Flashcards are one of my top recommended ways to study medicine, as it promotes retention of material through active recall with spaced repetition. Flashcards are intended to supplement, but not replace, the many different ways of studying. Of all the flashcard platforms that exist, I have consistently found the Anki Flashcard platform to be the most effective (so far) to deal with the volume of information in medicine. I encourage you to download Anki on your computer and mobile phone (link to download Anki here) and download my personal flashcard deck for Psychiatry, which I used to prepare myself adequately for the 2021 Royal College Psychiatry Exam (in combination with other study formats; cards are labelled with tag .RoyalCollegeExam) and for real life practice in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. This deck will be updated intermittently. As you go through these flashcards, I encourage you to personalize them, transport them to your own personal deck, and create your own flashcards as you see fit. Try to do at least 1 flashcard per day, but as you ramp up in R5, start aiming for 20-25 *new* flashcards per day (not including flashcards for review). Completion of these flashcards are way faster when you do not multitask.

Flashcard decks last updated: Mar 10, 2021

Exam banks dating from 2013 and beyond are recommended.

• ***One of Canada’s annual Royal College exam review courses. These typically occur annually in January. I would recommend attending one of these at least 1 year before taking your Royal College MCQ exam, if not earlier as your last year leading up to your Royal College MCQ exam is best spent on exam banks. There are several exam courses available, which include:
  • University of Ottawa’s Annual E.K. Koranyi Review Course in Psychiatry. Best to read through the actual recommended required guidelines before attending this course, as some content will differ and I would recommend prioritizing the actual guidelines as your source material for your exams. Although Ottawa Review provides their powerpoint slides and podcast of their audio recordings afterwards, many lecturers will often refer to content on their slides and fly through their powerpoint slides. If you plan to go through their course material without actually attending the review course, listening to the audio recordings alone is low yield. I would highly recommend sitting down with BOTH the powerpoint slides and audio rather than either one alone.
  • London Review Course. Good for OSCE station preparation specifically.
• Spiegel, J.C. & Kenny, J.M. (2020). Psychiatry Test Preparation and Review Manual, 4th edition. Elsevier Canada. (Amazon link)

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada National Standards for Training webpage

Sample STACER evaluation form

PER ASPECT OF CLINICAL CARE:

• Psychiatric DDx, Epidemiology, Comorbidities, & Complications
• DSM-5 Criteria (Comprehensive)DSM-5 Criteria Psychotic Disorders
• DSM-5 Criteria Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders
• DSM-5 Criteria Neurocognitive Disorders
• DSM-5 Criteria Sexual Dysfunctions
• DSM-5 Criteria Paraphilic Disorders
• Physiology, Etiology, & Pathophysiology of Mental Disorders
• Investigations
• Formulation
• General Management of Psychiatric Disorders
• PsychopharmacologyPsychotropic Drugs Generic vs Trade Names
• Psychotropic Medication Dosing
• Psychotropic Drug Drug Interactions
• Psychotropic Side Effects
• History of Psychiatry
• Research Principles

PER CLINICAL PRESENTATION:

• Substance Use
• Psychosis
• Mood
  • Overview of Bipolar Disorder Management per 2018 CANMAT Guidelines
  • Pharmacological Management of Agitation Secondary to Mania per 2018 CANMAT Guidelines
  • 1st Line Agents for Bipolar Disorder per 2018 CANMAT Guidelines
  • 3rd Line Agents for Bipolar Disorder per 2018 CANMAT Guidelines
• Anxiety
• Conduct
• Eating Disorders
• Personality Disorders

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• Psychosis (Negative Symptoms)