A patient has vomited for three days and now has a rising creatinine with very low urine output. Which mechanism of acute kidney failure fits best?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Acute kidney failure", Causes. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.1 Advanced pathophysiology.
A patient on an antidepressant is given a second drug that raises serotonin and within hours has agitation, a fast heart rate, high blood pressure and overactive reflexes. Which condition is this?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Serotonin syndrome", Causes; Symptoms. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.2 Advanced pharmacology.
A patient receiving heparin has a falling platelet count, and a new clot has formed in a leg vein. Which drug reaction explains both findings?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Drug-induced thrombocytopenia", Causes. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.2 Advanced pharmacology.
A patient started lisinopril two weeks ago and now has a dry cough that will not go away. What is the likely cause?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "ACE inhibitors", Side Effects. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.2 Advanced pharmacology.
Show all 45 questions (41 more)
Core competencies, continued
A patient with abdominal pain has a rigid, board-like abdomen and fever. What does this suggest?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Peritonitis", Exams and Tests. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.B.1 Advanced physical assessment.
A patient with cirrhosis becomes confused and has a flapping tremor of the hands. A buildup of which substance is involved?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Loss of brain function - liver disease". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.1 Advanced pathophysiology.
A thin 24-year-old smoker has sudden pain on one side of the chest that is worse with a deep breath. Through the stethoscope nothing is heard over that lung. What explains it?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Collapsed lung (pneumothorax)", Symptoms; Exams and Tests. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.B.1 Advanced physical assessment.
An 80-year-old with type 2 diabetes is confused and severely dehydrated, with a blood glucose over 600 mg/dL and few or no ketones. Which condition is this?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Diabetic hyperglycemic hyperosmolar syndrome", Causes. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.1 Advanced pathophysiology.
In acute respiratory distress syndrome, what prevents oxygen from reaching the blood?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Acute respiratory distress syndrome", Causes. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.1 Advanced pathophysiology.
What defines cardiogenic shock?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Cardiogenic shock". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.1 Advanced pathophysiology.
Which test is used to monitor a patient taking warfarin?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Prothrombin time (PT)", Normal Results. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), I.A.2 Advanced pharmacology.
Clinical practice 19
A patient comes in short of breath, and it is unclear whether the heart or the lungs are the cause. Which blood test helps most?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Brain natriuretic peptide test". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.2 Diagnostic testing and procedures.
A patient recovering from a hip fracture no longer needs a hospital but needs daily physical therapy and nursing care. Which level of care fits?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Skilled nursing or rehabilitation facilities", Who Needs to Go to a Skilled Nursing or Rehabilitation Facility?. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.4 Cost-effective care.
A patient vomits bright red blood and is light-headed. Once the patient is stable, which test finds and often treats the source?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Gastrointestinal bleeding". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.1 Standards of care and evidence-based principles.
A patient who missed two dialysis sessions has a potassium of 7.1 mEq/L. Which emergency treatment lowers the potassium level for a time while the cause is corrected?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "High potassium level", Treatment. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.3 Non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments and procedures.
A patient with a COPD flare-up is short of breath with a worse cough. Which medicines are standard for a flare-up?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "COPD flare-ups". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.1 Standards of care and evidence-based principles.
A patient with pneumonia has fever, heart rate 124, confusion and blood pressure 82/50. Which treatments are started first for sepsis?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Sepsis", Treatment. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.1 Standards of care and evidence-based principles.
An 82-year-old admitted with pneumonia has had fatigue, poor appetite and poor sleep since her husband died. Why is depression easy to miss in a patient like her?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Depression in older adults", Causes; Symptoms. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.3 Psychosocial factors.
An 84-year-old admitted for a fall is withdrawn and has unexplained bruises, and the caregiver will not leave the room. What should the nurse practitioner do if abuse is suspected?National Institute on Aging, Elder Abuse. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.3 Psychosocial factors.
In a patient with a low likelihood of a blood clot, what does a negative D-dimer test mean?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "D-dimer test", Normal Results. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.2 Diagnostic testing and procedures.
On the Braden Scale, what does a lower total score mean?Wikipedia, "Braden Scale for Predicting Pressure Ulcer Risk", Scoring with the Braden Scale. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.2 Advanced standardized assessment tools.
On the first day after abdominal surgery, which measures help prevent hospital-acquired pneumonia?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Hospital-acquired pneumonia", Prevention. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.5 Health promotion and disease prevention.
Ten minutes into a blood transfusion a patient has fever, back pain and red urine. What is done first?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Hemolytic transfusion reaction", Treatment. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.3 Non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments and procedures.
What does the CHA2DS2-VASc score estimate in a patient with atrial fibrillation?Wikipedia, "CHA2DS2-VASc score". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.1 Risk stratification.
What is the range of total scores on the Glasgow Coma Scale?Wikipedia, "Glasgow Coma Scale". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.2 Advanced standardized assessment tools.
Which blood test rises when heart muscle has been damaged, as in a heart attack?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Troponin test". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.2 Diagnostic testing and procedures.
Which measure helps prevent a central line bloodstream infection in the hospital?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Central line infections - hospitals". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.3 Non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments and procedures.
Which patient has the highest risk of a pulmonary embolus?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Pulmonary embolus", Causes. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.1 Risk stratification.
Which screening is advised for a man aged 65 to 75 who has smoked?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Health screenings for men age 65 and older", Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.A.5 Health promotion and disease prevention.
Why are blood thinner medicines prescribed for most people with atrial fibrillation?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter", Treatment. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), II.B.3 Non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments and procedures.
Professional role 15
A consulting cardiologist asks for a patient's whole chart in order to treat the patient. Does the HIPAA minimum necessary standard limit this disclosure?Code of Federal Regulations, 45 CFR 164.502, Uses and disclosures of protected health information: general rules, (b). Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.2 Health care policy and advocacy.
A new test for a disease has high sensitivity. What does that mean?National Cancer Institute, NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms, "sensitivity". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.B.1 Research and evidence-based principles application.
A patient has a do-not-resuscitate order. Which care does the order withhold?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Do-not-resuscitate order". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.2 Health care policy and advocacy.
A patient with an emergency condition cannot be stabilized at a small hospital. What does EMTALA call for?Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA). Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.2 Health care policy and advocacy.
A patient's condition changes and the care plan already in place has to be adjusted. Which TeamSTEPPS tool is used to tell the team?Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, TeamSTEPPS 3.0, Monitoring and Modifying the Plan: Huddle. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.B.3 Relationship development.
A tenfold dosing error harms a patient, and the hospital orders a root cause analysis. Which kind of finding is the analysis built to bring out?Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, PSNet, Root Cause Analysis primer. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.3 Quality and safety improvement processes.
At discharge a nurse practitioner sets the list of medicines the patient took at home beside the hospital orders and the new prescriptions, looking for anything dropped or doubled. What is this process called?Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, PSNet, Medication Reconciliation primer. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.3 Quality and safety improvement processes.
For how long is the AGACNP-BC credential valid before it must be renewed?American Nurses Credentialing Center, AGACNP-BC certification page. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.1 Scope and standards of professional practice.
In a randomized clinical trial, how are participants placed into treatment groups?National Cancer Institute, NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms, "randomized clinical trial". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.B.1 Research and evidence-based principles application.
Under the APRN Consensus Model, which is one of the four recognized APRN roles?National Council of State Boards of Nursing, APRN Consensus Model. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.1 Scope and standards of professional practice.
What is the SHARE Approach?Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, The SHARE Approach. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.B.3 Relationship development.
What should a nurse practitioner assess first before choosing teaching material for a patient?MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia, "Choosing effective patient education materials". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.B.2 Patient-specific education and health literacy promotion.
Which age groups does the AGACNP test content outline list for this role?American Nurses Credentialing Center, AGACNP Test Content Outline, Age group. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.1 Scope and standards of professional practice.
Which event is a classic example of a never event?Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, PSNet, Never Events primer. Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.A.3 Quality and safety improvement processes.
Why are the results of a meta-analysis usually given more weight than those of a single study?National Cancer Institute, NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms, "meta analysis". Outline: ANCC AGACNP Test Content Outline (effective March 17, 2025), III.B.1 Research and evidence-based principles application.
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (AGACNP-BC) Board Certification Examination Test Content Outline of the American Nurses Credentialing Center, effective March 17, 2025 (https://www.nursingworld.org/globalassets/certification/certification-specialty-pages/resources/test-content-outlines/agacnp-tco_09152026-for-webposting.pdf, linked from https://www.nursingworld.org/our-certifications/adult-gerontology-acute-care-nurse-practitioner/, read 2026-10-14). The bank holds 11, 19 and 15 questions in the outline's three domains, the shares of its 36, 65 and 49 scored questions. Every fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the public page the question names: the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia of the US National Library of Medicine, AHRQ's PSNet primers and TeamSTEPPS and SHARE pages, the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms for research terms, CMS, the Code of Federal Regulations, the National Institute on Aging, NCSBN, ANCC's own pages, and three named Wikipedia articles for scoring scales. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
These free AGACNP practice questions follow the test content outline for the adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner board exam. They are unofficial, written for this site, and not affiliated with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC).
Read the full guide
What the AGACNP exam covers
The outline effective March 17, 2025, read October 14, 2026, gives the 150 scored questions as core competencies 36, clinical practice 65 and professional role 49. The 45 questions here keep those shares: 11, 19 and 15.
Three AGACNP practice tests in one
The bank splits by the outline's three domains. Each of the AGACNP exam practice questions names the public page it was checked on, most often MedlinePlus; the rest are federal agencies and rules, ANCC and NCSBN pages, and three Wikipedia articles for scoring scales.
Pace of the timed test
The timed test draws 40 AGACNP practice test questions for 48 minutes, the pace of the real exam.
The professional role domain is a third of the exam: scope of practice, privacy and transfer rules, safety methods and research terms.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the ANCC AGACNP exam?
175 questions in 3.5 hours, by ANCC's certification page read October 14, 2026. 150 are scored. The other 25 are pretest questions that do not count and cannot be told apart.
What is a passing score on the AGACNP exam?
ANCC's certification handbook says a scaled score of 350 or higher passes, and results are reported as pass or fail. The number right on this page forecasts nothing about that score.
Is this an AACN AGACNP practice test?
No. AACN Certification Corporation gives a separate acute care exam, ACNPC-AG, with its own test plan. This page follows the ANCC outline for AGACNP-BC only.
Are these AGACNP questions from the real exam?
No. All 45 were written for this page from the public outline and the public source each one names. ANCC's sample questions, readiness tests and review books were not used.