NURSE PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION
EXAM PREP
7TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)MARGARET FITZGERALD
TEST BANK
Q1
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Study Planning & Blueprinting
Stem: A 32-year-old FNP student has 12 weeks before her AANP
exam. Her baseline practice exam shows 68% overall with
strong performance in adult medicine and poor performance in
pharmacology and pediatrics. She studies 3–4 hours most
weekdays. What is the most efficient change to her study plan
to maximize final exam readiness?
A. Increase total study hours to 6–8 hours daily to cover all
domains.
B. Continue current hours but redistribute time to focus on
pharmacology and pediatrics.
,C. Reduce study time and focus on repeated full-length practice
exams only.
D. Stop domain-focused study and memorize guideline
summaries for all specialties.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct (B): Redistribution of existing study time
toward weaker domains (pharmacology, pediatrics) uses time-
efficient targeted remediation. This aligns with blueprint-
directed study and improves discrimination in low-performing
areas without inducing burnout. Fitzgerald emphasizes targeted
remediation based on baseline blueprint gaps.
Rationale — Incorrect (A): Doubling hours risks fatigue and
diminishing returns; quality and focus trump indiscriminate
volume.
Rationale — Incorrect (C): Full-length exams are important, but
without targeted remediation of weak domains they will not
substantially raise content mastery.
Rationale — Incorrect (D): Memorization of summaries without
practice application does not build clinical reasoning required
for NP boards.
Teaching Point: Use baseline blueprint to redistribute time to
weakest, high-weight domains.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
,Q2
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Practice Exam Interpretation
Stem: A learner takes a practice exam and notes that they miss
mostly application-level questions where multiple data points
must be integrated. Which study approach best improves
performance on these items?
A. Memorize more disease presentations and lab value cutoffs.
B. Practice case-based questions with focused review of
reasoning steps.
C. Re-read textbooks front-to-back to increase content
exposure.
D. Skip practice questions and review only high-yield one-page
summaries.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct (B): Practicing case-based questions
encourages synthesis and application of multiple data points,
directly remediating the observed weakness. Fitzgerald
highlights deliberate practice with reflective review of reasoning
steps for application items.
Rationale — Incorrect (A): Memorization alone does not train
integrative clinical reasoning required for application items.
Rationale — Incorrect (C): Passive re-reading is inefficient for
improving analytic skills.
, Rationale — Incorrect (D): Summaries lack the contextual
complexity needed to train synthesis.
Teaching Point: Practice integrated case items and review
reasoning pathways.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
Q3
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Time Management During Exam
Stem: During a practice full-length exam, a student spends on
average 2.5 minutes per question and finishes with 15 minutes
left but several flagged. On exam day, what is the optimal timing
strategy?
A. Maintain 2.5 minutes per question; use remaining time to
answer flagged items.
B. Slow down to 3.5 minutes per question to ensure accuracy
from the start.
C. Rush to 1.5 minutes per question to leave more time for
flagged items.
D. Answer only non-flagged items slowly and skip the flagged
items.
Correct Answer: A
EXAM PREP
7TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)MARGARET FITZGERALD
TEST BANK
Q1
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Study Planning & Blueprinting
Stem: A 32-year-old FNP student has 12 weeks before her AANP
exam. Her baseline practice exam shows 68% overall with
strong performance in adult medicine and poor performance in
pharmacology and pediatrics. She studies 3–4 hours most
weekdays. What is the most efficient change to her study plan
to maximize final exam readiness?
A. Increase total study hours to 6–8 hours daily to cover all
domains.
B. Continue current hours but redistribute time to focus on
pharmacology and pediatrics.
,C. Reduce study time and focus on repeated full-length practice
exams only.
D. Stop domain-focused study and memorize guideline
summaries for all specialties.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct (B): Redistribution of existing study time
toward weaker domains (pharmacology, pediatrics) uses time-
efficient targeted remediation. This aligns with blueprint-
directed study and improves discrimination in low-performing
areas without inducing burnout. Fitzgerald emphasizes targeted
remediation based on baseline blueprint gaps.
Rationale — Incorrect (A): Doubling hours risks fatigue and
diminishing returns; quality and focus trump indiscriminate
volume.
Rationale — Incorrect (C): Full-length exams are important, but
without targeted remediation of weak domains they will not
substantially raise content mastery.
Rationale — Incorrect (D): Memorization of summaries without
practice application does not build clinical reasoning required
for NP boards.
Teaching Point: Use baseline blueprint to redistribute time to
weakest, high-weight domains.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
,Q2
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Practice Exam Interpretation
Stem: A learner takes a practice exam and notes that they miss
mostly application-level questions where multiple data points
must be integrated. Which study approach best improves
performance on these items?
A. Memorize more disease presentations and lab value cutoffs.
B. Practice case-based questions with focused review of
reasoning steps.
C. Re-read textbooks front-to-back to increase content
exposure.
D. Skip practice questions and review only high-yield one-page
summaries.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale — Correct (B): Practicing case-based questions
encourages synthesis and application of multiple data points,
directly remediating the observed weakness. Fitzgerald
highlights deliberate practice with reflective review of reasoning
steps for application items.
Rationale — Incorrect (A): Memorization alone does not train
integrative clinical reasoning required for application items.
Rationale — Incorrect (C): Passive re-reading is inefficient for
improving analytic skills.
, Rationale — Incorrect (D): Summaries lack the contextual
complexity needed to train synthesis.
Teaching Point: Practice integrated case items and review
reasoning pathways.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
Q3
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Time Management During Exam
Stem: During a practice full-length exam, a student spends on
average 2.5 minutes per question and finishes with 15 minutes
left but several flagged. On exam day, what is the optimal timing
strategy?
A. Maintain 2.5 minutes per question; use remaining time to
answer flagged items.
B. Slow down to 3.5 minutes per question to ensure accuracy
from the start.
C. Rush to 1.5 minutes per question to leave more time for
flagged items.
D. Answer only non-flagged items slowly and skip the flagged
items.
Correct Answer: A
