Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination Content Outline

This is a computer-based test (CBT)

There are 175 questions on this examination. Of these, 150 are scored questions and 25 are pretest questions that are not scored. Pretest questions are used to determine how well these questions will perform before they are used on the scored portion of the examination. The pretest questions cannot be distinguished from those that will be scored, so it is important for a candidate to answer all questions. A candidate's score, however, is based solely on the 150 scored questions. Performance on pretest questions does not affect a candidate's score.

This Test Content Outline identifies the areas that are included on the examination. The percentage and number of questions in each of the major categories of the scored portion of the examination are also shown.

Please note that various categories and subcategories throughout this test content outline are associated with major life span/problem areas as indicated in the following notes:

Test Content Outline

1. Clinical Management (34%)
   1. Standards of advance practice
      “Standards provide a broad framework”*⁵ for advanced practice nursing. “Standards are authoritative statements by which the nursing profession describes the responsibilities for which its practitioners are accountable. Standards reflect the values and priorities of the profession”*¹ and provide direction for professional practice.
      
      
   2. Clinical guidelines - this area reflects knowledge of guidelines addressing populations
      “Guidelines are systematically developed statements based on available scientific evidence and expert opinion.”*¹¹⁴ (e.g., CDC Sexually Transmitted Diseases Treatment Guidelines; NIH NHLB Expert Panel Report: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma: Report of the Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure; American Diabetes Association Clinical Practice Recommendations; NIH Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults.)
   3. Pharmacotherapeutics
      1. Prioritize (e.g., cost, availability, interaction)
      2. Plan (e.g., metabolism, half-life, pharmacotherapeutics)
      3. Prescribe (e.g., dosing, scheduling) (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      4. Education (e.g., patient, family) (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      5. Evaluation (e.g., effectiveness of drug)
   4. Clinical therapeutics (e.g., non-pharmacologic modalities, diet, exercise, alternative therapies)
      1. Management (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      2. Education (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      3. Evaluation
   5. Clinical decision-making
      1. Prioritizing & diagnostic reasoning (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      2. Diagnostic testing (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      3. Consultation/Collaboration
      4. Referrals
   6. Documentation
   7. Safety (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
   8. Theory application - this area reflects knowledge of theoretical frameworks and models
      (e.g., health belief model, theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, stress appraisal theory, coping, family systems theory, transtheoretical model, teaching/learning models, pathophysiologic theories)
2. Professional Role and Policy (6%)
   1. Health care/Public policy (e.g., Medicaid, Medicare)
      1. Reimbursement
      2. Laws and Regulations
   2. Ethics
      1. Consent (e.g., Minority vs. Majority age)
      2. Advocacy
   3. Scope of practice (e.g., Nurse Practice Acts)
      1. Regulation of Practice
      2. Management of Care
      3. Consultation/Collaboration
   4. Access to care
   5. Coordination of care
3. Nurse Practitioner and Patient Relationship (11%)
   1. Cultural Competence
   2. Therapeutic Communication (as associated with Note 1)
   3. Teaching/Coaching
   4. Patient Advocacy
4. Assessment of Acute and Chronic Illness (26%)
   1. Epidemiology/disease control (as associated with Note 2)
   2. Anatomy/Anatomical Variants (as associated with Note 1)
   3. Physiology (as associated with Note 1)
   4. Pathophysiology (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
   5. Psychosocial (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
   6. Diagnostic reasoning (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      1. Analyze clinical data
      2. Establish diagnosis
5. Research (2%)
   1. Research Process/Utilization
   2. Continuous process improvement/Outcomes evaluation
6. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (21%)
   1. Epidemiology/risk analysis
      1. Psychosocial and physiological risk factors
      2. Environmental
   2. Genetics
      1. Genetic predisposition (as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
   3. Risk Reduction and Health Behavior Guidelines (as associated with Note 1)
      1. Education and Counseling regarding risk factors
      2. Lifestyle modifications
   4. Growth and development across the lifespan
   5. Screening (history, physical, labs)
      1. Clinical guidelines (As associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      2. Risk, benefits, and costs
   6. Wellness Assessment
      1. Violence, Abuse and Neglect (As associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
      2. Substance use
      3. Nutrition
      4. Exercise
      5. Tobacco use

Note 1: Life Span Areas

1. Non - age-specific
2. Aging adult (65 and older)
3. Adult (18 - 64)
4. Adolescent (11 - 21)
5. Child (12 months - 10)
6. Infant (birth - 12 months)
7. Child-bearing woman

Note 2: Problem Areas

1. Head, eyes, ears, nose, and throat
2. Respiratory
3. Cardiovascular
4. Gastrointestinal
5. Renal
6. Male reproductive
7. Female reproductive
8. Musculoskeletal
9. Neurologic
10. Endocrine
11. Hematopoietic
12. Immune
13. Integumentary
14. Lymphatic
15. Allergies
16. Psychosocial
17. Communicable/ Infectious disease
18. Emergencies
19. Functional limitations
20. Normal and abnormal development
21. Learning disabilities
22. Nutrition
23. Oncology
24. Victims of violence
25. Dependency

Endnotes
* American Nurses Association. Nursing: Scope and Standards. Washington, DC: American Nurses Publishing, 2004:1,5,114.

This page last revised 1/25/2007.