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AG-ACNP Study Planner: A Week-by-Week Plan for ANCC or AACN
Choose your AG-ACNP board exam and how many weeks you have. The planner cuts the exam’s published weighting into equal study weeks and keeps the last week for mixed, timed practice.
Every block opens its free subject in the NurseSavvy AG-ACNP library, where each topic has a verified cheat sheet.
AG-ACNP study plan
Your exam, week by week
Exam
Weeks until the exam
Week 1
- Cardiovascular · ACS, heart failure, rhythms, valves, aortic and vascular emergencies, resuscitation
Week 2
- Cardiovascular · ACS, heart failure, rhythms, valves, aortic and vascular emergencies, resuscitation
- Shock, sepsis & multisystem · Shock states, sepsis, trauma, burns; then toxicology and infectious disease
Week 3
- Shock, sepsis & multisystem · Shock states, sepsis, trauma, burns; then toxicology and infectious disease
Week 4
- Scope, regulation & prescribing · Consensus Model and scope, licensure and privileges, prescriptive authority, billing
Week 5
- Pulmonary · Respiratory failure and the ventilator, ARDS, COPD and asthma, PE, pneumonia
Week 6
- Neurology · Stroke, ICP, brain and spinal cord injury, seizures, CNS infection
- Hematology, oncology & immunology · Anemia and transfusion, platelets and clotting, oncologic emergencies, transplant
Week 7
- Quality, safety & evidence · Quality improvement, patient safety, evidence-based practice, research statistics
Week 8
- Quality, safety & evidence · Quality improvement, patient safety, evidence-based practice, research statistics
- Endocrine · DKA and HHS, inpatient glucose, thyroid and adrenal emergencies
Week 9
- Renal, fluids & acid-base · AKI, CKD and dialysis, electrolytes, IV fluids, acid-base
- Gerontology, palliative care & prevention · Frailty, prescribing for older adults, advance care planning, screening
- GI & hepatic · GI bleeding, liver failure, pancreatitis, the acute abdomen, nutrition
Week 10
- Musculoskeletal, skin & HEENT · Rhabdomyolysis, fractures, bone and joint infection, wounds, eye and ENT emergencies
- Psychosocial & cognitive · Delirium, agitation, dementia, mood, suicide risk
Week 11
- Ethics, communication & teaching · Capacity and consent, ethics, serious-illness communication, health literacy, the team
Week 12
Mixed practice. Timed questions across every area, then only the topics you missed. Nothing new.
Professional role is a third of the ANCC exam, so it gets three blocks. ANCC does not weight body systems; the plan sizes them by AACN’s published shares. Every week: read the cheat sheets first, then answer questions on them.
Start week 1 in the free libraryHow the planner works
- AACN ACNPC-AG: each body system gets time in proportion to its share of the AACN test plan (effective January 10, 2022), plus two blocks for professional caring and ethical practice (20%).
- ANCC AGACNP-BC: the professional role is 33% of the ANCC outline (effective March 17, 2025), so it gets three blocks spread through the plan. ANCC does not weight body systems, so the planner sizes them by AACN’s shares. That is a study heuristic, not ANCC’s weighting.
- The weeks are equal slices of the total weight. A block shows in every week it overlaps meaningfully, so a heavy system can span two or three weeks.
- Nothing you choose is saved, and no account is needed.
Why it works
- The full guideAG-ACNP Study Plan: Week by Week for ANCC or AACNA free AG-ACNP study plan builder: pick ANCC or AACN and 6, 8, 12 or 16 weeks, and get a week-by-week plan sized by the published blueprint.
- Also uses this toolHow to Study for the AG-ACNP Exam: A Method That SticksHow to study for the ANCC or AACN AG-ACNP boards: study by blueprint weight, read each fact once, test yourself, space it out, and finish with timed mixed practice.
- Also uses this toolAG-ACNP Exam Blueprint: What ANCC and AACN Test, by DomainThe ANCC AGACNP-BC test content outline and the AACN ACNPC-AG test plan, domain by domain and system by system, linked to free study topics.
Questions people ask
- How many weeks should I study for the AG-ACNP boards?
- Use the weeks you actually have. The planner splits the blueprint evenly across them, so fewer weeks means more topics each week.
- What is the last week for?
- Mixed, timed practice across every area, then only the topics you missed. Both exams give you about 72 seconds per question.
- Does it work for both exams?
- Yes. Pick ANCC AGACNP-BC or AACN ACNPC-AG; the plan changes with the exam’s weighting.
Keep going
- CollectionAG-ACNP board prepEvery topic on the AGACNP-BC and ACNPC-AG exams, by body system, each with a verified cheat sheet.
- GuideAG-ACNP High-Yield Topics: What to Know ColdHigh-yield AG-ACNP board topics by blueprint weight, each with one must-know fact and its source, linked to a free cheat sheet.
- FinderFree Nursing Study Tool FinderPick the study job you need done today and see which free nursing resources fit it, with what stays free and the tradeoff to know for each.
- GuideANCC vs AACN for AG-ACNP: AGACNP-BC or ACNPC-AG?ANCC AGACNP-BC vs AACN ACNPC-AG: both are questions in hours. Blueprint, fees, pass rates, retakes and renewal side by side, with sources.
- CollectionAG-ACNP board guidesANCC AGACNP-BC or AACN ACNPC-AG: what each exam covers, pass rates, renewal, a week-by-week study plan, high-yield topics and free practice questions.
- PlannerATI, HESI and Kaplan Exam Study PlannerPick your ATI CMS, HESI specialty or Kaplan integrated exam and the weeks left; get the subject split into study weeks and a ready-made plan.