Study Plans · 10 min read · April 15, 2026
Ask most FNP students how they study and they'll describe some version of the same thing: reading their notes, watching videos, maybe highlighting key points. It feels productive. It looks like studying. And it's one of the least effective ways to build the kind of long-term retention you need to pass your boards.
The two most evidence-backed study techniques — active recall and spaced repetition — are also the most underused. Not because students don't know about them, but because they feel harder than passive review. And they are harder. That's exactly why they work.
"Re-reading your notes is the illusion of learning. Active recall is the real thing. The discomfort you feel when you can't remember something is your brain building a stronger memory trace."
Active recall is the practice of retrieving information from memory rather than re-reading or re-watching it. Instead of looking at a page of notes and reading through them, you close the notes and try to recall what was on them. Instead of watching a video and taking notes, you pause the video and try to explain what you just learned in your own words.
The research on active recall is unambiguous. A landmark 2008 study published in Psychological Science found that students who used retrieval practice (active recall) retained 50% more information after one week than students who used re-reading. The effect was even larger at one month.
For FNP board prep, this means:
After every video, close your notes and write down everything you remember. Don't look at your notes while you do this. The act of struggling to remember — even when you can't — strengthens the memory trace more than reviewing the correct information passively.
Use flashcards as a retrieval tool, not a review tool. The difference is subtle but important. When you look at a flashcard and think "I know this," you're reviewing. When you look at a flashcard and actively try to recall the answer before flipping it, you're retrieving. The retrieval attempt is what builds the memory.
Answer practice questions before you feel ready. Most students wait until they feel like they know a topic before they do practice questions on it. This is backwards. Doing questions before you feel ready forces retrieval — and the struggle to retrieve information you've partially learned is one of the most effective learning experiences you can have.
Spaced repetition is the practice of reviewing information at increasing intervals over time. Instead of studying a topic intensively for one day and then never reviewing it again, you review it briefly on Day 1, then again on Day 3, then Day 7, then Day 14, then Day 30.
The science behind this is the forgetting curve, first described by Hermann Ebbinghaus in 1885. Without review, we forget approximately 70% of new information within 24 hours. But each time we review information just before we're ...