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There are 8 sections of the Prescribing Safety Assessment, each testing a different area of prescribing competency. Some sections are weighted more heavily than others, and some have a different number of question items than others. 

In order to prepare for your PSA exam, it’s important that you familiarise yourself with each of the 8 sections of the exam, so you know what’s expected of you and where you might find the most marks. 

 

Weighting Of PSA Exam Questions

There are 200 marks available in total, broken down across the 8 sections of the PSA as follows: 

• Section 1: Prescribing (PWS) is worth 80 marks (8 question items worth 10 marks each)
• Section 2: Prescription Review (REV) is worth 32 marks (8 question items worth 4 marks each)
• Section 3: Planning Management (MAN) is worth 16 marks (8 question items worth 2 marks each) 
• Section 4: Providing Information (COM) is worth 12 marks (6 question items worth 2 marks each) 
• Section 5: Calculation Skills (CAL) is worth 16 marks (8 question items worth 2 marks each) 
• Section 6: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) is worth 16 marks (8 question items worth 2 marks each) 
• Section 7: Drug Monitoring (TDM) is worth 16 marks (8 question items worth 2 marks each) 
• Section 8: Data Interpretation (DAT) is worth 12 marks (6 question items worth 2 marks each) 

 

PSA Sections Explained

Each section of the PSA is designed to test a different area of prescribing. In a nutshell, that means:

Section 1: Prescribing (PWS) tests your ability to write a safe and effective prescription, to manage acute medical emergencies, and to plan appropriate drug therapy for common indications. 

Section 2: Prescription Review (REV) tests your ability to review the prescribing of others, to spot potentially important errors and to make changes that will improve patient outcomes.

Section 3: Planning Management (MAN) tests your ability to plan appropriate treatment for common clinical indications.

Section 4: Providing Information (COM) tests your ability to provide patients with important information about their medicines.

Section 5: Calculation Skills (CAL) tests your ability to calculate appropriate drug doses and record the outcome accurately.

Section 6: Adverse Drug Reactions (ADR) tests your ability to detect, respond to and prevent potential adverse drug reactions.

Section 7: Drug Monitoring (TDM) tests your knowledge of how drugs work and their clinical effects, and your ability to monitor them appropriately to maximise safety and efficacy.

Section 8: Data Interpretation (DAT) tests your ability to interpret data on the impact of drug therapy and make appropriate changes, as well as critically appraising the results of relevant diagnostic, prognostic and treatment trials.

 

PSA Sections Explained By The Experts

For a more detailed outline of what’s in the PSA, check out our What’s In The PSA Exam blog post. However, the best way to prepare is to watch PSA Prep, a set of 9 (totally free) eLearning sessions we’ve created for exam candidates, working with a team of experts. 

There’s a dedicated PSA Prep session for each of the 8 sections, providing you with a detailed outline of the section and addressing some of the biggest challenges faced by PSA candidates, such as coping with the time pressures, managing the calculations and identifying the key points in each clinical scenario. 

For instant access, simply create (or log in to) your BPS Assessment portal account and scroll down to ‘PSA Prep’.

 

Whether it’s the time pressure, the calculations, or identifying the key points in a clinical scenario, the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) exam presents a lot of challenges for candidates. So let’s get prepared! Below we share 5 top tips to help you get 100% exam ready. 

 

1. Understand the exam format and what’s expected of you

First thing’s first: get familiar with the structure of the exam. We’ve included a breakdown of the 8 sections of the PSA exam in another blog post, but to get really familiar with what’s expected of you and what you’ll encounter in the exam, complete our free PSA Prep sessions, covering:

• The exam format and layout of each question
• Understanding how to answer the questions
• Common challenges, like the time pressure and exam calculations

There’s one session dedicated to each of the 8 sections of the PSA exam, as well as an introductory session. To get instant access to these 9 free PSA Prep sessions, create a free BPS Assessment platform account here. 

 

2. Get familiar with MedicinesComplete and the NICE BNF

We know that time pressure is reported to be the biggest challenge for candidates sitting the PSA, so you don’t want to lose valuable minutes trying to navigate your way around the BNF! Both MedicinesComplete and the NICE BNF are available in the exam (depending on your location), so it’s important that you familiarise yourself with both of these resources ahead of time. That way, you’ll be as efficient as possible in the exam itself. 

 

3. Make good use of your PSA exam account 

As soon as you’ve been registered for the exam, you’ll be able to login to your PSA platform account. Read up on the exam, use the information you’ll find there, and complete the practice papers included. 

 

4. Practise, practise, practise

Once you’ve completed the practice papers included with your PSA account, consider broadening your revision materials and investing in more practice papers. You’ll find 3 bonus practice papers exclusively on the BPS Assessment Learner Portal.

These 3 papers offer 120 questions with unlimited practice attempts, so you really can ‘practise til perfect’. They include clear, in-depth feedback on each question style, so you can understand how to tackle the 8 different exam areas. Read through the feedback, assess your weakest areas, and keep on trying until you feel confident!

 

5. Time yourself!  

As we’ve said before, the time pressure is reported to be the biggest challenge for PSA candidates. That’s because the exam simulates prescribing under pressure in the real world. So it’s really important that you understand what it feels like to try answering those 60 question items in 2 hours! 

For that, you’ll need Practice Paper 3, which includes 60 question items and has 200 marks up for grabs, just like the real exam. Set your timer and see how you get on. You’ll soon work out where you’re losing time and which areas you need to focus on in order to make the best use of those 120 minutes (remember that the different sections of the exam are worth a different number of marks, so you should be spending more time on the sections with more marks). 

If you’re worried about prioritising your time in the exam, complete our free PSA Prep sessions to understand more about how points are allocated for each section of the exam before you time yourself with Practice Paper 3. 

 

Finally… good luck!

As the learning and assessment branch of the British Pharmacological Society, we’re committed to helping you become a confident, capable prescriber – not just so that you can pass the PSA, but so that you can excel in whatever prescribing career path that follows. We hope that resources like PSA Prep and our Prescribing Practice Papers help you take control of your revision, so that you can approach exam day with confidence. We believe in you!