Health Screening (USPSTF) for the AANP FNP exam
The Assess domain is 32% of the exam, and screening drives a major portion. Memorize ages, intervals, and grades. This chapter has 18 topics, a video lecture, an audio lesson, clinical scenarios, exam pearls and a quiz.
What you will learn
- Memorize cancer screening ages and intervals
- Apply USPSTF cardiovascular screening
- Recall mental health and substance use screening
- Recognize Grade A and Grade B recommendations
Topics in this chapter
- Screening principles & USPSTF gradesUSPSTF grade system, screening principles, lead-time and length-time bias, shared decision making.
- Breast cancer screeningMammography ages 40-74 every 2 years (2024 update), risk-based earlier, BRCA, DCIS, dense breasts.
- Cervical cancer screeningCervical screening ages 21-65, Pap vs HPV vs co-testing, HPV vaccine, when to stop, abnormal Pap workup.
- Colorectal cancer screeningStart age 45, options (colonoscopy vs FIT vs stool DNA), intervals, when to stop, family history adjustments.
- Lung, prostate, and skin cancerLung CA LDCT criteria, prostate PSA shared decision, skin cancer screening insufficient, melanoma red flags.
- Infectious disease screeningHIV, Hep B/C, syphilis, STI screening by population, TB latent, pregnancy infectious panel.
- Mental health and behavioral screeningDepression PHQ-2/9, anxiety GAD-7, alcohol screening, IPV, suicide, drug use, tobacco.
- Cardiovascular and metabolic screeningLipid screening, HTN, AAA recap, diabetes prediabetes recap, statin/aspirin primary prevention.
- Pediatric screeningNewborn screen, developmental, autism, lead, vision/hearing, anemia, lipid, BMI, depression in adolescents.
- Prenatal and pregnancy screeningPrenatal panel timeline, GBS, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia screening, anti-D, group A strep.
- Bone and osteoporosis screeningDEXA screening, FRAX, age cutoffs, fracture follow-up screening in men, hormone-related screening.
- Screening in special populationsLGBTQ+ care, immigrants/refugees, occupational, athlete screening, returning travelers.
- Levels of prevention: primary, secondary, tertiaryThe three levels of prevention defined cleanly, with FNP examples and the trap of mislabeling a screening test as primary prevention.
- Test characteristics: sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPVSensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, likelihood ratios, and the single most tested idea: prevalence drives PPV, not sensitivity.
- US mortality and epidemiology you are expected to knowLeading causes of death by age group and overall, plus life-expectancy framing, so you can answer the 'most likely cause' epidemiology stems.
- Adult immunization schedule (ACIP/CDC)The full ACIP/CDC adult immunization schedule in one table, with the high-yield decision logic for pneumococcal, shingles, Tdap, HPV, and hepatitis B.
- Live vaccines, contraindications, and precautionsWhich vaccines are live, why that matters in pregnancy and immunosuppression, and the difference between a true contraindication and a precaution.
- Healthcare personnel and occupational immunizationThe vaccines and immunity evidence required of healthcare personnel, a frequent FNP-as-employee-health scenario.
The full chapter is part of the membership. Open this chapter
Last updated November 4, 2026. Verify exam details against the official AANPCB Candidate Handbook before exam day.