Adult Psychiatric and Mental Health Nurse Practitioner Certification Exam 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 areas throughout this test content outline are associated with a life span range and/or a disorder per DSM IV TR. Please refer to the following notes for indication of these categories.

Note 1: Life Span

1. Non-age-specific
2. Aging adult (65 years and older)
3. Adult (18 - 64 years)
4. Adolescent (13 - 17 years)

Note 2: Disorders per DSM IV TR

1. Thought Disorders (Dementias, schizophrenias)
2. Affective Disorders (Anxiety, depression, bipolar)
3. Personality Disorders
4. Substance Abuse Disorders
5. Other Disorders

Test Content Outline

1. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (16%)
   1. Epidemiology/risk analysis (e.g., infectious disease, lifestyle, substance use, community mental health needs, violence)
   2. Risk reduction (e.g., disaster preparedness, lifestyle modifications, motivational interviewing for high risk behaviors, governmental guidelines, community and population focused programs)
   3. Health behavior guidelines (e.g., gender-based changes, stress reduction, lifestyle/habits related to familial predisposition to disease; as associated with Note 1)
   4. Biological considerations (e.g., anatomy, physiology and genetics; as associated with Note 2)
   5. Growth and development
      1. normal (as associated with Note 1)
      2. abnormal variants (as associated with Note 1 and Note 2)
   6. Screening tests (e.g., depression screening, MMSE Mini Mental Status Exam, Alcohol Screening; as associated with Note 1 and Note 2)
   7. Wellness assessment (e.g., health maintenance exams, immunizations, pap smears, breast exams, neglect and abuse, nutrition, exercise; as associated with Note 1)
2. Assessment of Acute and Chronic Illness (23%)
   1. Epidemiology/disease risk and control (e.g., genetics, environment, family, trauma, gender, race, culture, age)
   2. Anatomy and Pathophysiology (review of systems—normal and abnormal variations; as associated with Note 1)
   3. Psychopathology (as associated with Note 1 and Note 2)
   4. Diagnostic reasoning—differential diagnoses
   5. Health assessment
      1. mental status exam
      2. physical assessment, laboratory and diagnostic studies
      3. lifestyle (substance use, exercise, nutrition, spiritual/cultural)
      4. sexuality assessment
      5. functional assessment (Activities of Daily Living—ADLs, occupational, social, leisure, educational, coping skills)
      6. assessment of potential populations at risk for abuse, violence, and neglect (as associated with Note 1 and Note 2)
3. The Nurse Practitioner and Patient Relationship (9%)
   1. Cultural competency (e.g., language, ethnicity, religious, spiritual, biopsychosocial, urban/rural, homeless, migrant)
   2. Therapeutic communication (verbal, written, non- verbal, interpersonal boundaries, phases of the relationship; as associated with Note 1 or Note 2)
   3. Patient, family, and community education (e.g., psychoeducation, medications, lifestyle modifications, caregiver stress, treatment options)
   4. Promotion of patient and family wellness (e.g., transitional support from institution to community, dependence and independence, anticipatory guidance, end-of-life issues, family life cycle issues)
4. Clinical Management (34%)
   1. Standards of practice (evidence-based practice)
   2. Clinical guidelines (e.g., clinical protocols, management of high risk population)
   3. Pharmacotherapeutics
      1. drug/food interactions (e.g., prescriptions, OTCs, herbs and supplements)
      2. adverse drug responses
      3. pharmacology/pharmacokinetics/pharmacogenetics (as associated with Note 1)
      4. monitoring procedures—labs, efficacy, adherence, outcomes (as associated with Note 1)
      5. Comorbid disease states (as associated with Note 1)
   4. Clinical therapeutics (non-pharmacologic interventions)
      1. psychotherapy (e.g., supportive counseling, cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, crisis intervention, reminiscence therapy, expressive therapy, behavior modification)
         1. Individual
         2. Family
         3. Group
      2. lifestyle modifications (e.g., nutrition, exercise, stress reduction/medication, substance use)
      3. Complementary therapy (e.g., light therapy, herbs, therapeutic touch, acupuncture, massage)
   5. Clinical decision-making
      1. Risk-benefit analysis
      2. Applied ethics (e.g., informed consent, decisional capacity, cultural/religious considerations, medical/legal considerations)
      3. Coordination of care (e.g., comorbidity, health/disease states)
   6. Safety (as associated with Note 1)
      1. restraints/seclusion
      2. reporting abuse/neglect
      3. patient capacity for self care (e.g., competency, insight/judgment, culture/language)
      4. potential for harm to self or others (risk assessment)
      5. levels of supervision and restriction to maintain safety of patients and others
   7. Theoretical models/applications (e.g., nursing models, biopsychosocial theories for example psychodynamic, learning/developmental, interpersonal/communication/personality, systems/chaos)
   8. Documentation (e.g., assessment findings, plan of care, evaluation of outcome, risks and benefits, psychoeducation)
5. Professional Role and Policy (12%)
   1. Healthcare/Public policy
      1. Laws and regulations (e.g., HIPAA Health Insurance Portability and Accountibility Act, CMS Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, JCAHO Joint Commission Accreditation Healthcare Organizations, documentation, coding/reimbursement)
      2. Advocacy for access to mental health services (e.g., promoting through legislation)
      3. Advocacy for role of advance practice nurse (e.g., promoting and supporting legislative changes, involvement in professional organizations, public education)
   2. Ethics
      1. Patient/Family advocacy (e.g., patient rights, American with Disabilities Act, culturally appropriate care, duty to report)
      2. Consent/Assent to treatment
      3. Peer review
   3. Scope of practice (e.g., ANA scope and standards of practice, diagnosing, consultation/referral, autonomy, collaboration, mentor and preceptor role)
   4. Access to care (e.g., location, transportation, financial resources/insurance coverage)
      1. Cost-effective care and treatment
      2. Culturally, religiously and linguistically appropriate care
   5. Coordination of services (consultation/referral)
   6. Scholarly activities (e.g., publishing, lecturing, presentations, continuing education)
6. Research (6%)
   1. Research process (e.g., participation in/dissemination of research)
   2. Research utilization (e.g., through application of evidence-based practice, current trends and practices)
   3. Continuous process improvement (e.g., quality improvement, quality assurance, total quality management)
   4. Outcomes evaluation
   5. Peer review (intra and inter disciplinary)

This page last revised1/24/2007.