RACS GSSE study plan

RACS GSSE · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

General Surgery

Map the General Surgery syllabus into a checklist of every major topic area and mark each as confident, shaky, or unknown
Build a spaced-repetition deck seeded with 150 high-yield facts covering perioperative care, wound healing, and fluid and electrolyte management
Explain the principles of preoperative risk assessment and informed consent aloud in under five minutes without notes
Complete 40 single-best-answer practice questions on perioperative and basic science topics and log every error with a one-line reason

A completed syllabus checklist plus an error log of 40 attempted questions with reasons for each miss

Week 2

Summarise the pathophysiology, investigation, and management of acute abdominal pain in a structured one-page framework
Differentiate the presentation and initial workup of the common acute general surgical emergencies
Review abdominal imaging and plain film interpretation principles and describe five classic sign patterns from memory
Answer 50 practice questions on acute abdomen and emergency surgery and re-test all previously missed items

A one-page acute abdomen decision framework and a re-test score showing improvement on week 1 missed items

Week 3

Outline the epidemiology, screening, staging, and treatment principles of the major gastrointestinal malignancies
Describe the diagnostic pathway and surgical options for breast, thyroid, and skin lesions
Explain the principles of oncological resection including margins, lymphadenectomy, and multidisciplinary team planning
Complete 50 practice questions on surgical oncology and record a cumulative accuracy percentage

A comparison table of the major GI and endocrine malignancies with staging and treatment columns completed

Week 4

Consolidate vascular surgery topics including aneurysmal disease, peripheral arterial disease, and venous disease
Explain the assessment and initial management of the acute ischaemic limb and the ruptured aortic aneurysm
Describe the principles of hernia repair, including anatomy, indications, and complications
Sit a 60-question timed mixed mock covering weeks 1 to 4 and analyse performance by topic

A timed 60-question mock completed with a topic-by-topic performance breakdown

Week 5

Review upper and lower gastrointestinal conditions including reflux, peptic ulcer disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and colorectal disease
Describe the workup and management principles of hepatobiliary and pancreatic conditions
Explain the approach to gastrointestinal bleeding, obstruction, and perforation
Answer 50 practice questions on gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary topics and update the error log

An updated error log with 50 new entries and a revised list of the ten weakest subtopics

Week 6

Consolidate trauma and critical care principles including primary survey, damage control, and resuscitation
Describe the management principles of burns, soft tissue infection, and surgical sepsis
Review endocrine and paediatric general surgical conditions at a recall level
Complete 50 practice questions on trauma, critical care, and infection and re-test all outstanding missed items

A completed primary survey and resuscitation algorithm written from memory and checked against a reference

Week 7

Revisit every flagged weak subtopic from the error log and close at least 80 percent of them
Practise 30 questions under strict timed conditions to build pacing and question-stem discipline
Explain aloud the operative principles and complications of the ten most commonly examined operations
Review investigation interpretation including blood gas, electrolyte, and coagulation abnormalities

A closed-out weak-topic list showing at least 80 percent of flagged subtopics resolved

Week 8

Sit two full-length timed mock examinations and record scores against a personal target
Review every incorrect answer from both mocks and convert each into a flashcard or summary note
Recite the high-yield fact deck in full and retire cards answered correctly three times
Finalise a one-page pre-exam summary sheet of formulas, classifications, and red-flag presentations

Two completed full-length mocks with a final error review and a finished one-page summary sheet

Week 2: Syllabus checklist fully mapped and at least 90 practice questions attempted with an error log maintained

Week 4: Timed 60-question mock completed with a topic breakdown and a documented baseline accuracy percentage

Week 6: At least 300 cumulative practice questions attempted and the ten weakest subtopics explicitly identified

Week 8: Two full-length timed mocks completed at or above the personal target score with all errors reviewed