Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination: Review Questions and Strategies

Barbara Todd Philadelphia, Pa: F.A. Davis 2002, 289 pages

This book is a comprehensive, well-organized text intended for use as a study guide in preparation for the Acute Care Nurse Practitioner examination. The format is logical and easy to follow, resulting in a book that is a useful adjunct to examination preparation. This paperback text is divided into six units, with a rational, comprehensive progression of topics. The first unit addresses test taking skills and strategies designed to assist the reader in developing a disciplined study plan. Subsequent units display a practical approach to study organization, progressing through a variety of topics focusing on system-specific health problems, common problems in acute care, issues in acute care, health promotion and risk assessment; the final unit includes two practice examinations. The organization is particularly beneficial because each chapter uses a stand-alone approach, and therefore can be studied individually or in concert with other chapters.

Within each of the six units there are numerous chapters that contain varying numbers of sample test questions, with comprehensive answers and particularly helpful, informative rationales following the sample questions that encourage the reader to use critical thinking principles and the application of these principles to subsequent questions. The units on system-specific health problems are thorough and include: neurologic; hematology and oncology; immunology; and head, ear, eye, nose, and throat health problems, to name a few. The unit on common problems in acute care covers a wide array of problems and issues encountered in the acute care setting, encompassing such diverse topics as fever, age- and culture-related considerations, poisoning and drug toxicities and palliative care, which provides comprehensive, simple-to-use study material in a text that is well organized. Each chapter concludes with a reference list that is interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and up-to-date.

Included with the text is a practical and useful CD that simulates a computerized testing situation, with organization that allows the prospective test-taker to complete a sample quiz on any of the specific chapters, a random quiz incorporating 20 questions or the comprehensive 450 question quiz. Quiz grading is presented in an informative manner that allows the test-taker to tailor a study program to the area(s) of weakness identified in the graded portion of the quiz.

There are relatively few texts available specifically designed to assist the advanced practice nurse with preparation for certification. This text skillfully and comprehensively fulfills the need for acute care nurse practitioner examination study materials.