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Nurse Practitioner (NP) guide

Every Nurse Practitioner (NP) program at NPExams in one place: who each program is for, what you will learn and how long it takes.

7 programs
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How to use this guide

Start with the program closest to your current role, then add the ones your next role asks for. Each entry below lists who the program is written for and the skills you leave with, so you can compare them side by side.

FNP-BC / FNP-C Prep Course (FNP)

Who it is for

Family Nurse Practitioner certification candidates preparing for the ANCC FNP-BC and/or AANPCB FNP-C initial board exams, including recent graduates, returning test-takers, and clinicians seeking a structured, exam-focused review of lifespan primary care in ambulatory, outpatient, community, and continuity-care settings.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
Explain the major exam content areas for FNP board preparation and organize study using a clear domain/subskill map for lifespan primary care, while avoiding assumptions about unverified board weighting.
Perform focused and comprehensive primary care clinical reasoning across the lifespan: identify the chief task, extract key findings, build an appropriate differential, select indicated tests, choose the safest evidence-informed next step, and verify follow-up and safety planning.
Apply high-yield assessment, diagnosis, prevention, screening, treatment, counseling, and follow-up principles for common pediatric, adolescent, adult, women’s health, and older adult presentations seen in outpatient primary care.
Distinguish urgent and emergent red flags from stable outpatient problems, and determine when FNP-appropriate management is to treat, monitor, refer, co-manage, or escalate to emergency care.
Use safe prescribing and management principles at board-prep level, including contraindications, monitoring, patient education, pregnancy considerations, age-related risks, renal/hepatic cautions, interactions, and follow-up planning, while noting that state law and local protocols vary.
Integrate professional practice concepts relevant to FNP certification, including documentation, ethics, patient safety, quality improvement, therapeutic communication, culturally responsive care, and role/scope boundaries in realistic primary care scenarios.
Solve exam-style questions using a consistent framework: identify the task → extract key facts → select the governing rule or clinical priority → eliminate distractors → choose the best answer → verify safety and scope.

PMHNP-BC Prep Course (PMHNP)

Who it is for

PMHNP candidates preparing for the ANCC PMHNP-BC certification exam, including new graduates seeking initial board certification and practicing clinicians pursuing initial PMHNP certification.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
Explain the ANCC PMHNP-BC exam content structure and broad competency areas without relying on unverified weighting claims.
Master high-yield, board-relevant concepts across psychiatric assessment, diagnostic reasoning, treatment planning, psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, safety, consultation/collaboration, and professional/legal/ethical practice.
Apply concepts in realistic PMHNP board-style scenarios across the lifespan, including children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and pregnancy/postpartum contexts.
Distinguish psychiatric disorders from medical, neurologic, medication-induced, and substance-induced presentations using timeline, severity, context, specifiers, and key discriminators.
Select appropriate next steps for evaluation, level of care, treatment, monitoring, referral, patient education, and follow-up within entry-level PMHNP scope.
Solve clinical reasoning tasks using a consistent framework: identify the task → extract key clinical facts → apply the governing principle → eliminate distractors → verify safety, scope, and follow-up.
Recognize high-yield psychopharmacology principles, including medication selection, adverse effects, contraindications, interactions, switching/augmentation logic, and baseline/follow-up monitoring.

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AGPCNP-BC / AGNP-C Prep Course (AGNP)

Who it is for

Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner certification candidates preparing for the ANCC AGPCNP-BC and/or AANPCB AGNP-C exams

What you will learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
Explain the current ANCC AGPCNP-BC and/or AANPCB AGNP-C exam framework at a high level and understand how each lesson maps to tested adult-gerontology primary care competencies without inventing unsupported blueprint details.
Master the high-yield concepts, definitions, clinical rules, and prescribing principles relevant to adult-gerontology primary care across prevention, assessment, diagnosis, management, and older-adult care.
Apply concepts in realistic outpatient primary care, exam-style scenarios involving adolescents transitioning to adulthood, adults, and older adults within NP primary care scope.
Use a consistent clinical reasoning framework: identify the task -> extract key history/exam findings -> determine age/risk/context -> select the governing guideline or principle -> choose the best next step -> verify safety, follow-up, and referral needs.
Distinguish common distractors, look-alike conditions, contraindications, red flags, age-related nuances, and tempting but premature testing or treatment choices frequently seen on board-style questions.
Solve calculation, interpretation, and logic tasks accurately when applicable, showing steps and avoiding shortcuts that hide reasoning.
Build retrieval-ready memory using concise tables, checklists, algorithms, comparative drug/class summaries, and spaced rapid-review points.

AGACNP-BC Prep Course (AGACNP)

Who it is for

Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner candidates preparing for the ANCC AGACNP-BC certification exam, including NP students nearing graduation and practicing NPs seeking initial board certification in adult-gerontology acute care.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
Explain the ANCC AGACNP-BC exam focus areas at a high level and use a domain-based study plan without relying on unpublished blueprint details.
Master the high-yield concepts, definitions, acute care decision rules, and professional role expectations relevant to adult-gerontology acute care board preparation.
Apply concepts in realistic board-style scenarios involving adult and older adult acute/critical illness, including prioritization, safest next step, differential diagnosis, and reassessment.
Interpret common acute care data within exam scope, including trends in vital signs, laboratory results, ECG-related reasoning, imaging summaries, hemodynamic/monitoring cues, and response-to-treatment patterns.
Select evidence-aligned pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management strategies for common acute and critical care presentations, with attention to contraindications, escalation, and care setting.
Distinguish common distractors, unsafe actions, scope violations, and look-alike diagnoses frequently tested in board-style questions.
Use a consistent clinical reasoning framework: identify the task → assess stability/acuity → extract key findings → prioritize likely diagnoses/problems → choose the safest next step → verify against contraindications, care setting, and AGACNP role scope.

WHNP-BC Prep Course (WHNP)

Who it is for

Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner board-certification candidates preparing for the ANCC WHNP-BC exam, including recent graduates and practicing clinicians seeking initial certification or structured exam review.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
Explain the exam scope for ANCC WHNP-BC preparation and organize study by major women’s health practice domains without claiming unpublished blueprint weights.
Master high-yield concepts, definitions, screening principles, diagnostic patterns, treatment frameworks, counseling points, medication safety issues, and referral thresholds across ambulatory women’s health.
Apply concepts in realistic WHNP board-style scenarios emphasizing prevention, screening, outpatient assessment, diagnostic reasoning, initial management, follow-up, counseling, and appropriate referral/escalation.
Use a consistent clinical reasoning framework: identify the task → extract key facts → determine patient status/risk → apply the governing guideline or clinical rule → choose the safest best answer → verify contraindications, follow-up, and referral needs.
Distinguish common distractors, look-alike diagnoses, contraindications, and boundary cases frequently tested in women’s health, reproductive care, menopause, pregnancy-related concerns within WHNP scope, and primary care conditions relevant to women.
Interpret common clinical data used in WHNP prep, including focused history and exam findings, screening results, office tests, common labs, imaging summaries, and gestational dating concepts when applicable.
Select role-appropriate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic management using mechanism-informed, safety-focused reasoning, including pregnancy/lactation precautions, contraceptive contraindication reasoning, adverse effects, interactions, and patient counseling.

CPNP-PC Prep Course (CPNP-PC)

Who it is for

Nurse practitioner learners preparing for the Pediatric Nursing Certification Board (PNCB) Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner–Primary Care (CPNP-PC) certification exam, including pediatric primary care NP candidates, recent graduates, and clinicians seeking initial certification or focused exam review.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
Explain the exam blueprint or competency framework for the PNCB CPNP-PC exam, including major content domains and tested task types, without relying on unofficial weighting.
Master the high-yield pediatric primary care concepts, definitions, age-based rules, and decision frameworks most relevant to certification-style questions.
Apply pediatric primary care reasoning in realistic board-style scenarios across wellness, prevention, acute complaints, chronic condition follow-up, developmental/behavioral concerns, pharmacology, and professional practice.
Use age, care setting, severity, and red-flag recognition to choose the safest and most appropriate next step within the pediatric primary care NP role.
Perform common pediatric calculation and medication-safety tasks accurately when applicable, including weight-based dosing logic, formulation checks, and follow-up safety verification; show steps and avoid shortcuts that hide reasoning.
Distinguish common distractors, misconceptions, look-alike conditions, and normal-versus-abnormal pediatric findings that are frequently tested.
Use a consistent problem-solving framework: identify the task → determine age/care context → extract key history/exam/growth/development/risk data → select the governing guideline or rule → execute → verify disposition, counseling, and follow-up.

CPNP-AC Prep Course (CPNP-AC)

Who it is for

Pediatric acute care nurse practitioner candidates preparing for the PNCB Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner – Acute Care (CPNP-AC) certification exam, including pediatric acute care NP students nearing graduation, recent graduates, and practicing NPs seeking initial certification or a structured exam review. Teach from the perspective of an entry-level pediatric acute care NP functioning within scope across infants, children, adolescents, and young adults in pediatric practice settings.

What you will learn

By the end of this course, learners will be able to:
Explain the publicly available CPNP-AC exam framework/scope and how course topics map to core pediatric acute care competencies; if detailed official weighting is unavailable, use balanced prep weighting and clearly label inferred competency mappings.
Master high-yield pediatric acute care concepts, definitions, age-specific norms, red flags, and safety rules across assessment, stabilization, diagnosis, management, pharmacology, monitoring, and professional practice.
Apply concepts in realistic exam-style pediatric scenarios requiring prioritization, best next step selection, differential diagnosis, diagnostic interpretation, monitoring trend analysis, and reassessment.
Solve common calculation and numeric reasoning tasks accurately when applicable, including weight-based dosing, infusion/rate logic, fluid/electrolyte reasoning, and trend-based interpretation; show steps and avoid shortcuts that hide reasoning.
Distinguish common distractors, misconceptions, unsafe actions, age-inappropriate interpretations, and boundary cases frequently tested in pediatric acute care.
Use a consistent problem-solving framework: identify the task → extract age/context clues → recognize instability/urgency → select the governing clinical principle → execute the best next step within NP scope → verify safety, reassessment, and escalation needs.
Build retrieval-ready memory using concise tables, illness scripts, checklists, stabilization algorithms, organ-system comparison charts, and spaced review summaries.

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