Nurse Practitioner Test
The Nurse Practitioner (NP) Test is offered by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Those who pass this computer-based test are awarded an Adult Nurse Practitioner – Board Certified (ANP-BC) certification.
To become eligible for the NP Test, you must first meet several criteria. You must possess an active Registered Nurse (RN) license and a master’s degree or higher from an accredited adult nurse practitioner program. This program must have included 500 clinical hours supervised by a faculty member, as well as coursework in advanced health assessment, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. The NP test also requires that you have studied health promotion and disease management and prevention.
If you meet these requirements, you can apply for the NP test. To do so you will need to complete an application and submit it to the ANCC with the appropriate payment. If you are an ANCC member, it costs $270, while non-members pay $395. You can apply for the NP test online or via mail. If you apply online, you must use a credit card. If you apply through the mail, you must pay with a check. The application will ask for your personal information, as well as your education, licensing information, demographics, and employment background. Your application packet for the NP test must include an application, official transcript, and Verification of Education form which must be completed by the program director of the nursing program from which you graduated. There is no due date to submit applications for the NP test. You can apply at any time and take the test during a 90-day window at the testing center of your choice.
The NP test consists of 175 multiple-choice questions, of which 150 are scored. The questions come from five main categories: clinical management (30 percent/45 questions), health assessment (22.67 percent/34 questions), foundations of advanced nursing practice (22.67 percent/34 questions), professional role (14 percent/21 questions), and health care policy and delivery (10.67 percent/16 questions). The subtest for foundations of advanced nursing practice includes questions about therapeutic communication, influences on care, and teaching. The professional role area of the NP test focuses on standards of practice and health care ethics. The health care policy and delivery area focuses on regulations, legal issues, and documentation. The health assessment area tests your knowledge of anatomy, physiology, psychopathology, health beliefs, and behaviors. The NP test will also assess your skills in performing physical exams, primary care procedures, risk analysis, and identifying normal and abnormal findings. This area also covers advanced diagnostic reasoning, which includes screening and laboratory tests, syndromes, interpreting results, and synthesizing patient data. The clinical management area comprises the largest portion of the NP test. This area assesses your knowledge of evidence-based practice, clinical decision-making, plan of care, prescribing drugs, evaluating treatment, coordinating care, and preventing and maintaining diseases.
On the day of the NP test, plan to arrive at the testing center early for check-in and fingerprinting. Actual testing time is three hours and 30 minutes. No personal items are allowed in the testing area. There are no scheduled breaks, but you are allowed to take breaks as needed. You will receive your results immediately after the NP test. If you pass, you will receive your certificate and ANCC pin within eight weeks.