Kuwait Board Psychiatry study plan

Draw from memory the major neurotransmitter systems (dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, GABA, noradrenaline, acetylcholine) and write the clinical syndrome each pathway explains when hyper- or hypoactive.

Label the limbic circuit and cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical loops on a blank diagram, then state the behavioural deficit produced by a lesion at each node.

Summarise heritability estimates, GWAS versus candidate-gene findings, and gene-environment interaction for the major disorders, flagging where evidence is weak.

Apply the mental status examination to four written vignettes, justifying each abnormal finding with its formal descriptor and stating what it localises.

Contrast ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR classification logic (categorical vs dimensional, specifiers, cultural formulation) and list three cases where the two systems would code differently.

Build a comparison table differentiating schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, delusional disorder, brief psychotic disorder and schizotypal disorder by duration, functional decline, mood overlap and outcome.

Sequence the first-episode psychosis workup, naming the investigations that exclude secondary psychosis and the findings that would change the diagnosis.

Map antipsychotic receptor occupancy (D2, 5-HT2A, H1, M1, alpha-1, histamine) onto extrapyramidal symptoms, prolactin rise, metabolic risk, QT prolongation and anticholinergic burden.

Calculate dose equivalence for two antipsychotics and write a switch plan (cross-taper versus overlap) for partial response, stating when clozapine criteria are met.

Set out monitoring intervals for weight, HbA1c, lipids, prolactin, ECG/QTc and lithium levels, with the action threshold for each.

Differentiate bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia, major depression with mixed features, and substance- or medically-induced mood syndromes using course and episode criteria.

Construct a stepwise algorithm for treatment-resistant depression, naming augmentation strategies, their evidence strength, and the indications for ECT and ketamine/esketamine.

Justify antidepressant selection across depression, generalised anxiety, panic, social anxiety and OCD, accounting for discontinuation syndrome, serotonergic interaction risk and QT effects.

Formulate an OCD case with the five-part CBT model, build an exposure hierarchy and sequence six ERP sessions with predicted habituation.

Distinguish PTSD, complex PTSD, acute stress reaction and adjustment disorder, then defend the first-line trauma-focused therapy choice and when to defer it.

Compare autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and intellectual disability on developmental history, criteria and comorbidities, and specify stimulant and alpha-2 agonist dosing with monitoring parameters.

Adapt assessment of adolescent-onset psychosis and mood disorder to developmental stage, covering consent, confidentiality and family involvement.

Classify personality disorders by cluster and translate them into the ICD-11 dimensional model, distinguishing enduring traits from a superimposed mood or anxiety episode.

Plan management of recurrent self-harm and boundary-setting in emotionally unstable personality disorder, citing the evidence base for DBT, MBT and general psychiatric management.

Describe intoxication and withdrawal syndromes for alcohol, opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants, cannabis and synthetic cannabinoids, and apply ICD-11 and DSM-5-TR dependence criteria to two vignettes.

Design a medically assisted alcohol withdrawal regimen including benzodiazepine titration, thiamine and Wernicke prophylaxis, and criteria for inpatient detoxification.

Compare methadone, buprenorphine, naltrexone, acamprosate, disulfiram and nicotine replacement on mechanism, induction, monitoring and contraindications.

Explain the structure, indication and evidence base of CBT, psychodynamic, supportive, family and group therapies, and state how each combines with pharmacotherapy.

Analyse cultural and family factors shaping help-seeking for substance use and psychological therapy in Gulf populations, and adapt engagement accordingly.

Apply the CAM to three vignettes, differentiate delirium from dementia and depression, and write a cause-directed management plan including avoidance of restraint where possible.

Contrast Alzheimer's, vascular, Lewy body and frontotemporal dementia on onset, cognitive profile, imaging and management, naming the drugs to avoid in Lewy body disease.

Perform a structured capacity assessment on a written case, addressing understanding, retention, reasoning and communication of a decision.

Recognise and manage catatonia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome and serotonin syndrome, stating the pharmacological and ECT triggers for each.

Apply geriatric prescribing principles: start low and go slow, anticholinergic burden, fall and hyponatraemia risk with SSRIs, and review of polypharmacy.

Re-work every item missed in weeks 1 to 6 and write a single corrective rule for each error, grouping them by failure type (knowledge gap, misread stem, premature closure).

Build 30 rapid-fire differentials across psychotic, mood, anxiety and trauma presentations, each answerable in under 20 seconds.

Complete 60 timed vignette questions on the three highest-yield domains under exam pacing, then review every explanation.

Rehearse formulation on six new cases in five minutes each, naming diagnosis, top differential and first three management steps.

Sit two full-length timed mock examinations under exam conditions, with no reference material and strict pacing per question.

Review every incorrect or guessed answer and assign it to a domain, then re-read only the notes for domains scoring below 70%.

Condense each domain into a single-page summary sheet of red-flag rules, doses and diagnostic cut-offs, written from memory then corrected.

Rehearse the ten highest-risk facts (clozapine monitoring, lithium toxicity, alcohol withdrawal, NMS, capacity, delirium, catatonia, ECT indications, serotonin syndrome, antipsychotic equivalence) aloud without notes.