A structured revision schedule is the difference between passing and scraping through. Most trainees fail because they run out of time, not because they lack knowledge. They spend too long on familiar topics and not long enough on their blind spots.
This 3-month schedule is designed for a trainee working full-time in clinical psychiatry. It assumes 1–2 hours on weekdays and 4–6 hours on weekend days. Total study time: approximately 200 hours across 12 weeks.
Week 1: Diagnostic Baseline
Do not start with content. Start with assessment.
- Day 1: Sit a timed 50-question diagnostic test (mix of Paper A and B domains). Do not prepare beforehand. Score it honestly.
- Day 2: Analyse your results by domain. Identify your bottom 3 sections.
- Day 3–5: For each bottom domain, read the relevant curriculum document. Understand what the exam expects.
- Day 6–7: Rest or light reading of classification criteria.
Target output: A written list of your 3 weakest domains, with specific sub-topics within each.
Weeks 2–5: Foundation (Paper A Heavy)
Paper A content is factual and requires deliberate memorisation. Paper B content in this phase is limited to clinical reading.
Week 2: Neurosciences — Neuroanatomy & Neurophysiology
- Daily: 30 minutes of neuroanatomy (limbic system, basal ganglia, frontal lobe circuits, blood supply)
- Daily: 15 questions on neurosciences from an adaptive bank
- Weekly: One 45-minute block on neurophysiology (synaptic transmission, neurotransmitter pathways)
Week 3: Neurosciences — Neurochemistry & Neuropsychology
- Daily: Receptor subtypes, second messenger systems, and neurotransmitter synthesis/degradation
- Daily: Lobar syndromes, memory systems, executive function
- Weekly: Timed 60-question mixed neurosciences block
Week 4: Psychopharmacology
- Daily: One antidepressant class (mechanism → indications → side effects → interactions) + 10 related questions
- Daily: One antipsychotic (receptor profile → clinical effects → monitoring)
- Weekend: Mood stabilisers + anxiolytics in a single 3-hour block
Week 5: Classification & Psychological Models
- ICD-11 criteria for depressive, bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, personality disorders
- Psychological models: behavioural (Pavlov, Skinner, Bandura), cognitive (Beck, Ellis), psychodynamic (Freud, Klein, Winnicott, Bowlby), social (Brown, Harris, Zimbardo)
- Weekly: 100-question mixed Paper A mock
Weeks 6–8: Application (Paper B Heavy)
Now shift focus to clinical psychiatry and critical review.
Week 6: Critical Review — Statistics & Methodology
- Daily: One statistical concept (types of data, distributions, hypothesis testing, t-test, chi-square, ANOVA, Mann-Whitney, correlation, regression)
- Daily: Calculate NNT, NNH, ARR, RRR, OR from a 2×2 table. Practise until automatic.
- Weekly: 50 critical review questions + full review of incorrect answers
Week 7: Critical Review — Appraisal & Bias
- Study designs (RCT, cohort, case-control, cross-sectional, qualitative, systematic review, meta-analysis)
- Bias types (selection, information, recall, publication, detection, attrition) with examples
- CASP checklists for each study type. Work through two published papers.
- Weekly: Interpret a forest plot, a funnel plot, and a ROC curve
Week 8: General Adult Psychiatry
- Depressive disorders (all subtypes + treatment-resistant strategies)
- Bipolar disorder (acute mania, depression, maintenance — NICE algorithms)
- Schizophrenia spectrum (first-episode, relapse, treatment-resistant, clozapine protocols)
- Anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD (stepped care models, first-line treatments by severity)
- Weekly: 100-question mixed Paper B mock
Weeks 9–12: Exam Simulation & Targeting
This phase is about exam-day conditioning and closing remaining gaps.
Week 9: Specialties (Old Age, Child, Forensic, LD, Substance)
- One specialty per day. For each: epidemiology → assessment → management → legal framework.
- Pay special attention to MHA 1983 (sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 17, 37, 41, 47–53, 58, 63) and the MCA 2005 (five principles, capacity test, best interests, DOLS, LPS).
- Weekly: Timed 150-question full Paper A or B
Week 10: Mixed Review + Weak Domain Targeting
- Review your blind-spot map from all previous mocks
- Spend 80% of study time on the bottom 3 domains
- Spend 20% maintaining strengths (20 questions/day in strong domains)
Week 11: Full Exam Simulation
- Paper A mock (150 Q, 3 hrs) — Day 1
- Paper B mock (150 Q, 3 hrs) — Day 2
- Review all errors with teaching cascade method — Days 3–4
- Light consolidation — Day 5
- Rest — Day 6–7
Week 12: Consolidation & Taper
- High-yield rapid-fire: classification criteria, receptor profiles, critical appraisal formulas, key trials
- 50–100 questions per day, primarily in weak domains
- Light study 2 days before the exam. No new content.
- Sleep, hydration, logistics (location, ID, timings)
Resource Strategy
- Questions: PsychStar adaptive bank (4,600+ across both papers) for daily practice + mock exams
- Notes: Your own summarised notes from each domain (can be supplemented by MRCPsychMentor or similar)
- Critical review: Practise calculations until they become automatic. This is the easiest section to score highly in if you put in the work.
- Guidelines: NICE guidelines for any clinical topic you are unsure about. Read the key recommendations, not the full document.
PsychStar’s adaptive engine builds your blind-spot map automatically — you never have to guess which domain to study next. Start at psychstar.io/try.