AANP Certification: The Definitive Guide

– Not all Nurse Practitioners work hands-on with patients. Some work in managerial or administrative positions.

– The pass rate for the FNP Certification exam is 81.6%.

– The pass rate for the A-GNP Certification exam is 75.7%.

– The pass rate for the ENP Certification exam is 88%.

A Nurse Practitioner is an advanced Registered Nurse who has more responsibilities than that of a Registered Nurse as well as additional education requirements. Nurse Practitioners are able to prescribe medications, examine patients, diagnose illnesses, and provide treatment. They work under the supervision of a doctor and can provide many services that physicians do.

FNP Certification

The Family Nurse Practitioner Certification is an entry-level exam for nurses who want to start their career as a Family Nurse Practitioner. This certification exam is competency-based which means that it tests your clinical knowledge in family and individuals across the lifespan, such as prenatal, pediatric, adolescent, adult, elderly, and frail elderly primary care.

The FNP Certification exam consists of 150 questions. Out of those 150 questions, 15 are pretest questions that are not counted towards your final score. You have 3 hours to complete the exam. The FNP Certification exam covers 4 domain areas:

• Assessment
• Diagnosis
• Plan
• Evaluation

To be eligible to take the FNP Certification exam, you must meet several requirements:

• Meet the educational requirements for graduate, post-graduate, or doctoral students in national competencies of the graduate core, NP role, and population foci of adult-gerontology primary care or family

• Complete the APRN core courses and a minimum of 500 faculty-supervised direct patient care

• Post-graduate students completed the didactic and clinical requirement of an academic NP program through graduate-level certificate or degree-granting graduate-level Adult-Gerontology Primary Care or Family NP Program. Post-graduate students who are not already NPs are required to complete 500 supervised direct patient care clinical hours.

• The NP program must be accredited by an independent national nursing organization that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education

• Current U.S. or Canadian RN license

• Your educational preparation must be congruent with national certification exam/process.

• Have not taken the exam twice within one year

A-GNP Certification

The Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner is an entry-level exam that tests your clinical knowledge of young adults, adults, the elderly, and frail elderly. The A-GNP Certification exam is a competency-based exam which means that you will be tested over the skills that you already have and what you have applied during your time as a nurse.

The A-GNP Certification exam consists of 150 questions which include15 pretest questions that do not count towards your score. You will be tested over 4 domain areas:

• Assessment
• Diagnosis
• Plan
• Evaluation

To be eligible to take the A-GNP Certification exam, you must meet several requirements:

• Meet the educational requirements for graduate, post-graduate, or doctoral students in national competencies of the graduate core, NP role, and population foci of adult-gerontology primary care or family

• Complete the APRN core courses and a minimum of 500 faculty-supervised direct patient care

• Post-graduate students completed the didactic and clinical requirement of an academic NP program through graduate-level certificate or degree-granting graduate-level Adult-Gerontology Primary Care or Family NP Program. Post-graduate students who are not already NPs are required to complete 500 supervised direct patient care clinical hours.

• The NP program must be accredited by an independent national nursing organization that is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education

• Current U.S. or Canadian RN license

• Your educational preparation must be congruent with national certification exam/process.

• Have not taken the exam twice within one year

ENP Certification

The Emergency Nurse Practitioner certification is for Family Nurse Practitioners who work in emergency care. The ENP is a specialty certification for nurses who have demonstrated their expertise in emergency care. Emergency Nurse Practitioners are trained to work with injured or ill patients of all ages.

The ENP Certification exam consists of 135 questions that are divided up into two domain areas. You are given three hours to take the exam. The two domain areas that are included on the ENP Certification exam include:

• Domain Practice I:
  -Medical Screening
  -Medical Decision Making/Differential Diagnosis
  -Patient Management
  -Patient Disposition
  -Professional, Legal, and Ethical Practices
•  Domain Practice II
  -Thoracic-Respiratory Disorders
  – Cardiovascular Disorders
  – Dermatologic/Soft Tissue Disorders
  – Abdominal & Gastrointestinal Disorders
  – Musculoskeletal Disorders
  – Renal/Genitourinary Disorders
  – Nervous System Disorders
  – Head, Ear, Eye, Throat Disorders
  – Traumatic Disorders
  -Psychobehavioral & Other Disorders

To take the ENP Certification, there are qualification requirements as well as eligibility options:

• Must have a current FNP certification

• Current and active RN license

• Minimum of 2,000 direct emergency care clinical practice hours as a certified NP within the past 5 years

• 100 hours of emergency-related continuing education credits

• Minimum 30 continuing education credits in emergency-related procedural skills within those 5 years

OR

• Completed an approved academic emergency care or post-graduate NP program

OR

• Completed an approved emergency fellowship program

If you need more information about any of the Nurse Practitioner Certification exams, visit the AANP website: https://www.aanpcert.org/certifications

AANP- FNP FAQ