What the PassthePSA question bank is
PassthePSA is a free online Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) revision platform for UK medical students, with 1,200+ PSA practice questions and 11 full mock papers. It is built for the UK Prescribing Safety Assessment specifically: the eight item styles the assessment uses, including the three that are not multiple choice, with a free-text prescription chart, a drug chart to tick and numeric answers in a stated unit. It is for final-year medical students and foundation doctors preparing to sit the PSA.
What the bank covers
The questions follow the official section blueprint. The table gives the number of practice items in each section at the last build, with the section's size in the real assessment for comparison.
| PSA section | What the item asks you to do | Questions in the bank | In the exam |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prescribing | Write one prescription on the chart: medicine, dose, route, frequency | 128 | 8 × 10 |
| Prescription Review | Tick the responsible prescription(s) on a drug chart | 162 | 8 × 4 |
| Planning Management | Single best answer from five | 159 | 8 × 2 |
| Communicating Information | Single best answer from five | 153 | 6 × 2 |
| Calculation Skills | Type a number in the stated unit | 128 | 8 × 2 |
| Adverse Drug Reactions | Single best answer from a chart or option list | 160 | 8 × 2 |
| Drug Monitoring | Single best answer from five | 159 | 8 × 2 |
| Data Interpretation | Single best answer on printed results with reference ranges | 158 | 6 × 2 |
Each section has its own guide covering what it tests, a repeatable method, where to look in the BNF and a worked example from the bank. The clinical areas the questions draw on are the ones the assessment itself names: analgesia and opioids, anticoagulation, insulin and diabetes, antibiotics, intravenous fluids, steroids, and the common medicine, surgical, elderly-care, paediatric, psychiatric, obstetric and general-practice presentations behind them.
Topics the bank covers
The app's topic search groups questions by the condition or drug class they turn on. The counts below are the questions whose decision is about that topic, at the last build; a question can belong to more than one topic, and many sit outside these groups. Each link opens the search in the app.
| Topic | Questions | PSA sections it appears in |
|---|---|---|
| Infection and antibiotics | 217 | All 8 sections |
| Atrial fibrillation and anticoagulants | 130 | All 8 sections |
| Diabetes | 124 | All 8 sections |
| Depression, psychosis and mental health | 109 | All 8 sections |
| Pain and opioids | 105 | All 8 sections |
| Steroids and adrenal | 93 | All 8 sections |
| Stomach, bowel and nausea | 90 | All 8 sections |
| Kidney disease and renal dosing | 83 | All 8 sections |
| Potassium, sodium and electrolytes | 65 | Prescribing, Prescription Review, Planning Management, Calculation Skills, Adverse Drug Reactions, Drug Monitoring, Data Interpretation |
| Pregnancy, breastfeeding and contraception | 62 | All 8 sections |
| Gout and arthritis | 59 | All 8 sections |
| Children and paediatrics | 55 | All 8 sections |
| Thyroid | 47 | All 8 sections |
| Epilepsy and seizures | 46 | All 8 sections |
| Urology and prostate | 46 | All 8 sections |
| Heart failure | 43 | Prescribing, Prescription Review, Planning Management, Calculation Skills, Adverse Drug Reactions, Drug Monitoring, Data Interpretation |
| Angina and heart attack | 37 | All 8 sections |
| Osteoporosis and bone health | 36 | All 8 sections |
| Hypertension and blood pressure | 34 | Prescribing, Prescription Review, Planning Management, Communicating Information, Adverse Drug Reactions, Drug Monitoring, Data Interpretation |
| Cholesterol and statins | 33 | Prescription Review, Planning Management, Communicating Information, Adverse Drug Reactions, Drug Monitoring, Data Interpretation |
| Anaemia, iron and B12 | 31 | All 8 sections |
| Emergencies, overdose and anaphylaxis | 31 | All 8 sections |
| IV fluids | 31 | Prescribing, Prescription Review, Communicating Information, Calculation Skills, Adverse Drug Reactions, Drug Monitoring, Data Interpretation |
| Immunosuppression and transplant | 30 | Prescribing, Prescription Review, Planning Management, Communicating Information, Adverse Drug Reactions, Drug Monitoring, Data Interpretation |
| Asthma | 23 | All 8 sections |
| COPD | 23 | All 8 sections |
| Eyes and skin | 21 | Prescribing, Prescription Review, Communicating Information, Calculation Skills, Adverse Drug Reactions, Drug Monitoring |
| Palliative care | 21 | Prescribing, Planning Management, Communicating Information, Calculation Skills, Data Interpretation |
| Parkinson's disease | 16 | Prescribing, Prescription Review, Planning Management, Communicating Information, Adverse Drug Reactions |
| Dementia and delirium | 11 | Prescription Review, Planning Management, Communicating Information, Adverse Drug Reactions, Data Interpretation |
How the questions are organised
- By PSA sectionEach question belongs to one of the eight sections, so you can practise prescribing on its own, or drug monitoring on its own, or the whole blueprint at once.
- By difficultyEvery item is rated easy, medium or hard. A filter lets you start gently and move up, or go straight to the hard set for a section you already know.
- By item referenceEvery question carries a reference such as PWS-12 or REV-40. It appears in the explanation, so a specific item can be found again, reported or discussed.
- Variants of one decisionSome clinical decisions appear in more than one presentation, so the reasoning is tested again rather than the memory of a particular case.
Ways to practise
- Full mock papers11 papers of 60 items and 200 marks, assembled in the official section proportions and timed at two minutes per item, with a score by section afterwards. Papers can be left and finished later.
- By sectionPick a section and work through its questions with the explanation after each. The section guides suggest the method before you start.
- Quick FireA rapid mode built from the bank's shorter questions, for retrieval practice in the gaps of a day.
- Topic searchSearch the bank for a drug, a condition or a topic, such as warfarin, hyperkalaemia or fluids, and practise the questions that turn on it.
- Difficulty filterRestrict any set to easy, medium or hard items.
- Readiness dashboardAccuracy by section and pace over time, so revision follows the marks you are losing rather than the topics you enjoy.
How the questions are marked
Single-answer items are marked as the assessment marks them: the credited option, chart tick or number earns the item's marks. Prescribing items are marked in the two halves the official scheme describes: five marks for the choice of drug and five for the dose, route and frequency written, with partial credit where a lower tier applies. The feedback shows which tier each half landed in and why, so a right drug at a wrong dose is reported as exactly that.
The credited answer and the reasoning behind it; why each alternative was not credited; and, where a figure matters, the BNF heading it comes from. The aim is that a question answered correctly by luck is still learned from.
How it differs from other kinds of PSA resource
How PassthePSA compares with other PSA resources → · PSA exam dates and format →
What it costs
Everything is free to use: every question, every mock paper and the dashboard. A free account needs an email address and nothing else; there is no card to enter and nothing to cancel.
How to start
- Try a question without an accountTwenty questions, with at least two from every section, are open in the exam interface to any visitor.
- Read the guide for the section you find hardestEach <a href="/psa/">section guide</a> gives the method and the BNF route before you practise. Prescribing carries 80 of the 200 marks, so most people start there.
- Create a free accountAn email address is all that is needed. Progress, paper scores and the dashboard are saved to it.
- Practise untimed, then timedGet the method right by section with the BNF open, then sit a full mock paper at exam pace. The <a href="/psa-revision/how-to-revise/">revision guide</a> sets out the order.
Questions people ask
How many PSA questions does PassthePSA have?
1,207 at the last build, across all eight PSA sections: 128 prescribing, 162 prescription review, 159 planning management, 153 communicating information, 128 calculation skills, 160 adverse drug reactions, 159 drug monitoring, 158 data interpretation. The count is taken from the live bank when the site is built.
Is the PassthePSA question bank free?
Yes. A free account with an email address unlocks every question and paper; no card is needed.
Are these real past PSA questions?
No. They are original questions written in the format of the eight PSA item styles, following the structure and register of the assessment. The assessment provider does not release its live papers.
Do I need an account to try it?
No. Twenty questions, at least two from every section, can be worked in the exam interface without signing up. An account saves progress and unlocks the rest.
How are the prescribing questions marked?
In two halves, as the official scheme describes: five marks for the choice of drug and five for the dose, route and frequency written, with partial credit for a lower tier and a tiered explanation of where the marks went.
How are the questions organised?
By PSA section first, then by difficulty (easy, medium, hard). Every item has a reference such as PWS-12 that is shown in the explanation and on its public page. Some decisions appear in more than one presentation so the same reasoning can be re-tested.
1,200+ PSA questions, all 8 item styles, marked like the exam
Every question is free. Complete explanation after every question. No card needed.