Passing an FNP national certification examination for nurse practitioners may be a difficult process. Most graduates have an option to take the examination at either the American Association of Nurse Practitioners or the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Both organizations are equally valid but present themselves differently. One of the ways to learn about each of them is to examine their websites for the presence of information relevant to passing the examination. This paper will examine and compare each site based on the types of information it provides.
Explanation of Costs and Eligibility Requirements
Two of the most important pieces of information that a graduate student needs to be aware of are the cost and eligibility requirements for taking the exam. In recent years, AANP moved all of its information about certification examinations to a separate website called “American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board.” The site clearly presents all of the information about the fees in the FAQ section titled “AANPCB Verification and Fees.” A small table is used to list all the types of fees that a student needs to pay. The information on eligibility is also present on the page titled “Qualification of Candidates” (“The American Academy,” 2018).
ANA also chooses to present its information about certification on a separate site. It is titled American Nurses Credentialing Center and contains pricing and eligibility requirements for each type of examination on their respective pages (“ANCC certification center,” 2018).
Resources for Preparation
Preparation resources on the AANPCB website include an FNP AGNP Candidate Handbook presented in a 37-page pdf file which covers all the information about the examination and how to prepare for it. However, no additional information for preparation is available on the site (“The American Academy,” 2018).
ANA provides the outline of the test, its reference list, along with sample questions and answers to prepare the student in the section titled “FREE.” The reference list contains links to a variety of scholarly materials that can be used to prepare for the test (“ANCC certification center,” 2018).
State Requirements Resources
While no dedicated page for state requirements exists on the AANPCB website, various titbits of information are available in different sections. The FAQ section primarily contains a number of answers about state requirements and how they relate to the examination. A link to the State Board of Nursing Notification Form is also available in its own section (“The American Academy,” 2018).
The ANA website does not provide any clear information on the state requirements or how they may be found on outside resources. It is possible that they are labeled incorrectly, but a thorough search of the website did not give any relevant results.
Links to Professional Nursing Websites
AANPCB website links to a wide variety of professional nursing resources, from the aforementioned candidate handbooks to organizations related to a separate AANP online continuing education portal where members are able to participate in online testing, studying, and other activities designed to improve their skills (“The American Academy,” 2018).
The primary resource for information that the ANA website links to is “nursesbooks.org” which is a publishing program of ANA. The link provides an ability to purchase a number of manuals designed to train the reader to complete specific certification examinations (“ANCC certification resources,” 2018).
Conclusion
Both organizations provide useful information about the FNP national certification examination. However, the detailed AANPCB website is much more informative and easily accessible. Perhaps it makes AANP the preferred choice when it comes to certification examination.
References
ANCC certification center. (2018). Web.
ANCC certification resources. (2018). Web.
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board. (2018). Web.