This text covers the key information necessary to pass Paper A of the postgraduate examination to become a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych). It emphasises memory aids in the forms of diagrams or tables, a novel presentation of these materials, providing a quick and portable source for pre-exam revision and visual memory aids and prompts.

Dr. Richard Kerslake, MBBS, MRCPsych, is a higher trainee in General Adult and Older Persons Psychiatry. He is a graduate of the Royal Free and University College London medical school. Dr Kerslake is currently based in Sussex, England, having previously worked at Orygen Youth Health, Melbourne and then completed core training in London. He currently an Honorary Clinical Lecturer at Brighton & Sussex Medical School where he has a special interest in Simulation-Based Education and training of Physician Associates.

Dr. Elizabeth Templeton, MBChB, MRCPsych, trained at the University of Liverpool and graduated with honors in 2006. She moved to London soon after to start her psychiatric core training within Camden and Islington Foundation Trust. Dr Templeton has always had a keen interest in medical education, she has contributed to OSCE smart a published revision guide for practical exams and played a significant role in the development of a pan-London simulation-based training programme. Dr Templeton is now a specialist registrar in East London.

Dr. Lisanne Stock, BMBCh, MRCPsych, graduated from the University of Oxford and completed her Foundation and Core Training in North Central London where she continues to work as a higher trainee in General Adult Psychiatry. Dr Stock has an interest in medical education and co-runs the CASC In Hand tailored revision course for the final part of the MRCPsych examinations. Dr Stock is also a trustee for the charity Nip in the Bud which aims to improve recognition of mental health conditions in primary school children via film.

This study guide covers the key information necessary to pass Paper A of the postgraduate examination to become a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (MRCPsych).

Established resources for preparing for MRCPsych exams are often from a range of sources, online or through questions banks. This essential guide provides balance to the breadth and depth of the syllabus, in an accessible format that can be used for brief fact checking or understanding of a topic as a whole. Authors draw on their own experience of passing Paper A to emphasise key learning points with concise text, visual memory aids, diagrams and tables.

It is a novel presentation of the Paper A syllabus in a focussed and portable source for pre-exam revision.

Part 1: Behavioural Sciences and Sociocultural Psychiatry 1. Fundamentals of Psychology 2. Basic and Social Psychology 3. Sociocultural Psychiatry Part 2: Human Development 4. Elements of Human Development Part 3: Basic Neurosciences 5. Neuroanatomy 6. Neurophysiology 8. Molecular Genetics 9. Clinical Neuropathology 10. Applied Neurosciences Part 4: Clinical Psychopharmacology 11. Mechanisms of Action 12. Specifics of Prescribing 13. Pharmacokinetics 14. Approval of Drugs Part 5: Classification and Assessment 15. Classification 16. History and Mental State Examination 17. Psychopathology 18. Diagnosis and ICD-10 Classification Codes