As most people are aware, getting a nurse practitioner board certification is the essential and final step in the transition from registered nurse to nurse practitioner. Perhaps, the designation of “Nurse Practitioner” applies only to the nurses with a valid nurse practitioner credential. Yes, of course, this credential can be obtained by passing the nurse practitioner board exam in any specialty area. While taking a leap to become a nurse practitioner is compelling, it is exhausting at the same time. Firstly, the candidates who are willing to take the nurse practitioner exam should understand that this is no easy job.  Here are some important tips that can help candidates make the most out of their preparation for the nurse practitioner exam.

Devising a Study Plan:

How to study and prepare for the nurse practitioner exam is the individual’s choice. Some people would like to study alone, while others would like to study in groups. Based on their own preference, individuals need to select what, as well as where to study. Yes, the time of study is also important! It’s also vital to choose the time of day/night depends on the individual’s preference. If they are doing it in groups, it would also depend on the other people’s schedules and timetables.

In general, the candidates are recommended to devise a study planner that projects 6 months out. As such, this planner should start in the last semester of the school year so that the person would know what and when to study for the exam. In this, one must not forget to keep track of the dates of exams so that they would know how long they have to go through the different sections. Remember, some sections would just take a snap, whereas, some would be troublesome. It’s important for the candidates to keep an eye in this while allocating the time for preparation.

There are no Shortcuts:

Before preparing for the nurse practitioner exam, the person must be clear that there are no shortcuts. This means that people should stop looking for quick-fix study approaches. One cannot achieve it in a day. The magical words here are “hard work.” Only, hard work would pay off. A person preparing for a nurse practitioner exam would really have to dive into a review, may it be FNP, NP Pathology, or NP pharmacology. It would take at least three months to study these. In any case, going at a steady pace with the pathways is recommended.

Getting all the Resources:

Studying can’t be done perfectly without the resources. Before starting the chapter, be sure to gather all the required resources that will make the studying complete. For nurse practitioners, the following materials are recommended:

• Pathophysiology textbook
• Physical assessment text
• Primary card textbook
• Pharmacotherapeutics text
• A few websites that offer national guidelines for health conditions
• Lab values book
• Research texts

After gathering them all, the candidates are advised to have all the resources in a single place so that they can be accessed readily during preparation.

General Tips:

In the planning process, the candidates should consider their personal lifestyle while putting up the timelines. In this, they must make sure that they consider their regular work schedules, children and family, an appropriate time to study, weekend schedules, and others. Also, the candidates are advised to have a look at the outline of the test content that has been prepared by the certifying body before devising a study plan. This would tell them the percentage of questions in a given section. One must allocate study time to each section depending on the percentage of questions on the exam.

There are lots of sample question papers available out there. The candidates can take a review text with these sample questions a few days before the exam date. This is a good way to recognize their own areas of weaknesses and they can focus further on those areas. This is also a good way to get a view of the overall content of the exam that they will see.

Concentrate on the Weaknesses:

It’s to be mentioned here that all the nurse practitioner programs are distinctive to one another at least to some extent. In this, areas of strengths, as well as weaknesses, would solely depend upon each faulty. The candidates who are about to face the nurse practitioner examination would generally know about their areas of weaknesses based on past experiences and their nurse practitioner program. It’s always good to create a study plan based on the weaknesses. Also, one should not forget to take the practice exams frequently. It may seem unimportant, but practice makes perfect!

Finally, the candidates should not forget to relax themselves. The relaxation techniques like exercise and hobbies that balance their preparation time would make the nurse practitioner exam easier to face and win.