Boards Review and Info

pass the psych np boards

!New PMHNP Board Changes!

-updates at the bottom

2020 PMHNP Review Boards and Changes

Major Resources

Some important links and board reviews for becoming certified

General InformationOnline Websites
About the Boards PMHNP Certification & Renew
Review Preps APRN World
Board Vitals
Fitzgerald Online Review
Lantern Review
NP Courses/Barkley
PMHNP Review Book
4000 questions!
Supplemental ANCC PMHNP-BC a FREE app and website for questions
ANCC Sample Test Questions
Mometrix Flash Cards
Free Practice Questions
Continue EducationContact Hours $$ by Nursing World
Free CEs by APNA
Nurse CE 4 Less offers affordable courses for CE's
Work Shops ($$$)Drexel Review
NP Courses/Barkley

Hopefully, the following info will help people obtain their goals as board-certified PMHNP. I WAS going to create some materials for the board review, however, the PMHNP boards have changed so I don’t know how much of the previous information will apply. I do plan on keeping my experience up to help people understand how to tackle their boards.  Good luck and blessings to you!


My 2019 PMHNP Experience

Whenever I study for an exam, I try to make my learning interactive to help me retain and connect the information. I don’t depend on just one particular resource (but will have at least one main reference/ANCC book) so I definitely looked at other materials and here are some tips that helped me stay motivated:

  • Pray for strength and wisdom: Praying/meditating helps your mind get on the right track and stay there.
  • Stay focused or keep the mind from drifting: I watched either “study with me” videos or simply listened to relaxing sounds i.e. LoFi live mixes that helped me stay calm and on task.  
  • Promote an easy lifestyle: I bought bagels, popcorn…whatever was easy and quick to eat, stopped going to the gym, and did not pick up extra shifts or took vacations. You can do all things and still pass but if not, remember to keep it simple and stress-free.

My Review Materials 

  • ANCC Review Book: ANCC makes the exam/questions so knowing this book is valuable. 10/10 
  • ANCC Practice Questions: these questions helped with policy/collaboration & how to answer board questions. 10/10
  • PocketPrep: I faithfully did at least 10-100q’s/day, the reminder was helpful to stay consistent. It cites the answers that are mainly from the ANCC Review Book. 10/10 
  • BoardVitals: These questions are not like the boards but will help solidify information and improve your ability to know the content and answer questions. I also heard they have a pass guarantee or refund policy if you do not pass. 9/10  
  • Barkley Review: The review and questions were not helpful for ANCC but almost like a review from what you’ve learned from grad school i.e. what is the mnemonic for depression? The tapes were okay but did not reflect the board’s questions. 8/10 -rated high because maybe Barkley can help during grad school and for the updated board exam.
  • Mometrix Flashcards: Out of all the flashcards, only about 10 were useful for research/policy/ethics. It had no flashcards for drugs. If you want to spend some extra time or money or need additional school materials, Mometrix Flashcards may be helpful. 7/10  
  • 4000 Questions!: I only went through a few questions because the format was too irritating, I don’t want to feel forced to go through 200 questions to do a review that was just randomly put together. Not a good resource so if you’re looking to do more questions, please check out BoardVitals.  3/10 

Plus, I didn’t just answer the questions, I wrote out the rationales and added the notes to my ANCC’s PURPLE review book or put them in my study outlines to review them later. If you are pressed for time, low on cash, or need to study quickly, I would recommend the 1st three options. BoardVitals are important but can be time-consuming.  

Review Materials 

Written Resources

YouTube Videos

I did not go through ALL the videos and materials but did enough to feel more comfortable plus great resources to help me get through school, pass to others, and revisit afterward… 

The Day of my PMHNP Boards  

I scheduled my exam on a Saturday to not worry about traffic and to get there early just in case I had to study more. Heading into the exam, I have done 3000+ questions and made multiple review packets. I’ve studied for a solid 3 weeks and no longer than 5 hours per day. On the night of the exam, I panicked and did +400 questions (all the ANCC review questions). I DID NOT SLEEP. I couldn’t sleep, I figured any other time, I don’t sleep so I might as well keep pushing…

After I did the questions, I made myself some coffee and headed to the testing site. In the parking lot, I read my study guides twice and quickly read over the ANCC purple book for about the 4th time. I literally studied till to the last minute/10 min before heading into the exam and still felt 5/10 confident lol. The lack of confidence was mainly about policy, which was the bulk of the exam but consisted of just one measly class in grad school…

Praying and remaining positive was the only thing that kept me powered up and determined. If I had failed, then I would’ve looked into the Lantern or Fitzgerald Review and remained positive! I did as much as I could to pass and you can too! 

The Exam

I had SOOO many vague questions but thankfully the answers could be picked out by process of elimination i.e. which option was the safest, less harmful, or most therapeutic/accurate. This strategy worked best when dealing with tricky, peculiar questions. 

For example, if you had a kid that had bruises, all the options may be helpful, but reporting to child protective services was the most important action. However, if you had an older male spouse and suspect abuse, respecting the client’s wishes (to not report) was the most accurate because the client has a right to autonomy. Plus reporting domestic violence is not mandatory. 

Therefore, knowing what’s allowed, legal, when to collaborate, and refer are all important considerations when answering the board questions correctly. The ANCC practice questions and review book were the most helpful in this aspect.  Also, paying attention to keywords; always, never, all except, most/least important was very critical.

I had time left over to look at my flagged questions but was too tired to go back lol plus it’s NOT recommended to change answers unless you’re 100% sure it needs to change (so you’re usually right on the first try!). The medical/psych content was pretty straightforward but I have a medical background and the above resources really helped since the ANCC purple book can be somewhat vague…

Overall, do not get stuck on a question because time was flying, and like that it was over and the computer said congratulations. If you failed, a report will be sent out but do not despair, you’ve made it too far to give up! Get a fresh new study plan, focus on the weak areas, answer/review as many questions as possible, and prioritize the ANCC content.


Updates Per ANCC 

Effective December 16, 2019: the exam will allow 3.5 hours to answer 175 questions (150 scored plus 25 pretest questions that are not scored). The focus is supposed to reflect more medical/psych and less policy. Thank God!

Additional Information 

All Nurses and FB groups also have forums and information that is frequently updated but continue to use ANCC as the main focus to pass. Sometimes too much information can get overwhelming so do what makes YOU comfortable and consistent. Check back as needed and good luck! Other recommendations per colleagues:

  • ANCC Purple Book + ANCC’s Questions
  • Pocket Prep App (study anytime and anyplace)
  • Quizlet PMHNP Comprehensive 1200 Term + the one listed above

🔥Requested Resource Added: Review Preps:  Dr. Kehinde Elishas PMHNP “LIVE” Review🔥

-Dr. Kehinde Elisha, CEO/Founder of NP Certification Academy (347) 901-6037

Additional Quick Links 

anxiety med chart

…Expired Board Content but General Costs (APNAhad the best discount + membership fees are cheaper if you’re a student)

pmhnp boards

Last Updated 4/2022


Why Fail?

I wanted to quickly go over why some people fail classes, tests, and/or boards since people have asked for assistance and some were despairing. Any failure is heartbreaking but important lessons can be learned. In addition to the above advice, I also gave some tips about studying for lectures, time management, tackling difficult content..etc. However, if a person is pressed for time, I can sum up everything in these 3 key points, to help you pass:

  1. You must make information repetitive: I did this by doing as many questions as possible, why? because you have to work on having a reference point. How can you make an educated guess if you don’t have reference points? If there was a question or content that a person had no idea what it was or how to answer, I guarantee it’s linked back to not doing enough questions. Also, doing questions is important because you have to know how to answer questions and this only occurs by doing questions. I’m not trying to sound like captain obvious, but the key to success is really that simple. Reading, doing endless review courses, classes, etc. should help build your reference point but NOTHING can replace doing questions.
  2. Don’t memorize the questions/answers, KNOW the content: making information repetitive only gauges how prepared you are to take the boards or understanding test questions. So if I kept getting repeated questions/answers, I would have to do something different to KNOW the content. Use a different program or format of questions, review the wrong answers, study from a different review book, I would also do questions from PA or MD sources (see above references), or start writing a review packet, etc…it’s about building your reference points so you won’t get stuck on your tests/boards or in real life.
  3. Work on your weaknesses: we all have them and I had a few. One main issue was content about outpatient since I only worked in hospitals… When I passed my RN boards I didn’t know about bioterrorism (mainly because it just happened in the news) and had questions about anthrax. I was horrified because I just about studied everything but that! however, what saved me was knowing about complementary health because I had many questions about it that I literally just studied because that was also one of my weaknesses. The point is, to focus on those weaknesses the closer you get to the boards so your reference points can get stronger. If I have failed my boards, it simply means to limit those weaknesses by any means necessary! Do a review packet on antipsychotics, get a study partner, do more questions, watch a documentary, do a review course, listen to a lecture…etc. I normally did ALL of the above lol because in my head my motto was clear failure is not an option! and it seriously always powered me up to do whatever it took to pass everything and ultimately the boards.

If you look at these 3 points, YOU don’t have to do much more to pass. The content is already buried somewhere in your brain, you just have to have a system to organize and retrieve the information so it’ll click in whatever circumstance. Tackle your learning and understanding by having a tolerable and loving SYSTEM.


For those interested in Psych NP

I wanted to post a response to someone who inquired about getting prepared for graduate school and thought it could be helpful for others:

…I haven’t been in school 10+ years so I had to sort of learn how to be a student again. I didn’t do too much heavy reading or research because the PMHNP field was new to me and I didn’t have much time to prepare. I also looked for summer classes, online courses… but realized that was too late as well… Therefore, caution my books were VERY basic lol:
  • E-Z Psychology (Barron’s Easy Series) Fifth Edition by Nancy Melucci Ph.D. (Author)
  • E-Z Anatomy and Physiology (Barron’s Easy Way) Paperback by Barbara Krumhardt Ph.D. (Author), I. Edward Alcamo Ph.D. (Author)
  • Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Review and Resource Manual<—this is NOT the main/purple PMHNP book but it helped me mentally prepare myself for the profession.
Overall, I read these books and then outlined the chapters on paper and then on the computer. The easy reading allowed me to brace for the fall semester and how to break down information QUICKLY…and come to find out, between the tons of power points and reading, etc., outlining was the BEST THING I ever did. I wrote about my process and followed it religiously. I graduated with all A’s whereas many classmates struggled or dropped out. My little advice to you is to find an anatomy book that’s easy and fun to read that will help reacclimate you to practice good study habits. I knew my pathophysiology course was going to be brutal but having a solid understanding of how to tackle large information truly helped with all my other courses. If you feel that A&P is a strong point for you then get an easy book for whatever course you may struggle with i.e. pharmacology, physical assessment…etc. The key to being prepared for your program is to find a system that will help you gain a good foundation to break down anything. There were some very heavy reading books that were recommended but they couldn’t keep my interest or were simply too expensive. The main goal is to not wear yourself out or have a breakdown before you start the program or at any given time. Therefore, only follow the advice or do activities that won’t stress you out to truly survive. I know it’s cliche but you will experience burnout if you don’t take precautions. A lot of things that worked for other people simply did not work for me or caused me to feel very discouraged. The heavy readings and anxiety WILL come but by that time (with YOUR foundation/system) you will feel more comfortable on how to conquer all the information and PASS everything like a CHAMP! Once again congrats for going into the PMHNP program and I hope my message was clear and helpful 🙂
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