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National Examination Study Plan
College of Nursing-PMHNP
Walden University NRNP 6665
PMHNP Care Across the Lifespan
Instructor:
Date:
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National Examination Study Plan
Developing a study plan is a important step for preparing for a national certification exam
The plan is an important guideline for helping a student track their progress while revising for
the examination Personally, the study plan will help me organize my work and prioritize on
topics that I need spend more time on and the one that I am confident about. I believe this study
plan will help me avoid procrastination and avoid any stress that comes with the last minute rush
while preparing for examinations. Therefore, in this paper, I will outline areas of my strengths as
well as opportunities I noted after undertaking the pre-test exam. I will also outline the specific
goals and tasks that I would like to achieve with my study plan. Finally, I will discuss some of
the strategies that I would use to assess my progress as well as the resources required in
achieving my results.
Summary of Strengths and Opportunity for Improvement
The pre-test examination was important to help me understand areas that I am more
confident in and the one that I need to put more energy. As I prepare for my certification
examination, I believe identifying my strengths and opportunities is important to help me in
prioritizing my work. Some of the areas of my strengths identified from this examination
included pharmacology, advanced assessment, among other scientific foundational areas. I noted
that I am confident in topics on pharmacology among the adults, some medications used in adult
populations, age related physiological processes, among other fields. I realized I need to put
more effort of children and adolescent patient population, and other topics such as epigenetics,
neurophysiology, and pathophysiology.
After the pre-test I realized I had significantly improved in critical areas such as history
and physical examination, interviewing and evaluation skills, drug use including medications for
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various mental health conditions, their indications, dosage, route, and frequency. I also noted I
was able to answer with easy some questions pertaining clinical presentations of various mental
health disorders. My strongest areas were advanced practice skills because a lot of this
information. One area of improvement that I realized I need to improve more was on questions
on diagnostic tools and their psychometric properties such as their specificity, reliability, and
validity. Some of these tools included mental status examination, Beck Depression Invention,
diagnostic manual (DSM-5), among other tools. In my past clinical rotation, I have not fully
utilized these tools, and I feel I must put more efforts to master them. My confidence level was
not 100% when it came to diagnosis and treatment of various mental health conditions.
However, I believe I performed well generally on the pre-test, but I think I need to put a little
more effort in preparing for my national certification exam. This will help me improve my skills
in certain areas such as formulating differential diagnosis based on the presented clinical
presentations and design the best treatment plan for my patient.
My instructors and preceptors in my past classes have played a critical role in helping me
understand how to identify clinical manifestations of various psychiatric-mental health
conditions. For instance, I am able to differential symptoms of depression from that of anxiety.
While during the pre-test exam, I was not confident about questions pertaining psychotherapy.
However, I was amazed by the results because I got almost everything on this topic. Since I was
not confident about this area before I sat for the present, I would not really view it as my
strongest area, but endeavor to put more efforts on the same area as I prepare for my certification
exam. I am confident on topics dealing with legal and ethical issues pertaining nurse practitioner
practice (Ma et al., 2021). Despite the mentioned strengths and opportunities, I would focus
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more on strengthening my areas of weakness and put more time on areas that I feel I need
knowledge while preparing for national examination.
Goals and Tasks
Goal 1- To discipline myself in following my study plan and reviewing numerous resources to
help me prepare for my certification exam.
Task 1- Create a weekly timetable to guide me in reviewing course materials daily
Task 2- Include specific hours to study and include what I will take each day to prepare
for my exams.
Task 3- Seek feedback from my preceptor and instructor on my progress
Goal 2- To comprehensively review the PMHNP Certification Review manual to gain more
knowledge by the end of this class
Task 1- continue my daily revision of the course materials
Task 2- review specific chapters of the review manual each week
Task 3- Set enough time to review the examination requirements
Goal 3- list areas where I feel I am more confident such as psychiatric evaluation of anxiety
disorder, to master areas that I need more refreshment.
Task 1- Put down areas of my strength every week.
Task 2- Utilize my course materials in identifying areas of my strength.
Task 3- Involve my family and friends to ask me a question to gauge my understanding of
the course materials.
Goal 4- To assess my knowledge of theoretical foundations
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Task 1: List down my areas of weakness and allocate more hours to those areas
Task 2- List down my knowledge base on advanced pathophysiology, advanced
pharmacology, and advanced assessment.
Task 3- Utilize course materials and weekly assignments to improve those areas.
Timetable
weeks Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
1. Certification
manual
2 hours
Certification
Manual
2 hours
Certification
manual
2 hours
The Psych
Interview
2 hours
The Psych
Interview
2 hours
2. Course
materialadvanced
pharmacology
2-3 hours
Course
materialadvanced
pathophysiolog
y
2-3 hours
Course
materialadvanced
pharmacology
2-3 hours
Course
materialadvanced
pathophysiolog
y
2-3 hours
Course
materialadvanced
health
assessment
2-3 hours
3. Psychiatric
interview
2 hours
Course
materialadvanced health
assessment
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Course material
2-3 hours
Certification
Review
manual
Pretest
2 hours
4. Psychiatric
interview
2 hours
Certification
Review manual
Pretest
2 hours
Course
materialadvanced
pharmacology
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
5. Course
materialadvanced
health
assessment
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Certification
Review
manual
Pretest
2 hours
6. Psychiatric
interview
2 hours
Certification
Review manual
Pretest
2 hours
Course
materialadvanced
pathophysiology
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
7. Course
materialadvanced
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Certification
Review manual
Pretest
Course
materialadvanced
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pharmacology
2-3 hours
2 hours pathophysiolog
y
2-3 hours
8. Psychiatric
interview
2 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
9. Psychiatric
interview
2 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Certification
Review manual
Pretest
2 hours
Course
materialadvanced health
assessment
2-3 hours
10. Psychiatric
interview
2 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Course
materialadvanced
pharmacology
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
11. Psychiatric
interview
2 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Other course
materials
2-3 hours
Certification
Review
manual
Pretest
2 hours
Tracking my progress is important ensure I pass my PMHNP certification exam. I will
keep monitoring, reflecting, and reviewing if I meet the above mentioned goals and tasks on
weekly basis. After completing my revision, I will be writing down goals achieves and areas that
need more improvement on topics discussed that day and set a time to revisit such topics
(Delaney, 2019). By doing so, I will be in a position to understand if I am progressing towards
the right direction and reflect on my journey as I prepare for the examination. I will also take
time to review the goals and objectives at Walden University and ascertain if I have been able to
achieve them even as I prepare to attain a master degree from this university. I will take time to
review the grade of each courses, particularly on the assignment, quizzes, discussions, and exams
for the courses that I have done so far (Ma et al., 2021). I will then come with a list of areas that I
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need to improve and areas that I can confidently update in my portfolio. the list every couple of
days, seeking to make my overall goal that much more achievable.
Resources to Accomplish Goals
The PMHNP Review Manual, which I plan to study during my psychological terms of
PRAC 6665 through the weekly assigned reading and practice exam, is one of the specific
resources I plan to use for my study plan. I will continue to work on what I will not finish
throughout these courses once they’re finished. A resource like the PMHNP Resource manual is
important to help me grasp more knowledge on psychiatric diagnosis and treatment plans. I will
also form discussion groups with other students in their final course to review some of the
materials together and gauge our knowledge on certain topics.
The study group will be possible because of the strong relationships that I have with other
students and Walden university. I will mobilize 4-6 students to form a group that we will be
utilizing Zoom and Microsoft Teams in our discussions. We will also take time to review online
materials approved by ANCCA to provide help for the certification exams.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the challenge is not in designing the study plan, but complying with what I
have listed down and utilizing the available resources to achieve the set goals to prepare for my
national examination. Utilizing the resources is important in achieving the primary goal which is
to pass my certification examination. I will ensure to make a schedule of hours and days that I
will be revising for my exam. Such time will help me review as much materials as possible to
achieve my goals.
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References
Baker, L. M. (2019). New Graduate PMHNP Transition to Practice Program.
Delaney, K. R. (2019). Commentary on article practice characteristics of nurse practitioners in
mental health and psychiatric settings. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 33(1), 132.
Ma, H. L., Godwin, C., McNeely, H. L., & Ramirez, J. (2021). Board Certification: A Role for
the Nurse Educator. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 52(11), 497-499.
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