Nursing, Nursing Advanced Practice, Exam Prep
Develop Your Clinical Study Plan for the AG-ACNP Exam
Feb 26, 2019
(With excerpts from Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Q&A Review, by Dawn Carpenter DNP, ACNP-BC
Develop Clinical Study Plan for AG-ACNP
The Adult-Gero Acute Care exams are comprehensive, and it can be overwhelming to even think about where to start, but every successful venture starts when you develop a clinical study plan for AG-ACNP. Start by reviewing the clinical content in the exam blueprints. For the ANCC (2017b) exam, clinical practice comprises 46% of the exam and the APRN Core Competencies is 16% of the exam, whereas for the AACN (2018), clinical judgment comprises 79% of the exam. Both exams assess your knowledge in an integrated manner, so it is important to review content in all systems. In the chart below, select the column for the exam you are taking. In each category, rate your level of comfort with the material in that system.
Rate them as:
- 1 (very challenging—top priority)
- 2 (somewhat challenging—middle priority)
- 3 (feel fine with content but still need to review)
As you rate each area, consider the following:
- How did you score on your academic exams for each of these systems?
- How much clinical experience or exposure did you get related to the systems?
- Consider how long ago you studied or clinically experienced these systems.
Read the details of the test blueprint; note specifics within each system and decide if you want to change your previously noted level of priority. For the AACN exam, you have an extra step—reference the percentage of exam content next to each system. Rank order priorities with content areas by its percentage of the exam. Note that ANCC does not supply percentages in their blueprint for systems-based topics.
| ANCC | AACN | ||
| Category | Rating | Category | Rating |
| Head, eyes, ears, nose, and throat | Cardiovascular (17%) | ||
| Respiratory | Pulmonary (11%) | ||
| Cardiovascular | Multisystem (10%) | ||
| Gastrointestinal | Neurology (7%) | ||
| Genitourinary | Renal/Genitourinary (6%) | ||
| Musculoskeletal | Endocrine (5%) | ||
| Neurological (including psychiatric) | Gastrointestinal (5%) | ||
| Endocrine | Hematology/immunology/oncology (5%) | ||
| Hematopoietic | Musculoskeletal (4%) | ||
| Immune | Psychosocial/behavioral/cognitive health (4%) | ||
| Integumentary | Factors Influencing Health Status (3%) | ||
| Integumentary (2%) | |||
Transpose your rated categories here for an easier view.
| Priority 1 (Very Challenging—Top Priority) |
| Priority 2 (Somewhat Challenging—Middle Priority) |
| Priority 3 (Feel Fine With Content but Still Need to Review) |
Now don’t forget the non-clinical topics! You can use this same approach for those areas against the blueprint for your exam. Once you understand your focus, be sure to create a study schedule. Identify available time in your calendar and block out as much time as you can. Insert your study topics in priority order by considering how much time you have until the exam, the number of hours you think you’ll need per topic area, and other obligations that may interfere with studying.
For more information on creating a study schedule, don’t miss our book, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Q&A Review, by Dawn Carpenter. It’s filled with hints, tricks, and of course Q&As!
Resources:
AACN Certification Corporation. (n.d.). ACNPC-AG Exam Handbook. Retrieved from https://www.aacn.org/~/media/aacn-website/certification/get-certified/handbooks/acnpcagexamhandbook.pdf
American Nurses Credentialing Center. (n.d.). Test Content Outline. Retrieved from https://www.nursingworld.org/~4accca/globalassets/certification/certification-specialty-pages/resources/test-content-outlines/adultgerontologyacutecarenp-tco.pdf
Carpenter, D. (2018). Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Q&A Review (1st ed.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing.