Treatment Planning

Treatment Planning accounts for approximately 15% of the ANCC exam. This domain tests your ability to develop comprehensive, evidence-based treatment plans that integrate pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and level-of-care decisions. The exam expects you to think beyond prescribing — treatment planning includes safety planning, measurement-based care, and coordination with other providers.

Key areas include stepped care models (matching treatment intensity to symptom severity), augmentation vs. switching strategies for partial responders, and integrated treatment for dual-diagnosis patients. You need to know first-line and second-line treatments for major disorders, when to escalate care (outpatient to PHP to inpatient), and the criteria that guide these transitions.

The exam also tests collaborative care models, shared decision-making principles, and relapse prevention planning. Expect questions on specific protocols: the Stanley-Brown Safety Planning Intervention, measurement-based care using PHQ-9/GAD-7 thresholds to guide treatment adjustments, and evidence-based indications for ECT, TMS, and other somatic therapies.

• ✕Jumping to augmentation before optimizing the current medication. The exam tests whether you know to ensure adequate dose and duration (typically 4-6 weeks at therapeutic dose) before adding a second agent or switching.
• ✕Not matching treatment intensity to acuity level. A patient with passive suicidal ideation without a plan may be safely managed outpatient with a safety plan, while active ideation with intent and means requires inpatient stabilization. The exam tests nuanced risk stratification, not reflexive hospitalization.
• ✕Treating comorbid conditions sequentially when integrated treatment is indicated. For co-occurring PTSD and substance use disorder, evidence supports integrated treatment (addressing both simultaneously) rather than the outdated "treat the addiction first" approach.
• ✕Forgetting to include psychotherapy in treatment plans. The exam expects pharmacotherapy combined with evidence-based psychotherapy for most conditions — CBT for anxiety and depression, DBT for borderline personality, PE/CPT for PTSD. Medication alone is rarely the complete answer.
• ✕Ignoring patient preferences in treatment decisions. Shared decision-making is a tested concept — the exam presents scenarios where the clinically "best" option isn't what the patient wants, and you need to navigate that appropriately.