Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Today I passed the FNP AANP certification examination with the aid of this book and Fitzgerald's Audio CDs. Woohoo! So, in summary, it works. However, there are a few things that could be excluded/included in this version (3rd) of Fitzgerald's Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination and Practice Preparation that would make it even more superior to other review texts/courses. Hence, that's why I gave it four out of five stars. 1. As one previous reviewer pointed out, the question formatting was less than optimal as the questions were at the beginning of each section and subsequently followed by the answers (hard not to cheat). Suggestion - locate the answers at the end of the chapter/text. Also, this may just be me, but the questions should come after the related section's literature not the other way around. 2. Though she clearly states that the generic and trade names of drugs are given on the ANCC and AANP exams this does not hold true in this text. The majority of her questions listed either the generic or trade name of a drug. Found this distracting as there's only a million different drugs names out there. A little help please. 3. The tables. First let me say that most of the tables were straightforward and concise. However, some of them were cluttered with needless information and hard to follow (i.e., Treatment of Sinusitis). I'm a big fan of algorithms (hint hint). Again, just a suggestion. 4. Very comprehensive but still lacking. When I took the AANP exam I found myself cursing the review book as a great deal of information on the exam was never mentioned in this text. I had to reach into the deep recesses of my mind (scary) to retrieve some gray/foggy/probably incorrect information to answer some of the questions. Now, I know that cramming two years of full time graduate study into just under four hundred pages isn't feasible. So, I would suggest to future candidates to briefly (and I mean briefly) skim their graduate texts before dedicating majority of their time to this text. 5. Which is which? Let me elaborate. I know that the name of the book entails Certification Examination and Practice Preparation but it would be nice if the difference in the material was eluded to in the text. Example - knowing the equiopotency of corticosteroids is great for practice but would that really be on the exam? Perhaps practice preparation material could be labeled as such so that future candidates would not feel so overwhelmed with needless (for the exam that is) information. With all of that said this book is still far superior to other review texts that i've encountered. I highly recommended utilizing it for exam preparation with a minimum of six weeks preparation (with about two hours a day on average of study). It can be used as a singular study tool for board preparation but must be studied intensely. Also, I wish all of those who will be sitting for the AANP and ANCC exams in the future the best of luck. Study hard. Don't let this test intimidate you (even while you're taking it). Just focus, breathe, chew on a peppermint (worked for me), and push forward while in the exam room and all will end well. Good luck!