What is the exam, in brief?
The PSA is a UK assessment of safe and effective prescribing, run by the British Pharmacological Society and MSC Assessment. It has 60 items in 8 sections, worth 200 marks, sat online in 120 minutes.
The online BNF and BNF for Children are available throughout. The pass mark is set per paper by the provider and is not a fixed figure.
How should I approach revision?
Practise with the BNF open, attempt before you check, and record your errors. Timed work at 36 seconds per mark then builds the speed the exam needs.
- Prescribing is the largest section at 80 of 200 marks.
- Learn the high-risk medicines and the safe prescription format.
- Look up doses and renal advice rather than memorising them.
What about rules, resits and results?
Rules on attempts, resits and results are set by the provider and can change, so check the official PSA information rather than relying on a revision site. The same applies to which resources are allowed beyond the BNF.
Check yourself
- How many items, marks and minutes are in the paper?
- What is your plan for BNF-open practice this week?
- How will you keep an error log?
- When will you first do timed work?
- Where will you check the official rules on resits and resources?
Questions people ask
How long should I revise for the PSA?
There is no fixed answer. Many candidates revise for several weeks, and plans of 2, 4 and 8 weeks all work if they include daily BNF-open practice, an error log and timed sets. Start earlier if you rarely prescribe.
Is the PSA open book?
Yes for the BNF: the online BNF and BNF for Children are available throughout. Check the official PSA information for any other resources that are or are not provided.
What resources should I use to revise?
The BNF and BNF for Children above all, because they are the tools you will use in the exam. Add original revision notes and practice items, and NICE guidance and Resuscitation Council UK guidance for the topics they cover.
How many practice questions should I do?
There is no magic number. Quality matters more than volume: check each item against the BNF and log your errors. Cover all eight sections and do some timed sets and a full paper.
How is the PSA structured?
There are 60 items in 8 sections, worth 200 marks, in 120 minutes. Prescribing has 8 items at 10 marks each, and the other sections have items worth 2 or 4 marks.
How much time do I get per question?
On average 2 minutes per item, or 36 seconds per mark. A 2-mark item gets about 72 seconds, and a 10-mark prescribing item about 6 minutes.
What is the PSA pass mark?
The pass mark is set for each paper by the provider and is not fixed. Do not rely on a figure quoted elsewhere; check the official PSA information.
Can I resit the PSA?
Rules on resits and the number of attempts are set by the provider and by your medical school or employer, so check the official PSA information and ask them.
Do I need to memorise doses?
Not in general, since the BNF is available. Know what to look up and where. Learn the high-risk medicines, the safe way to write a prescription and basic calculation methods.
What are the commonest ways to lose marks?
Unsafe units and decimals, giving a volume instead of a dose, a missing frequency, the wrong chart section, ignoring renal function or allergy, and poor timing.
How should I prepare in the final two days?
Consolidate, do not cram. Reread your error log, do a short untimed set, check the exam arrangements and get a proper night's sleep.
Which section should I prioritise?
Prescribing carries 80 of the 200 marks, and prescription review a further 32, so give them the largest share of time while still covering the 2-mark sections.
Related revision notes
Sources: British Pharmacological Society and MSC Assessment PSA information; BNF. These notes are for exam revision and are not patient-specific advice; in the exam and in practice, the BNF is the authority.
Prefer plain text? Read this page as plain text · All PSA revision notes.
Now practise it under exam conditions
1,200+ questions and 11 full mock papers, marked like the PSA with the BNF open. Every question is free.