Resources
Tools I'd actually recommend
The board prep, practice software, loan tools, and books I point students and early-career NPs toward — with the honest take on each, including where they fall short.
Affiliate disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links — Meridian may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only list tools I'd recommend regardless. If something here isn't worth your money, it isn't on the page.
Board Prep & Question Banks
Get reps before the exam
BoardVitals
The one board-prep vendor with a real PMHNP-BC question bank and pricing I can actually point to. If you want timed, exam-style questions before your boards, this is where I'd start.
Lecturio
Video lectures plus a large nursing/NCLEX question library. Broader and more nursing-school-leaning than PMHNP-specific, but a solid pick if you learn better watching than reading.
Setting Up Your Own Practice
When you go solo
SimplePractice
The default first EHR for most solo NPs — scheduling, notes, telehealth, and billing in one place. It's what I'd hand a new grad opening their own panel.
doola
Going solo usually means forming an LLC for the practice. doola handles the formation, your EIN, and the annual compliance filings so you're not deciphering your state's filing portal yourself. Worth it if you'd rather pay to skip the bureaucracy — though if you're comfortable filing directly with your state, that's the cheaper route.
QuickBooks (or Xero)
Once you're an LLC, you need somewhere to track income and expenses for tax time. QuickBooks is the default most solo practices land on, and most accountants already speak it. Want something lighter and cheaper? Xero does the same job — either one beats running your practice books out of a spreadsheet.
Alma
Not software you buy — a network you join as a provider to get onto insurance panels without doing all the credentialing yourself. Worth a look if you want insurance patients without the paperwork slog.
Headway
Same idea as Alma: join as a provider, they handle insurance credentialing and billing, and pay you per visit. Compare the two and pick whichever panel fits your state and patient mix.
Student-Loan Refinancing
Dealing with grad-school debt
One caution up front: refinancing federal loans into a private lender gives up income-driven repayment and federal forgiveness options. Run the numbers and be sure before you click.
Juno
Negotiates group refinancing rates on behalf of borrowers, so you're not haggling alone. Worth a look if you're carrying $40k+ in grad-school debt and have already weighed the federal-protections trade-off above.
SoFi
One of the larger refi and banking players, and easy to pull a rate quote from. Same caution applies — compare its offer against what you'd give up on the federal side.
Continuing Education
Banking CE hours
Medbridge
Subscription CE across disciplines. Not the most PMHNP-targeted catalog out there, but a deep, affordable library if you mainly need to bank CE hours efficiently.
Books
Textbooks & pro development
Amazon
The catch-all for textbooks, a stethoscope, whatever else you need fast. Convenient, rarely the cheapest, but everyone already has an account.
Bookshop.org
Buy the same print books while supporting independent bookstores. Usually costs about the same as Amazon — a small choice that adds up if you'd rather not feed the giant.
Audible
If you commute or study on the move, audiobooks turn dead time into review time. Plenty of professional-development and board-adjacent titles to work through.
Tools for Educators & Creators
If you're building your own teaching content
Thinkific
This is the platform Meridian's own course runs on — I picked it after testing the alternatives. A clean place to host and sell your own teaching content.
MailerLite
An affordable email platform for building a list and staying in touch with your audience. A good first step if you're tired of paying for bloated all-in-one tools.
Circle
A community/cohort platform if you want a private space for a group rather than a one-way email list. Heavier than email — only worth it if you'll actually run a community.
Descript
If you're recording your own teaching videos or a podcast, Descript edits audio and video like a text document — delete a word, it cuts the clip. It's how I'd produce video lessons without learning a full editor. Overkill if you're not making media; a real time-saver if you are.
Logos and final tracked affiliate links are being added as programs are approved. Honest reviews for each major tool live in the blog (or will be written as we use/consider them).