Frequently Asked Questions
Home Study
Each Home Study package offers the same amount of CE contact hours as its live course counterpart.
When you receive your receipt after purchasing the Home Study package, there will be an evaluation form. Upon completion of your Home Study Package, please fill out the evaluation form and your certificate will display on your computer screen. Please note that it is highly recommended that you are connected to a printer or you are capable to save as PDF when completing the evaluation form.
Please email CustomerService@NPcourses.com with any questions or concerns
There is no designated time limit on our Home Study program. The Home Study option is designed for you to work at your own pace so that you can maximize your understanding of the material.
All materials are updated (if needed) at the beginning of each year. Please keep in mind, some information will remain relevant to the certification exams regardless of how “old” it is. Our courses are designed to prepare you for testing and will cover all subjects and topics relevant to your specialty’s national certification exam.
Defective audio CDs will gladly be replaced; however, Barkley & Associates must be informed of the defect within 7 business days of receiving the CD package.
There are seven different Home Study Packages which include: FNP, PNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP, PMHNP, WHNP, and ENP. Included with each specialty package are extensive manuals as well as test-taking study strategies. Also included is the extensive review of system-specific health problems, therapeutic foundations of advanced practice nursing, professional role, health care policy and delivery, clinical assessment, and clinical management.
Refunds are not allowed on Home Study courses.
If you purchase the wrong CDs/ Home Study set:
- Processing fee of $30 will apply
- New CDs and/or handouts will not be shipped until the originally shipped set is returned.
- All additional shipping/insurance charges associated with returning the wrongfully ordered set will apply.
Our faculty members are the main contributing authors of the course study manuals. In addition, some outside experts have also written and/or edited the material.
Dr. Thomas W. Barkley Jr, President of Barkley & Associates, has been actively teaching, developing, and implementing nurse practitioner continuing education offerings both nationally and internationally. Dr. Barkley has assisted thousands of nurse practitioners with successful passing of their initial national certification exam.
We have extended our unparalleled >99% pass rate success to our comprehensive DRT initiative. Be it a live review course, home study course or pharmacology update, Barkley & Associates has proven to be the most effective preparation tool for passing national NP exams. Feedback with extensive rationales, along with comprehensive analysis results, is used to explain and reinforce information, ultimately ensuring students’ success.
Choosing a Home Study package is a great option if you are unable to attend a live course or if you would like to supplement a live course with the ability to listen to lectures and discussions on CDs whenever you can.
Online Pharmacology
As we are constantly striving to bring the most up-to-date material to our studying NP’s, we update our pharmacology programs yearly.
No, the 24/7 Pharmacology program is a separate, in-depth review that covers the specific listed topics. The content specific pharmacology material is not covered in the live courses or the Home Study packages.
Upon purchasing our pharmacology program, you will use your login information to access the online slide show presentations. For an additional cost, you can purchase pharmacology audio CDs in conjunction with your online course.
After completion of your online pharmacology course, you will be prompted to complete a 5-question quiz. A passing score for this quiz is 4/5 and is required to print out a certificate. Once a passing score is accomplished, you will have an opportunity to print out your CE certificate.
The extensive pharmacology program was personally developed by Dr. Barkley and Dr. VandeWaa, who have used their collective expertise gleaned from years of experience to formulate a comprehensive program.
Diagnostic Readiness Test (Student)
DRTs are 100 question tests grounded in Bloom’s cognitive taxonomy, written by expert, seasoned NP educators, which focus on real world scenarios. Students receive a comprehensive score report after completion of their test detailing their overall score, as well as their performance in specific content areas.
You can simply access all of your DRTs, Quizzes, or University exams directly within your Barkley & Associates account. Once you are logged in, go to “My Account” and then click on “Testing.”
Visit our website at https://www.npcourses.com/product-category/drts/. Your free live course DRT was DRT #1, so it is suggested that you purchase a different one. If you have previously taken a DRT/CE Offering, you will have an account with the system. If you do not remember your password, then you can request to reset it by using the “Forgot Password” link.
Each 100 question student DRT can be purchased for $29.95.
If for any reason you lose connection during your review session, log back into the exam and you will continue where you left off.
If for any reason you lose connection to the testing site, log back into the exam and you will continue where you left off.
The Diagnostic Readiness Tests (DRTs) are online comprehensive practice exams for nurse practitioners preparing to take their national certification exam. DRTs are a great way to evaluate NP knowledge, assess students’ areas of strength, as well as areas for improvement. Each test consists of 100 questions in 100 minutes with detailed rationales.
Student DRTs can be taken on any computer, laptop, or mobile device with access to the internet.
Upon completion of the DRT exam, users will be given a 45 minute review session to review the questions they answered incorrectly in conjunction with an extensive rationale.
Diagnostic Readiness Test (Faculty)
You will simply need to login to your Barkley & Associates account. Once you are logged in, go to “My Account” and then click on “Testing.” You should see all the exams associated with your University inside of your account. If you do not, please refer to the directions that were provided to you for registration. If you are still unable to complete your registration, please contact Support@NPCourses.com.
DRTs can be administered as a one-time test. However, to maximize the benefits of DRTs, the pre-test should be administered early in the last term and the post-test should be administered before graduation. DRTs are administered in a computer lab at your university.
- Select your DRT specialty: FNP, AGPCNP, PNP, AGACNP, WHNP, PMHNP, ENP.
- Call Barkley & Associates ((323) 609-3940) to speak with a DRT representative.
- We will coordinate an examination date and time at your school’s computer lab.
- Emails with links to login, user name, and passwords are sent to students
- Students take the 100-question DRT in an allotted 100 minutes.
- Upon completing the DRT, students click, “submit.”
- Following the test, a 45-minute feedback session is offered, complete with all incorrect answers, detailed rationales, and overall score for students to review.
- Students may print their score report with overall score and performance in each specific content area.
- Faculty receives a comprehensive analysis of each individual student’s score, as well as an aggregate profile of the entire class.
DRTs can be administered in two modes:
- A one-time exam that can be administered anytime, optimally at the beginning of the last term so that remediation can occur before graduation.
- A pre-test/post-test package, recommended for optimal results, where the pre-test is given at the beginning of the last term and the post-test is given prior to graduation.
If for any reason you lose connection to the testing site, simply log back into the exam and you will continue where they left off.
Faculty receive a special faculty report including detailed information of each student’s score in each subject area complete with averages and illustrative charts to help faculty remediate accordingly.
The DRT contains a 100 question test, duration of which is 100 minutes. Immediately following completion of the DRT test, there is a 45 minute review session with extensive rationales.
The Diagnostic Readiness Tests (DRTs) are online comprehensive practice exams for nurse practitioners preparing to take their national certification exam. DRTs are a great way to evaluate NP knowledge, assess students’ areas of strength, as well as areas for improvement. Each test consists of 100 questions in 100 minutes with detailed rationales.
Upon completion of the DRT exam, users will be given a 45 minute review session to review the questions they answered incorrectly in conjunction with an extensive rationale.