PEBC Part I (MCQ) study plan

Build a receptor-level map of the autonomic nervous system: for alpha-1, alpha-2, beta-1, beta-2, M2 and M3, name the organ response, one agonist and one antagonist, and state where each is therapeutically exploited.

Trace the cardiac cycle and the RAAS cascade on paper, then compute cardiac output (HR x SV) and mean arterial pressure from three sets of sample vital signs without looking up the formulas.

Draw the nephron segment by segment and mark where carbonic-anhydrase inhibitors, loop diuretics, thiazides, potassium-sparing agents and vasopressin antagonists act, together with the electrolyte disturbance each causes.

Explain action potential generation and synaptic transmission well enough to predict why local anaesthetics, anticonvulsants and beta-blockers each interrupt excitability at a different step.

Assemble a 60-term glossary of laboratory values, abbreviations and pathophysiological terms encountered in cases, and self-quiz until every term is defined from memory.

Classify bacteria by Gram stain, morphology and oxygen requirement, and pair each major group with three empiric antibiotic options and the resistance mechanism that would defeat them.

Contrast innate and adaptive immunity, distinguish the four hypersensitivity types with one drug-induced example each, and explain how live versus inactivated vaccines differ in scheduling and contraindications.

Calculate volume of distribution, clearance, half-life and time to steady state for five dosing scenarios, and justify whether each drug follows first-order or zero-order elimination.

Identify the five clinically most consequential CYP450 inhibitor and inducer pairs and state the direction and magnitude of the interaction.

Explain how protein binding, tissue distribution and enterohepatic recycling change the interpretation of a serum drug concentration.

Match eight modified-release or specialty dosage forms to their release mechanism, and state one administration or food caution for each.

Apply acid-base and partition principles: for five drugs, identify the ionisable functional group, estimate the predominant species at physiological pH, and predict the effect on absorption and renal reabsorption.

Solve 30 compounding and calculation problems covering percentage strength, ratio strength, alligation, dilution, aliquot weighing, and milliequivalent conversion to within 2% of the correct answer.

Compute paediatric doses by weight and body surface area and verify each against an adult maximum before accepting the result.

Convert between infusion rates, concentrations and drop rates, and set up a two-step check for any high-risk calculation.

Construct a first-line, alternative and contraindication grid for ten high-frequency conditions encompassing hypertension, type 2 diabetes, heart failure, asthma/COPD, atrial fibrillation, uncomplicated UTI, community-acquired pneumonia, depression, hypothyroidism and GERD.

Apply a four-part monitoring framework (efficacy, toxicity, adherence, laboratory parameters) to five written patient cases and specify the follow-up interval for each.

Adjust doses for renal impairment, hepatic impairment and frailty for ten commonly used drugs, naming the parameter that drives each adjustment.

Recognise referral red flags in eight common presentations, including chest pain descriptors, neurological deficit, GI bleeding and acute vision change.

Justify each therapeutic choice in two paragraphs using guideline logic rather than memorised brand names.

Sequence treatment escalation for three chronic diseases, stating the titration interval, the add-on rationale and the point at which the regimen should be abandoned.

Audit ten simulated prescriptions for indication, dose, duplication, interaction, allergy and formulation appropriateness, and document the intervention you would make for each defect found.

Apply high-alert medication safeguards to anticoagulants, insulin, opioids and concentrated electrolytes, and distinguish at least ten look-alike/sound-alike name pairs with the mitigation for each.

Walk through the dispensing workflow end to end for two prescriptions, catching every seeded error before release.

Explain how error-reporting systems, root-cause analysis and just-culture principles convert a near miss into a system fix.

Outline the Canadian drug-approval and scheduling pathway from notice of compliance to drug identification number, and state the pharmacist's legal record-keeping duty at each stage.

Separate federal from provincial or territorial jurisdiction over scheduling, prescribing authority, dispensing records and privacy, and list the three most commonly tested boundaries.

Apply a four-step ethical framework to five scenarios covering conflict of interest, conscientious objection, privacy breach, an impaired colleague and disclosure of a dispensing error.

Describe the administrative levers that shape pharmacy practice, including formulary placement, third-party reimbursement, inventory control and staffing models, and explain how each affects patient access.

Explain how social and behavioural factors such as health literacy, cost and cultural background change whether a patient fills and continues a prescription.

Structure a counselling session using plain language, a limited key-message set and teach-back for six high-risk drugs: warfarin, insulin, inhaled corticosteroids, methotrexate, opioids and a direct oral anticoagulant.

Draft an SBAR communication for three interprofessional scenarios and identify the decision you are asking the prescriber to make in each.

Write a ten-turn motivational interviewing dialogue that demonstrates open questions, affirmation, reflection and summarising, and label where change talk appears.

Explain the pharmacist's role in immunisation, screening, harm reduction and chronic-disease prevention, and state which interventions have the strongest population-level evidence.

Apply social determinants of health to two case patients and propose one pharmacy-level intervention for each that is feasible in a community setting.

Appraise one randomised trial and one meta-analysis against validity criteria: randomisation, allocation concealment, blinding, intention-to-treat, effect size, confidence interval and applicability to your patient.

Calculate number needed to treat, sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value, and absolute risk reduction from a supplied two-by-two table, and interpret a forest plot.

Describe the informatics backbone of practice, including computerised order entry with clinical decision support, e-prescribing, interoperability standards and privacy obligations.

Sit two full-length timed mock examinations under exam conditions and categorise every error by domain, knowledge gap versus misreading versus calculation slip.

Convert your error categories into a one-page top-20 weak-point sheet and schedule a spaced re-test of each item for the final week.