FFinalistSouthampton · 2027

Prescribing Safety Assessment · national (BPS + MSC)

The PSA

A two-hour online exam of prescribing competence — 60 items across 8 sections, 200 marks. The BNF is available throughout. Readiness here is weighted by marks, so Prescribing counts most.

60
items
Learning tree

The PSA, in order

2 stages · every topic placed

Side-by-side stages are interchangeable — take them in any order. Later stages are greyed as advice, never locked: if your placement needs something now, go and get it.

1

Write a safe prescription

you are here

The mechanics before the pharmacology: the sections that carry the most marks and the ones where errors are procedural rather than clinical.

0/2
2

Decide and monitor

comes later

Planning management, adverse reactions, monitoring and calculation — the reasoning half of the paper.

0/6
200
marks
Learning tree

The PSA, in order

2 stages · every topic placed

Side-by-side stages are interchangeable — take them in any order. Later stages are greyed as advice, never locked: if your placement needs something now, go and get it.

1

Write a safe prescription

you are here

The mechanics before the pharmacology: the sections that carry the most marks and the ones where errors are procedural rather than clinical.

0/2
2

Decide and monitor

comes later

Planning management, adverse reactions, monitoring and calculation — the reasoning half of the paper.

0/6
120
minutes
Learning tree

The PSA, in order

2 stages · every topic placed

Side-by-side stages are interchangeable — take them in any order. Later stages are greyed as advice, never locked: if your placement needs something now, go and get it.

1

Write a safe prescription

you are here

The mechanics before the pharmacology: the sections that carry the most marks and the ones where errors are procedural rather than clinical.

0/2
2

Decide and monitor

comes later

Planning management, adverse reactions, monitoring and calculation — the reasoning half of the paper.

0/6
BNF
available
Learning tree

The PSA, in order

2 stages · every topic placed

Side-by-side stages are interchangeable — take them in any order. Later stages are greyed as advice, never locked: if your placement needs something now, go and get it.

1

Write a safe prescription

you are here

The mechanics before the pharmacology: the sections that carry the most marks and the ones where errors are procedural rather than clinical.

0/2
2

Decide and monitor

comes later

Planning management, adverse reactions, monitoring and calculation — the reasoning half of the paper.

0/6
Southampton dates1st attempt · Jan 2027resit · 3 Jun 2027You’ve already sat the June 2026 mock.
0PSA readinessmark-weighted
Where the marks are200 marks
80
32
16
16
16
16

Prescribing (80) + Prescription review (32) = 56% of all marks. Prioritise them.

The 8 sections
1Prescribing8 items · 10 marks each80marks2Prescription review8 items · 4 marks each32marks3Planning management8 items · 2 marks each16marks4Providing information6 items · 2 marks each12marks5Calculation skills8 items · 2 marks each16marks6Adverse drug reactions8 items · 2 marks each16marks7Drug monitoring8 items · 2 marks each16marks8Data interpretation6 items · 2 marks each12marks
Clinical content

Learn the material

236 entries
Prescribing scenarios
37 entries

What to give, the full cascade, and the traps.

Prescription review
67 entries

The unsafe prescriptions to spot and what to do.

ADRs & culprits
40 entries

Presentations and the drugs that cause them.

Planning management
31 entries

Recognise it, then the first-line treatment.

Counselling points
34 entries

The key message for each drug.

Drug monitoring
27 entries

Ranges, timing, toxicity and interactions.

Practice questionsGenerated from all the content above — endless variation, near-miss distractors, explanation every time.
SCRIPT modules
0/55 done

The 55 Safe Prescriber e-learning modules to complete before the PSA — the prescribing foundation, as a tracked checklist.

The formulary
Top 40 FY1 drugs

The highest-yield drugs FY1s actually prescribe — browse by system, with the key prescribing points, and track what you know.

Drug monitoring
27 drugs · ranges & toxicity

Therapeutic ranges, monitoring, timing and toxicity for the drugs the PSA tests — lithium, digoxin, warfarin, DMARDs and more.

Seven clinical settings

Every scenario is drawn from one of these.

MEDSURGELDPEDPSYCHO&GGP