Iraqi Board Psychiatry study guide
Iraqi Board Psychiatry · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Iraqi Board in Psychiatry (البورد العراقي في الطب النفسي) is a postgraduate specialty qualification awarded through the Iraqi Board of Medical Specialties (IBMS). It is intended for physicians who have completed medical school and are training, or intend to train, as specialists in psychiatry, and it is the credential Iraqi hospitals, teaching institutions and health directorates typically look for when appointing a consultant-level psychiatrist. The Iraqi Board Psychiatry study guide has 14 sections and about 3,875 words.
01Basic Sciences Relevant to Psychiatry
This domain asks you to connect clinical signs to neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, neurotransmitter systems, drug mechanisms and genetic architecture. Expect short vignettes about drug side-effects, lesion effects and inheritance patterns.
261 words, about 1 min02Psychopathology and Psychiatric Interviewing/Mental State Examination
Psychopathology and the mental state examination test whether you can describe abnormal experience precisely and elicit it without leading the patient. Marks are lost by using psychiatric jargon without evidence.
305 words, about 2 min03Classification and Diagnosis (ICD/DSM)
Classification items test criterion counting, duration rules, hierarchy and the differences between ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR. You must know when a syndrome is substance-induced, medical or better explained by another disorder.
307 words, about 2 min04Epidemiology and Cultural Psychiatry
This domain tests measures of frequency and association, study design, bias, screening statistics and culturally shaped presentations. Expect calculations and questions about whether a finding is causal, cultural or an artefact.
282 words, about 1 min05Mood Disorders (Depressive and Bipolar Disorders)
Mood-disorder questions test criteria, polarity, course, suicide risk and treatment selection. The key skill is distinguishing unipolar depression, bipolar I, bipolar II and substance- or medically induced mood syndromes.
272 words, about 1 min06Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders
Psychosis items test symptom domains, duration thresholds, differential diagnosis and antipsychotic safety. You must separate schizophrenia, schizophreniform disorder, brief psychotic disorder, schizoaffective disorder and substance-induced psychosis.
274 words, about 1 min07Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, Trauma- and Stressor-Related, and Dissociative Disorders
This domain tests duration criteria, fear versus anxiety, insight, trauma timing and dissociation. Questions often ask you to distinguish normal stress reactions from disorder and to choose exposure-based treatment.
288 words, about 1 min08Substance Use Disorders and Addictive Behaviour
Substance questions test intoxication, withdrawal, dependence, harm and treatment. You must know timelines, dangerous withdrawals and the difference between tolerance and withdrawal.
252 words, about 1 min09Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Child psychiatry tests developmental context, collateral history, cross-setting impairment and cautious medication use. You must separate normal variation from disorder and involve parents, school and safeguarding.
282 words, about 1 min10Intellectual Disability and Developmental Disorders
This domain tests definition, developmental assessment, genetic causes, communication and capacity. You must not diagnose intellectual disability from an IQ score alone.
274 words, about 1 min11Geriatric Psychiatry and Neurocognitive Disorders
Geriatric items test delirium versus dementia, dementia subtypes, depression, capacity and behavioural symptoms. Acute confusion is a medical emergency until proven otherwise.
259 words, about 1 min12Psychotherapy and Psychological Treatments
Psychotherapy items test indications, mechanisms, structure, boundaries and common factors. You must match the therapy to the problem and know when therapy alone is unsafe.
254 words, about 1 min13Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Organic Psychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine
Liaison items test recognition of organic causes, delirium, catatonia, capacity and drug interactions in medically ill patients. Psychiatric symptoms are often the first sign of a physical disorder.
268 words, about 1 min14Forensic Psychiatry, Ethics, Mental Health Law and Community/Administrative Psychiatry
Forensic and administrative items test risk, consent, confidentiality, detention, fitness and resource-aware community care. You must separate clinical judgment from legal determination.
297 words, about 1 min