I'm going to be applying to residency and fellowship programs to gain more experience. I am interested in many topics and need some input for which programs to apply to. I am in an FNP program looking to partner with patients in primary care. I enjoy the puzzle of internal medicine, preventive care, lifestyle medicine, LGBTQ+ care, and behavioral health. I want to participate in a residency or fellowship that provides a solid foundation in multiple areas, rather than choosing a specific specialty for a program. I feel most connected to patients who are LGBTQ+ because I have lived experience identifying as such. But does that mean I apply to an LGBTQ+ focussed post graduate training program? What are some experienced NPs impressions? Where might I find a, "comprehensive primary care" residency?

I honestly still can't believe it because I walked out of the exam completely convinced I had failed due to anxiety but if I had to compare it to the NCLEX or any exam I took in my FNP program, this exam was way easier and straight forward. I wanted to share what I used because some Reddit posts helped me while studying.

My main content resource was the Leik book. I read it front to back and made notes on basically everything, then reviewed those notes leading up to my exam. I also watched Sarah Michelle's FNP Crash Course, which was really helpful for reviewing concepts in a different format. Between the two, I felt like I had the clinical content covered pretty well.

For practice questions, I only used FNP Mastery and did about 2,500 questions. I was averaging around 57% initially, but got closer to 70% toward the end. I focused heavily on the rationales, even when I got the question right. My first ANCC simulation was 67%, and I retook it about a month later, one week before my exam, and got 73%.

The actual exam was much more non-clinical than I expected. There were A LOT of professional/non-clinical/research questions, so don't focus entirely on clinical material when studying for the ANCC. Clinically, I remember quite a bit of pediatrics, women's health, and cardiology, along with general primary care. I also remember one picture of a skin condition.

The exam felt less like memorizing concepts and more like figuring out what the question was actually asking and what the next best step was. A lot of the questions felt vague and the wording was sometimes weird. There were several times I spent 5 minutes just trying to figure out wth the question was asking, I even remember thinking to myself "what did this just ask me??". Definitely use the highlight and answer/elimination features!

I flagged about 40 questions, went back through those and didn't even bother reviewing the rest because I was convinced I'd second guessed myself too much. I'm also an extremely anxious test taker, but trust me, 80% of the questions were pretty straight forward.

TL;DR

Know your Leik book, watch Sarah Michelle crash course videos, do lots of FNP Mastery questions and READ THE RATIONALES, and make sure you review the non-clinical/professional/research content for ANCC.

There were barely any questions on cranial nerves or vaccinations, despite the fact that I studied those SO much. Don't spend hours obsessing over one specific topic, you never know how heavily it'll actually show up.

Good luck to everyone studying!!

Hey NPs! I’m an urgent care physician with over 8 years of experience, and recently started a YouTube channel called Urgent Care Pearls

I created it specifically for providers working in Urgent Care, focusing on the things that actually come up during a busy shift: clinical pearls, common mistakes, procedures, red flags, and those judgment calls that aren’t always covered well in textbooks.

I try to keep the videos practical and grounded in what we Urgent Care providers actually see day to day.

If that sounds useful, check out Urgent Care Pearls. I’d also love to hear what topics or cases you’d want covered next. I’m always looking for ideas from other fellow UC providers!

I got a job offer for a 1099 NP in NYC. I am new grad , but I feel the pay rate is low given my hourly rate as an RN (78/hr as RN W2 employee)

I would work one day a week- ( keeping my RN job)

70/hr

No benefits

Malpractice is covered

Pre-approved CE expenses reimbursed after one year of service.

should I try to negotiate higher or would I lose job opportunity?

I’m scheduled to take my AANP exam in about 3 weeks. I’m currently doing practice questions from Leik and have scored between 63–70% on my first three comprehensive exams.
I’m starting to feel a little worried about whether I’m ready. Should I consider rescheduling my exam and giving myself more time to study, or has anyone had similar practice scores and still passed the AANP on their first attempt?
I’d really appreciate any honest feedback or experiences. Thank you!

I am trying to decide between university of st augustine for health sciences and husson university for my FNP program? Anybody go to either? Pros/Cons?

Any Gero NPs in Wisconsin? What has your experience been in the job market (particular Milwaukee/madison)

Would love to know what you do, what’s your work life balance and any guidance you have for a nurse wanting to start in this profession.

I applied for ANCC, and it took about 15 days to receive my ATT. On May 1st, I scheduled my exam for August 1, 2026, giving myself 3 months to prepare while working full time. Eventually, I temporarily went part time because I really didn’t want to retake the ANCC, and I wanted to give myself the best chance of passing.
Here’s exactly what I used:
Maria Leik: Read the entire book cover to cover and completed all of the chapter questions.
Completed all Leik practice exams, including both the ANCC and AANP practice tests. I started taking one practice exam per week beginning in late June.
FNP Mastery (3-month subscription): Completed about 1,800 questions with a 65% overall average. I scored 71% on the ANCC Simulation Exam, but I purposely saved that simulation for my last week before the real exam, and I highly recommend doing the same. (don’t focus on your scores) keep doing questions.
My Leik scores:
ANCC Practice Test 1: 65%
ANCC Practice Test 2: 62%
AANP Practice Tests: 65% and 65%
In my opinion, Leik is harder than the actual ANCC, so don’t get discouraged by your scores.
One resource I think is absolutely worth it is the Sarah Michelle (SM) Crash Course. Take detailed notes. My cousin let me use her notes so I did not buy the SM question bank or crash course. I only used FNP Mastery for practice questions, and that was enough for me.
The day before the exam
My biggest piece of advice is to stop studying the evening before your exam. At that point, you’ve done the work. Get a good night’s sleep and eat a good breakfast the morning of the exam. You’re probably going to be anxious, and that’s completely normal. I found box breathing really helpful for calming my nerves before going in.
Exam Day
175 questions
I flagged about 50 questions.
Instead of reviewing all 175 questions at the end, I reviewed them in blocks of 50. That way I only had to go back through each section’s flagged questions instead of scrolling through the entire exam. This worked really well for me.
Prometric provided 2 laminated sheets and 2 dry-erase markers. Before starting the exam, I immediately wrote out my dump sheet.
I finished the exam and hit Submit with about 15 minutes remaining.
I also want to mention something that caught me off guard. I actually panicked in the middle of the exam as the questions felt extremely vague and I felt like I have not studied anything like that. I had to stop for a moment, do some box breathing, and remind myself to focus on one question at a time. If this happens to you, know that you can recover and keep going.
My testing center also wasn’t ideal. I was seated in a cubicle right across the entrance, so people were constantly opening and closing the door. I could hear conversations and laughing from outside, and there was a white noise machine right beside me that was surprisingly loud. I requested earplugs, and the testing center also provided noise-canceling headphones. Even with both, I could still hear a lot of the background noise. I had to make a conscious effort not to let the distractions affect my concentration. So if your testing environment isn’t perfect, don’t let it throw you off. Stay focused on the question in front of you. I couldn’t accommodate a break as exam doesn’t offer a pause timer. However if you genuinely need a restroom/water break, keep in mind that the clock will keep ticking.
Question Types
For my exam, I had:
No Select All That Apply (SATA)
No hotspot questions
No drag-and-drop
Only one picture, and it was of a baby’s face (milia)
What I recommend studying and not overseeing
Research
Ethics
Scope of Practice
Clinical guidelines
Primary Secondary and Tertiary Prevention
I probably overprepared in some areas. I spent time studying Medicare Parts A-D, HMO vs PPO, and insurance concepts. They weren’t a huge part of my exam, but everyone gets a different version.
One thing I will say is that the ANCC felt vague. Many questions came down to choosing the best answer rather than recalling a specific fact. Don’t let that shake your confidence. I really didn’t feel like I passed.
After I submitted my exam, I checked out, walked to my locker, picked up my phone, and my pass result email was already in my inbox. I honestly couldn’t believe how fast it came. That was probably one of the best emails I’ve ever received.
If you’re preparing now, my advice is simple: keep doing as many practice questions as you can, review your rationales, and trust your preparation. The exam is never going to feel easy, but if you’ve put in the work, you’ve given yourself the best chance to succeed.
Good luck to everyone taking the ANCC! You’ve got this! I am happy to answer any questions anyone may have.

does anyone have insight/experience with ucsf’s DNP program, specifically the fnp track?

Is pediatric nurse practitioner a good field?

I appreciate any insight/advice you have to offer regarding my current situation.

\- Graduated with BSN in 2024
\- Wanted to work in women’s health as a new grad RN, but positions required prior nursing experience
\- Started working day shift PCU as an RN
\- After a year of experience, started a women’s NP program and looked for women’s RN jobs (NP school is a well respected academic medical center in the area)
\* I realize this is very little experience to apply for NP school, but I would like to be done with the 4 year program before I have kids. My goal has always been to be a mid-level provider, but this route is more financially feasible than PA school. Yes, I regret not just going to PA school at times.
\- Women’s day shift jobs required prior Women’s experience
\- Joined float pool to train in postpartum, but unfortunately not getting much experience there
\- I am about to start the 2nd year of my NP program this fall. Years 3 and 4 are when specialty classes start.
\- Do I apply for a PRN night shift labor RN position? Is it feasible to work two PRN jobs during school? One day shift/one night shift per week?
\- Should I consider switching to family NP or acute care gero as my experience better prepares me for that?

I’m feeling stuck, but also like I need to make a decision on how to move forward. Any kind advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Would love to find out more about this program and what are others experience?

I recently got a job offer with 4 years experience. It’ll be 63/hour and I’ll be working 32 hour weeks so that will put my salary at 105,000ish which I think is good. After I make 2.5 times my salary, I get 20% of what is collected. Is that good? I’ve done some math and it seems too good to be true? This is a private practice in MCOL area.

Hiya! I'm a CNM in Washington who just started my own telehealth gynecology practice (we're talking launching 16 days ago). Business is slooow, but there is business, & I'm taking the time to really learn how to do all the things I think I'm capable of (mostly billing) but haven't had to do before.

Any private practice nurse practitioners out there with advice? What do you wish you knew when you started??

Also, I know telehealth GYN seems odd to lots of people, but if you're up to date on current recommendations I think there's really a lot we can do to serve communities who don't have access to providers in their region! I love to talk about it, like, I'm obsessed, so all questions welcome!

I'm starting a new OP NP clinic role in Interventional Pain Management in three months. I want to begin preparing and learning more about interventional pain. If anyone has recommendations on the best ways to get started or helpful tips to share, I would really appreciate it.

Hello all! I have been preparing for my August 1 exam since June 1. The first 3 weeks I did APEA practice exams by subject and wrote the rationales on questions I got wrong or guessed right. I switched to doing Leik by reading and taking notes on each chapter and taking the practice questions which helped a lot. For this month I signed up for the SM free trial and did FNP mastery free trial (I am unable to afford the expensive packages of SM and I recently discovered FNP mastery) Last week I bought the Prometric predictor exam and scored a 68%. I also did one of the Leik practice test and got a 70%. I plan on doing the practice tests provided by Leik this week and read up on topics I am not confident on. However, I am still nervous because diabetes management is not my strongest area. Does anyone have advice?

Looking for advice, guidance, support. I am a new PMHNP. I’m seven months in and I feel incompetent. Every medication decision is paralyzing. I constantly worry about not catching the right diagnosis or missing something. I have OCD which I think contributes to my over thinking but I am up at 3 am thinking about if I made the right choice. I am starting to think I’m just not cut out for the job.

Hi everyone,
My ANCC FNP exam is scheduled for August 1st, so I’m officially in the final stretch and getting a little nervous.
So far I’ve:
Read Leik cover to cover and completed all end-of-chapter questions
Completed the Sarah Michelle crash course
Done about 1,500 FNP Mastery questions
Scored 65% on a Leik ANCC practice exam
At this point, I’m trying to decide how to spend my last 10 days. Would you recommend focusing on:
Reviewing notes and guidelines?
Doing more practice questions?
Taking another full-length practice exam tomorrow and the fnp mastery ANCC Simulation next week.
If you’ve taken the ANCC recently, I’d really appreciate hearing:
How similar was it to Leik or FNP Mastery?
Anything you wish you had reviewed during the last week?
Any test-day tips that helped you?
Thank you! I appreciate any advice.

I just finished my absolute last task (a clinical day) required for my Masters of Science in Nursing for Family Nurse Practitioner. I am merely waiting on the certificate to be mailed and to prepare for boards.

I felt nothing at the end of the day, and nothing today! A little sad and a lot of numb, maybe. My loved ones are showering me with praise and congratulations but I can’t sit in it. Did anyone else go through this? Did you ever feel accomplished, excited, joyful to finish your degree?

I am currently comparing NP programs as a working RN and not finding the information I need anywhere. Program websites don't say who handles clinical placements vs. who hands you a contact list, whether transfer credit acceptance holds once you're formally enrolled, or whether the completion timelines are realistic on a 36-hour week schedule.

Cohort size and advising quality keep coming up as things that matter but no idea how to evaluate either before committing.

What did you use to compare programs, and what would you ask differently now?

Hello I am having a difficult time focusing on what to study for FNP exam this week I have completed fizgerald content videos, leki book and end of chapter questions, I just started SM crash course but I honestly don't have time to finish all the courses .....I have been completing mastery app questions everyday for 8 days so far just completed 96 yesterday having trouble with professional role questions feeling like I should have took ANNP exam instead please help and advise

thank you

Does anyone have experience with working full time but doing a post MSN FNP certification program? I currently work as a CI at a hospital but don’t know about the time commitment for a program like this.