AANP FNP study guide
AANP FNP · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The AANP Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) certification examination is a competency-based credentialing exam for nurses who have completed graduate-level family nurse practitioner preparation and wish to be certified as family NPs by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. The credential signals that a clinician is prepared to deliver primary care across the lifespan - infants through older adults - in ambulatory, urgent, rural, and community settings. The AANP FNP study guide has 4 sections and about 1,821 words.
01Assessment: Health History, Physical Examination, and Diagnostic Reasoning
Assessment items almost always ask for the next best step , not the final answer. Know the architecture of the encounter: chief complaint, HPI in OLDCARTS format (onset, location, duration, character, aggravating/associated, relieving, timing, severity), past medical/surgical, medications with adherence, allergies with reaction type, family and social history including occupational exposures, and a targeted review of systems.
392 words, about 2 min02Diagnosis: Clinical Problem Identification and Differential Diagnosis
Generate your list in three tiers: the most likely diagnosis, the must-not-miss diagnoses (aortic dissection, ectopic pregnancy, meningitis, testicular torsion, necrotizing fasciitis, PE), and the look-alikes that change management. Then use the history and exam to move probability up or down.
347 words, about 2 min03Clinical Management: Pharmacologic and Non-pharmacologic Plan of Care
Management questions test first-line, guideline-concordant therapy plus safety. Know the starting drugs for hypertension (thiazide, ACE inhibitor/ARB, or calcium channel blocker; two-drug single-pill therapy for stage 2), type 2 diabetes (metformin plus a GLP-1 receptor agonist or SGLT2 inhibitor when there is ASCVD, heart failure, or CKD), asthma (ICS-formoterol as reliever and controller; never a lone SABA), COPD (LAMA/LABA, with ICS reserved for exacerbation or eosinophilic phenotypes), and uncomplicated UTI (nitrofurantoin 5 days where renal function permits, or fosfomycin).
349 words, about 2 min04Health Promotion, Disease Prevention, and Professional Practice
USPSTF letter grades drive most prevention questions. Grade A and B services are recommended (and generally covered without cost sharing); C requires individualized decision-making; D is recommended against.
733 words, about 4 min