NURSE PRACTITIONER CERTIFICATION
EXAM PREP
7TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)MARGARET FITZGERALD
TEST BANK
1
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Test Blueprint & Exam Structure
Stem: During a simulated 150-question practice exam you score
70% with consistent weakness on endocrine and growth-chart
interpretation items. You have 10 weeks until the official exam.
Which study plan most efficiently targets your deficiencies
while maintaining overall readiness?
A. Continue full-length practice exams weekly and review only
missed items.
B. Create a targeted 4-week endocrine review with case-based
questions, then resume mixed practice exams.
,C. Abandon targeted review and increase total practice
questions per day across all topics.
D. Focus only on memorizing endocrine facts for two weeks,
then take a practice exam.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale (Correct): A targeted, time-boxed content and
question-based remediation addresses the specific deficit while
preserving overall practice time. It matches best practices for
deliberate practice and spaced retrieval prior to the exam.
Fitzgerald emphasizes focused weakness remediation
integrated with mixed practice.
Rationales (Incorrect):
A. Passive review of missed items alone lacks concentrated
instruction and may not fix conceptual gaps.
C. Increasing volume without targeted focus risks reinforcing
errors and inefficient use of the 10 weeks.
D. Memorization alone does not build application skills required
for board-style clinical reasoning.
Teaching Point: Prioritize targeted, case-based remediation
with spaced mixed practice.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
2
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Practice Exam Analytics
,Stem: Your practice test report lists a low discrimination index
(0.05) for multiple items you answered correctly. Which
interpretation and action is most appropriate?
A. Those items are probably too easy—ignore them.
B. Low discrimination indicates poor item quality; review item
content and avoid overreliance on those scores.
C. Low discrimination proves you guessed correctly and should
retake the test.
D. Increase study time in that content area immediately.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale (Correct): A low discrimination index suggests items
fail to differentiate high- and low-performing examinees,
indicating potential flaw in item quality or ambiguous keyed
answer. Fitzgerald advises using item statistics to judge test
quality and guide remediation cautiously.
Rationales (Incorrect):
A. Ignoring items risks missing systemic test preparation issues;
they still may reflect content gaps.
C. Guessing is one possibility, but discrimination alone doesn't
confirm guessing; further review is needed.
D. Low discrimination doesn't necessarily indicate content
weakness; it signals item analysis issues first.
Teaching Point: Use item discrimination to assess item quality
before changing study focus.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
, 3
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Time Management Strategies
Stem: On timed practice, you average 70 seconds per item but
run out of time during long vignettes. Which strategy best
improves accuracy under time pressure?
A. Skip all long vignettes and answer shorter questions first on
exam day.
B. Practice targeted pacing with selective flagging and micro-
summaries for long vignettes.
C. Read stems and options simultaneously to save time.
D. Memorize rapid elimination heuristics to choose answers
faster.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale (Correct): Focused pacing practice with active
summarization helps process complex vignettes efficiently and
improves accuracy. Fitzgerald recommends technique training
(flagging, micro-summaries) rather than avoidance or
superficial heuristics.
Rationales (Incorrect):
A. Skipping long vignettes reduces opportunity to demonstrate
clinical reasoning and may waste time.
C. Reading stems and options simultaneously often increases
cognitive load and errors.
D. Heuristics can lead to systematic errors when items test
nuanced clinical distinctions.
Teaching Point: Train pacing with micro-summaries and
EXAM PREP
7TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)MARGARET FITZGERALD
TEST BANK
1
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Test Blueprint & Exam Structure
Stem: During a simulated 150-question practice exam you score
70% with consistent weakness on endocrine and growth-chart
interpretation items. You have 10 weeks until the official exam.
Which study plan most efficiently targets your deficiencies
while maintaining overall readiness?
A. Continue full-length practice exams weekly and review only
missed items.
B. Create a targeted 4-week endocrine review with case-based
questions, then resume mixed practice exams.
,C. Abandon targeted review and increase total practice
questions per day across all topics.
D. Focus only on memorizing endocrine facts for two weeks,
then take a practice exam.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale (Correct): A targeted, time-boxed content and
question-based remediation addresses the specific deficit while
preserving overall practice time. It matches best practices for
deliberate practice and spaced retrieval prior to the exam.
Fitzgerald emphasizes focused weakness remediation
integrated with mixed practice.
Rationales (Incorrect):
A. Passive review of missed items alone lacks concentrated
instruction and may not fix conceptual gaps.
C. Increasing volume without targeted focus risks reinforcing
errors and inefficient use of the 10 weeks.
D. Memorization alone does not build application skills required
for board-style clinical reasoning.
Teaching Point: Prioritize targeted, case-based remediation
with spaced mixed practice.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
2
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Practice Exam Analytics
,Stem: Your practice test report lists a low discrimination index
(0.05) for multiple items you answered correctly. Which
interpretation and action is most appropriate?
A. Those items are probably too easy—ignore them.
B. Low discrimination indicates poor item quality; review item
content and avoid overreliance on those scores.
C. Low discrimination proves you guessed correctly and should
retake the test.
D. Increase study time in that content area immediately.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale (Correct): A low discrimination index suggests items
fail to differentiate high- and low-performing examinees,
indicating potential flaw in item quality or ambiguous keyed
answer. Fitzgerald advises using item statistics to judge test
quality and guide remediation cautiously.
Rationales (Incorrect):
A. Ignoring items risks missing systemic test preparation issues;
they still may reflect content gaps.
C. Guessing is one possibility, but discrimination alone doesn't
confirm guessing; further review is needed.
D. Low discrimination doesn't necessarily indicate content
weakness; it signals item analysis issues first.
Teaching Point: Use item discrimination to assess item quality
before changing study focus.
Citation: Fitzgerald, M. (2025). Nurse Practitioner Certification
Exam Prep (7th ed.). Ch. 1.
, 3
Reference: Ch. 1 — Prepping for Nurse Practitioner Boards —
Time Management Strategies
Stem: On timed practice, you average 70 seconds per item but
run out of time during long vignettes. Which strategy best
improves accuracy under time pressure?
A. Skip all long vignettes and answer shorter questions first on
exam day.
B. Practice targeted pacing with selective flagging and micro-
summaries for long vignettes.
C. Read stems and options simultaneously to save time.
D. Memorize rapid elimination heuristics to choose answers
faster.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale (Correct): Focused pacing practice with active
summarization helps process complex vignettes efficiently and
improves accuracy. Fitzgerald recommends technique training
(flagging, micro-summaries) rather than avoidance or
superficial heuristics.
Rationales (Incorrect):
A. Skipping long vignettes reduces opportunity to demonstrate
clinical reasoning and may waste time.
C. Reading stems and options simultaneously often increases
cognitive load and errors.
D. Heuristics can lead to systematic errors when items test
nuanced clinical distinctions.
Teaching Point: Train pacing with micro-summaries and
