How Hard is the Family Nurse Practitioner Exam?


How hard is the family nurse practitioner exam? Those who want to become a family nurse practitioner usually must pass an exam to receive an FNP certificate and begin practicing as a family nurse. However, most prospective candidates who opt to enroll into a family nurse practitioner program often wonder how hard the final exam is.



The higher level of education undergone by family nurses to treat all age groups and their specialization is indicated by the Family Nurse Practitioner certification. Both adult and pediatric members of a family suffering from acute or chronic ailments can be treated by family nurse practitioners. Even psychosocial issues that might be affecting a family can also be addressed by family nurse practitioners.

Usually, the Family Nurse Practitioner exam can only be undertaken licensed Registered Nurses or RNs who at least have a Master’s Degree in nursing. The applicants are also required to have undergone at least 500 hours of clinical study as a part of an accredited Nurse Practitioner education program.



Currently, the certification for family nurse practitioners is being offered by two organizations. Family nurse practitioners with credentials from any of these two organizations will be recognized in all fifty states in America. Prospective candidates and applicants who want to take the FNP exam will find numerous study guidelines to prepare for this exam, many of which are even available for free on the internet. An outline of the contests of the exam is even posted on the AANP website as well.

A majority of the question in this exam revolve around methods of diagnosing and treating various medical conditions. Advanced directives, nurse practice act, privacy laws and risk management-related non-clinical questions are also included in the exam too.



Potential family nurse practitioners who will be taking this exam are recommended to focus on everything that is classic or normal while they study for the exam. Usually, the disease-related questions that appear on the exam are the classic textbook cases. Thus, rather than focusing on benign variations of a physical exam, the normal results of a physical exam should be learned.

Usually, drug doses do not need to be memorized by those who will be taking the family nurse practitioner exam. However, the drug classes, brand and generic names of drugs and what they do must be known by those who will be taking the exam. Even safety issues such as possible interaction of drugs with other components and when or why certain medications should not be prescribed, also have to be studied. The brand or generic name of a drug is often not allowed to be chosen for the answer in some of the questions in this exam. Instead, a drug class has to be chosen or mentioned as the answer. Usually, older and well-known drugs appear in the questions in this exam.



The questions in this exam usually do not relate to any recent guidelines and procedures that might have been published within the past couple of years. Even borderline disease cases and diseases that usually have no symptoms are also not included in the exam questions. Usually, numbers are excluded from the exam questions. Instead, the clinical significance of a medical test is often asked to be mentioned. An applicant’s knowledge of specialty disorders is also not tested in this exam. Mainly, primary care disorders are focused in the exam. From several years, the exam has also not included any nursing theory questions as well.


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Those who will be taking the FNP exam soon should keep a few things in mind. The questions in the exam should never be left unanswered. The questions should be filled in at random in case applicants run out of time. There is no penalization in this exam for guessing. Following their instincts will allow applicants to make accurate guesses. Understanding the questions before attempting them is very important. Applicants should always have a watch around their wrist to keep an eye on much time has passed and how much is left.

How hard is the family nurse practitioner exam? It is not really difficult. In fact, it will be as difficult as the applicants make it for themselves. As long as they study hard enough, they should be able to pass the exam, keeping the mentioned guidelines in mind.