Arab Board Psychiatry Clinical Exam study guide
Arab Board Psychiatry Clinical Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Arab Board of Psychiatry clinical examination is the practice-facing stage of board certification for psychiatrists working toward specialist recognition in the Arab region. Where written papers test recall, this examination tests whether you can actually sit with a patient, elicit a coherent history, describe psychopathology precisely, build a defensible formulation, and defend a management plan to examiners. The Arab Board Psychiatry Clinical Exam study guide has 11 sections and about 2,313 words.
01Clinical Interviewing and Psychiatric Assessment
The interview is the primary diagnostic instrument. Candidates must demonstrate a structured but flexible approach: establishing rapport and consent, clarifying the presenting complaint, then systematically covering history of present illness, past psychiatric and medical history, medication and substance history, family history, developmental and social history, and premorbid personality.
262 words, about 1 min02Psychopathology and Diagnostic Formulation
Candidates must use precise phenomenological language. Key distinctions: delusion (fixed false belief, held with conviction, not shared by culture) versus overvalued idea (understandable, less fixed); illusion (misperception of real stimulus) versus hallucination (perception without stimulus); pseudohallucination (in inner space, recognised as unreal); thought insertion/withdrawal/broadcast as passivity phenomena; formal thought disorder (derailment, loosening, neologisms) versus circumstantiality and tangentiality .
207 words, about 1 min03Psychotic Disorders
Know the DSM-5/ICD-11 criteria for schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, and substance/medication-induced psychosis. Duration criteria: brief psychotic disorder (1 day–1 month), schizophreniform (1–6 months), schizophrenia ( 6 months).
212 words, about 1 min04Mood Disorders
Differentiate major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, bipolar I (mania), bipolar II (hypomania + depression), cyclothymia, and substance/medical-induced mood disorders. Mania requires ≥1 week (or hospitalisation) of elevated/irritable mood plus increased energy; hypomania requires ≥4 days without marked impairment or psychosis.
221 words, about 1 min05Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive and Trauma-Related Disorders
Distinguish generalised anxiety disorder, panic disorder with/without agoraphobia, social anxiety disorder, specific phobias, OCD, PTSD, and acute stress disorder. PTSD requires exposure to trauma plus intrusion, avoidance, negative cognitions/mood, and hyperarousal lasting 1 month; acute stress disorder is 3 days–1 month.
196 words, under 1 min06Substance Use Disorders and Addictions
Know the DSM-5 criteria for substance use disorder (impaired control, social impairment, risky use, pharmacological criteria) and the distinction from intoxication, withdrawal, and substance-induced disorders. Recognise withdrawal syndromes: alcohol (tremor, seizures, delirium tremens), benzodiazepines, opioids, and stimulants.
180 words, under 1 min07Neurocognitive, Organic and Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
Differentiate delirium (acute onset, fluctuating, impaired attention, perceptual disturbance) from dementia (chronic progressive cognitive decline with preserved consciousness) and depression (pseudodementia). Know the major dementia subtypes: Alzheimer's (memory first), vascular (stepwise, focal signs), Lewy body (fluctuations, visual hallucinations, parkinsonism, neuroleptic sensitivity), frontotemporal (behaviour/personality or language first).
186 words, under 1 min08Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Know the presentation of autism spectrum disorder (social communication deficits, restricted/repetitive behaviours), ADHD (inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity across settings), oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, separation anxiety, and paediatric depression. Developmental milestones and their deviations are commonly tested.
171 words, under 1 min09Psychopharmacology and Somatic Treatments
Know mechanisms, side effects, and monitoring for major drug classes: SSRIs (GI upset, sexual dysfunction, hyponatraemia, serotonin syndrome), SNRIs (hypertension), TCAs (anticholinergic, cardiac), MAOIs (tyramine reaction), antipsychotics (metabolic, EPS, prolactin, QT), mood stabilisers (lithium, valproate - teratogenic, lamotrigine - rash/SJS), and benzodiazepines (dependence). ECT : indications include severe/psychotic depression, catatonia, life-threatening refusal of food/fluid; side effects are transient memory impairment.
188 words, under 1 min10Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Interventions
Know the indications and mechanisms of major modalities: CBT : depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD (trauma-focused), psychosis (CBTp). Psychodynamic therapy : enduring patterns, personality difficulties.
152 words, under 1 min11Risk Assessment
Risk assessment is structured, dynamic, and documented . Assess suicide risk (ideation, intent, plan, means, previous attempts, hopelessness, substance use, access to means, protective factors), self-harm, risk to others (violence, stalking), and vulnerability (self-neglect, exploitation, safeguarding).
338 words, about 2 min