Pass the PSA

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Be very familiar with fluids, insulin, anticoagulants, antibiotics and analgesics as they are commonly examined Each answer is composed of several variables (drug description (including form and strength), dose, route & frequency) and therefore, a correct answer can be expressed in a variety of ways, depending on the product selected. Due to the breadth of possible answers, some credit-worthy variations may not be included in a given mark scheme and recognised by the auto-scoring system. Take into consideration specific information you are given about a patient when deciding which piece of information is best – e.g. are they of childbearing age? There are certain adverse effects and drug interactions that are commonly asked in this section. Try to take note of them when doing practice questions and remember the common drugs involved. Solid state physics Quantum theory Chemical bonds SCIENCE Physics Condensed Matter Física do estado sólido Mecânica quântica

Prescribing Safety Assessment

Generally, information that is directly related to the safety and effectiveness of the drug should be given priority. The maximum dose of paracetamol is 1g QDS – common dosing errors will include 1g 4hrly or co-prescription of paracetamol and co-codamol.Sometimes it is inappropriate to treat/change management and it important to bear in mind non-drug therapies (e.g. physiotherapy, TENS machines for pain relief) have a role. The PSA is based on the competencies identified in the General Medical Council’s Outcomes for graduates (originally published in Tomorrow’s Doctors), such as writing new prescriptions, reviewing existing prescriptions, calculating drug doses, identifying and avoiding both adverse drug reactions and medication errors and amending prescribing to suit individual patient circumstances. The eight distinct prescribing areas: prescribing, prescription review, planning management, providing information about medicines, calculation, adverse drug reactions, drug monitoring and data interpretation, are delivered over two hours. The content of each question refers to ailments and drugs you are likely to encounter in year one of the Foundation Programme. Data interpretation made memorable and simple including ECG, ABGs, chest X-rays and basic bloods. Common traps highlighted throughout. It is made up of 8 sections totalling 200 marks. The time given to complete this is 120 minutes. Questions will cover topics such as Medicine, Surgery, General Practice, Psychiatry, Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynaecology, and Elderly Care. This section will task you with selecting the most suitable plan of monitoring for either beneficial or harmful effects of a newly started medication.

PSA) - UK Foundation Programme Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) - UK Foundation Programme

If you are unsure about the medication used to treat a condition such as an acute dystonic reaction. The best solution is to search “poisoning” under treatment summaries which would tell you that procyclidine or diazepam can be used in this scenario. This section can be tight on time and it is not possible to search up every listed medication on the BNF. As such knowledge of common effects, adverse reactions and interactions of common medication is helpful. For example, patients require ~ 1mmol/kg/day of K+, this should not be infused at a rate >10mmol/hr.I found the actual exam harder than I expected, though manageable. I fortunately had time to spare at the end of the exam to review some of my answers, though I know many of my peers ran out of time and year on year this is a common complaint. There were many questions which I wouldn’t have answered correctly had I not known how to navigate Medicines Complete, so I do think a keen awareness of this resource is pivotal for passing the PSA. Medicinal Forms’ is another subsection to be aware of, particularly for the prescribing and calculations sections. It is important to know what form and dose medications are available in. My ability to answer a lot of the questions was based on my knowledge from finals and my familiarity with Medicines Complete. Some of my friends got stressed about the PSA as an added exam on top of finals and the SJT but if you set aside a little time each week and review your pharmacology knowledge you are not only preparing for the PSA but you are also preparing for finals.

Tips for Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) Tips for Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA)

Usually, only some of the information given in the question are relevant to the calculation. However, you should still read all the information to ensure that you don't miss anything important. I spent roughly 2 hours each weekend from September to February revising my pharmacology notes and using the books mentioned to become familiar with the exam. This helped me to prepare both the PSA and my finals in February. After that I spent 4-5 hours per day for the 3 weeks prior to the PSA consolidating my knowledge and completing the practice papers. However, if the questions asks “What IV treatment would be prescribed for a hypoglycaemic patient?” and you are unsure about what dextrose preparation to use, seach “hypoglycaemia” on the BNF under treatment summaries. This would then tell you that 10%/20% preparations are preferred over the 50% preparation. A PSA pass is considered valid for two years. An FP 2022 applicant who has taken and passed the PSA before February 2021 will be required to take it again by their foundation school. After finishing the practice questions, find out if your answer for each question is correct. You should understand the reasoning behind every correct or wrong answer.

You have to determine the immediate next step of management that is most appropriate, based on the diagnosis. It may be pharmacological or non-pharmacological management, and you should consider both equally. The information that is important can often be found in “important safety information” ( e.g Rivaroxaban not being effective on an empty stomach ), “patient and carer advice” (e.g advice regarding missed contraceptive doses) or “monitoring requirements”. For pharmacological management, the dose, route of administration, frequency and duration of each drug in the choices of answers may or may not be correct, so you need to think about them as well. These information are available in the BNF, though not usually for fluid management. Even if among the 5 choices there is only one drug with one dose, route, frequency and duration, do not assume that everything is correct for that drug. If the peak concentration of a drug is outside normal range, you should adjust the dose. If the trough concentration is outside normal range, you should adjust the interval between doses.

Pass the PSA - 2nd Edition - Elsevier Pass the PSA - 2nd Edition - Elsevier

You will be given a clinical scenario and a list of 6-10 drugs the patient is taking, you will need to identify drugs that are contra-indicated (e.g. in renal impairment), causing the clinical picture (e.g. hypokalaemia, confusion, hypotension), or contain a dosing error. There is an element of judgement of which is most important, if several pieces of information are accurate. Among the 5 choices of answers, there may be more than one correct monitoring options, but only one is the most appropriate. It is also considered best practice for all F2 stand-alone doctors to undertake and pass the PSA. Any F2 doctor who has not passed the PSA before starting work is encouraged to undertake the exam during their F2 year. Use your clinical knowledge and judgement to determine the most suitable management from the 5 choices of answers, taking into consideration all information provided in the question. The BNF may be able to help, but only in some cases.Typically, you will be provided with 5 options and tasked with deciding which treatment would be most appropriate in the management of the given clinical scenario. You will be given a clinical scenario and investigation results. You will be expected to determine the most appropriate next step in management (which may be no change at all).