FCPS Part-I study plan

Build a one-page syllabus map that assigns every listed topic in Domains 1 and 2 to a study week, marking each as known, shaky, or unknown

Define and write out the core physiology and pathology principles (cell injury, inflammation, fluid balance, hemodynamics) in your own words without referring to notes

Complete 40 single-best-answer questions spanning Domain 1 and log every wrong answer with the underlying concept it tested

Set up a spaced-repetition deck with 100 starter cards drawn only from your own error log

Explain the pharmacology of the ten drug classes you most often confuse, covering mechanism, key adverse effect, and one clinically important interaction for each

Draw and label the pathways you cannot yet reproduce from memory (e.g., clotting cascade, steroid synthesis, purine metabolism)

Compare normal versus abnormal laboratory values for the major organ systems and state the mechanism behind each abnormality

Answer 60 Domain 2 questions under timed conditions and re-teach each missed concept aloud in under two minutes

Integrate anatomy, physiology, and pathology for the three highest-yield regions by writing a single combined summary for each

Identify the 20 concepts you have missed more than once and rewrite each as a one-sentence rule with an exception

Self-test the full spaced-repetition deck and retire cards you now answer instantly

Complete two 30-question mixed Domain 1 and 2 blocks and compare accuracy between them

Work through 30 clinical vignettes using a fixed four-step routine: extract the key finding, form a differential, select the best next step, then justify why each distractor fails

Classify every investigation you meet as screening, diagnostic, or monitoring, and state the pretest probability that makes it useful

Map common therapeutic decisions to their first-line and contraindicated options, noting the patient factor that changes the choice

Review each error for a patient-safety lesson (e.g., wrong dose, missed allergy, delayed escalation) and record it

Solve 50 vignettes under strict time pressure (about 90 seconds each) and record your decision time per question

Diagnose your own reasoning traps (anchoring, premature closure, ignoring a normal result) by tagging each wrong answer with the trap that caused it

Rewrite the ten vignettes you handled slowest as clean one-paragraph stems with the single discriminating clue highlighted

Practise explaining your chosen answer to an imagined colleague in three sentences or fewer

Build a therapeutics table for the drugs most likely to appear, listing indication, starting dose principle, monitoring parameter, and one dangerous interaction

List the safety-critical checks before prescribing, transfusing, or ordering contrast, and rehearse them as a verbal checklist

Interpret a set of laboratory and imaging reports and state the next appropriate action for each abnormal finding

Answer 40 Domain 4 questions and justify every answer with a guideline-level principle rather than recall alone

Sit two full-length mixed mock exams under exam conditions and score them domain by domain

Rank your weakest three domains by percentage and allocate remaining study time proportionally

Re-teach every missed mock question to yourself aloud, closing the book before checking

Trim the spaced-repetition deck to only cards you still miss

Drill only your weakest three domains with 20-question sets until each set reaches your target accuracy

Rehearse the four-step vignette routine and the prescribing safety checklist until both are automatic

Review your entire error log and confirm you can state the rule behind each entry without prompting

Simulate exam-day logistics (timing, breaks, permitted materials) once end to end