ACEM Fellowship Written study plan
ACEM Fellowship Written · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Map the exam blueprint by listing every major emergency medicine presentation area and weighting each by likely question volume
Build a personal baseline by completing one timed mixed-topic practice paper and recording accuracy per presentation area
Rank your weakest five presentation areas and write them into a prioritised revision register
Set up a spaced-repetition system for core resuscitation facts, drug doses, and decision rules
Your checkpoint
A one-page blueprint map plus a ranked weakness register with baseline accuracy percentages for at least eight presentation areas
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Drill cardiac arrest, peri-arrest, and advanced airway algorithms until each can be recited without prompts
Practise rhythm recognition and reversible-cause recall under timed conditions
Write structured resuscitation summaries for ten simulated cases using a fixed handover format
Review and correct every error from week one's practice paper, tagging each to a presentation area
Your checkpoint
Ten written resuscitation case summaries, each scored against a self-built checklist of at least eight required elements
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Work through shock, sepsis, and fluid-resuscitation scenarios, justifying each intervention choice in writing
Compare vasopressor and inotrope selection across distributive, cardiogenic, and obstructive shock
Rehearse targeted history and examination sequences for undifferentiated hypotension
Convert your week one weakness register into dated study blocks
Your checkpoint
A comparison table of shock states with first-line and second-line management, plus twenty self-written single-best-answer questions with explanations
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Cover toxicology systematically: toxidrome recognition, antidote indications, and decontamination decisions
Work through environmental emergencies including heat illness, hypothermia, and diving-related injury
Practise interpreting arterial blood gases and electrolyte derangements in poisoned and critically ill patients
Sit a 60-question timed paper covering weeks one to four and analyse errors by category
Your checkpoint
A toxicology and environmental quick-reference sheet of no more than two pages, plus a scored 60-question practice result with an error analysis
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Work through trauma reception in sequence: primary survey, adjuncts, secondary survey, and definitive care triggers
Interpret trauma imaging and decide when whole-body CT is and is not indicated
Rehearse damage-control resuscitation principles and massive transfusion decision-making
Apply a structured approach to burns, including fluid resuscitation and airway risk stratification
Your checkpoint
Twelve trauma scenario write-ups with primary survey findings, investigations ordered, and disposition decisions, each justified in three sentences
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Cover paediatric emergencies with attention to age-specific dosing, weight estimation, and developmental differences in presentation
Work through obstetric and gynaecological emergencies including early pregnancy complications and peripartum collapse
Rehearse the assessment of the elderly patient with atypical presentations and polypharmacy confounders
Review psychiatric presentations and safe assessment of self-harm and agitation
Your checkpoint
A paediatric and obstetric dosing and red-flag reference card, plus fifteen case-based short-answer responses marked against model answers
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Cover musculoskeletal and soft-tissue emergencies including compartment syndrome, joint reduction techniques, and wound management
Work through neurological emergencies: stroke pathways, seizures, headache red flags, and altered consciousness
Rehearse ophthalmological and ENT emergencies with a focus on sight-threatening and airway-threatening conditions
Practise administrative and professional scenarios such as capacity assessment, discharge against advice, and duty-of-care dilemmas
Your checkpoint
Twenty short-answer responses across musculoskeletal, neurological, ENT, and professionalism topics, self-marked with a written correction for each error
Emergency Medicine (content domains not enumerated in source)
Sit two full-length timed mock examinations under exam conditions and record scores by presentation area
Rework every incorrect answer from both mocks into a one-line learning point
Rehearse written communication tasks such as referrals and documentation under time pressure
Consolidate the highest-yield facts into a final revision sheet and rehearse it aloud
Your checkpoint
Two completed mock examination scores with a consolidated one-page final revision sheet of no more than forty high-yield points
Milestones
Week 2: Recite the cardiac arrest and peri-arrest algorithms without prompts and score at least 80 percent on a self-made rhythm and resuscitation quiz
Week 4: Achieve at least 60 percent on the 60-question timed paper and show that no presentation area falls below 50 percent accuracy
Week 6: Complete all paediatric, obstetric, and elderly case responses with at least 70 percent of required management points present
Week 8: Score at least 70 percent on both full-length mocks with no single presentation area below 60 percent