s review course, which I found it to be very comprehensive and thorough. Both my preceptors had taken Fitzgerald and they strongly recommended me to take it. I registered for the review and received the material (study guides, MP3 audio, cheat-sheets, etc), but forgot about it till about 6 weeks to expiration date that I logged on and rushed through all the material. However, I didn’t follow the instructions as I was supposed to; learned a lesson the hard way. I will follow your advice and hopefully will pass the boards.
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Ayin
August 30, 2022 • 2:08 am
Are you referring to the comprehensice review.package when u say np review?
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Theresa
August 31, 2022 • 12:15 pm
Yes I did Sarah Michelle’s comprehensive package which includes three parts. If in a crunch for time I recommend the crash course!
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Sheila
September 26, 2022 • 8:15 pm
Did you use SM qbank? I have to pass APEA rest to graduate and i am freaking out on what would help to pass. Any típs on passing APEA?
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jocelyn sampedro
November 20, 2022 • 5:56 pm
FNP Mastery was a great help to me . I graduated 20 years ago and did not take the certification exam since California wasn’t requiring it . I decided to take the exam so I have options. The rationale was the most informative and so I concentrated on understanding the concepts as opposed to memorizing.FANTASTIC and worth every penny !!!!
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Noelle Pavlovic
January 14, 2023 • 8:50 pm
I have found that the COHEN review has been amazing and fun and affordable! Everything I’ve learned mimics your dump-sheet. 🙂
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Amy L Fleer
November 13, 2023 • 3:36 am
Thank you so much for this post. I am studying right now and i really needed to read this! My faith is restored lol. I have to agree that the Sarah Michelle review is more realistic and user friendly than Hollier’s.
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Jocelyn
February 22, 2024 • 3:59 am
Thanks a bundle for sharing! It is greatly appreciated!
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