If you’re a UK medical student or foundation doctor, the Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) represents an important step in demonstrating your prescribing competence. To  help you prepare we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the PSA, from essential resources to practical study strategies that work.

Dates for the PSA in 2026

Here are the confirmed exam dates for 2026:

📅 Thursday 29 January (medical schools only)
📅 Wednesday 26 March (all sitters including resits)
📅 Wednesday 23 April (all sitters including resits)
📅 Wednesday 4 June (medical schools only)

Getting prepared for these exams ahead of time will give you the chance to build your revision schedule around them, which can be helpful for avoiding clashes with clinical placements or other commitments. 

Essential Resources

Part of PSA preparation depends on how well you can navigate the key reference materials. These aren’t just revision aids, they’re the actual tools you’ll use during the exam itself.

NICE BNF

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) British National Formulary (BNF) offers a digital interface that some students prefer. It’s UK specific and includes integrated clinical guidance alongside drug information. The search functionality is particularly intuitive, which can save precious seconds when you’re working through exam questions.

Quick tip: Spending time getting comfortable with navigating this resource can really pay off. Knowing where to find drug monographs quickly, understanding how interactions are listed, and familiarising yourself with the layout will make things much smoother during the actual exam.

Medicines Complete BNF and BNFc

The Medicines Complete British National Formulary (MC BNF) and British National Formulary for Children (BNFc) are also available, principally for candidates outside the UK, offering comprehensive resources containing everything you need to know about safe prescribing: drug indications, contraindications, dosing guidelines, potential side effects and drug interactions.

Here’s something worth noting. Your medical school might already provide access to the BNF, which means you could start familiarising yourself with these resources right away. All candidates get access to the MC BNF and BNFc two weeks before their exam date, and you’ll have full access during the exam through the PSA platform.

Building Your Study Strategy

Having a structured approach makes all the difference. Here’s how to build an effective preparation plan.

Start with a Realistic Timeline

Take a look at your calendar and be honest about what time you have available. Block out clinical commitments, university deadlines and yes, time for yourself too. Sustainable revision beats cramming every time.

Working backwards from your exam date can help you plan effectively. Aim to cover the main drug categories and common prescribing scenarios in a logical order, leaving time for multiple rounds of practice questions. Setting achievable weekly targets rather than overwhelming daily goals often works better.

Practice Questions Are Your Best Friend

Working through actual PSA style questions teaches you the exam’s rhythm, helps you spot patterns in how questions are structured, and highlight gaps in your knowledge that you might not otherwise notice.

You can find practice PSA questions here. They break down the exam format brilliantly and walk you through common prescribing challenges step by step. You’ll learn not just what to do, but why certain answers are correct and others aren’t.

Also remember to complete the full practice papers to help build your confidence. Doing these under timed conditions helps you develop exam stamina and improve your time management. The detailed feedback you’ll receive is particularly valuable, showing you exactly where to focus your remaining revision time.

On the BPS Assessment learner portal you can also find lots of free study resources to help your revision.

Focus on Any Weak Spots

We all have areas that feel trickier than others. Maybe it’s drug calculations, perhaps it’s remembering interactions, or possibly it’s managing acute scenarios. Whatever your challenging areas are, tackling them early gives you time to improve.

Using your practice question feedback to identify patterns in the mistakes you’re making, then dedicating focused study sessions to those specific topics, can make a real difference.

Get Feedback and Support

Study groups, peer discussions and mentor support can transform your preparation. Explaining prescribing decisions to others reinforces your own understanding, and hearing different approaches to the same scenario broadens your clinical thinking.

If you can, speaking to students who’ve recently passed the PSA can be really helpful. They’ll have fresh insights into the exam experience and practical tips on what to expect.

Exam Day

When exam day arrives, you want to feel as prepared as possible. Make sure you know how to access the exam platform and understand any specific instructions for your sitting.

Getting a proper night’s sleep beforehand is more valuable than squeezing in extra revision and arriving at the exam with time to spare will give you time to settle and mentally prepare.

Remember, this exam tests the fundamental prescribing skills you’ll use throughout your medical career. The work you put in now isn’t just about passing an exam, it’s about becoming a safer, more confident prescriber for your future patients.

Good luck with your preparation!