What is the Prescribing Safety Assessment?
The Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) is a UK national assessment designed to ensure that newly qualified doctors can prescribe safely and effectively in NHS clinical settings. It is sat by all UK medical students before graduation, and forms part of the GMC requirements for entry to the Foundation Programme.
The eight PSA categories
The paper is divided into eight skill areas. Each tests a different part of safe prescribing competence.
Prescribing
Complete a safe and effective prescription for a clinical scenario, selecting the correct medicine, dose, route and frequency. Worth 10 marks each.
Prescription Review
Review current prescriptions and identify medicines that are inappropriate, unsafe or ineffective, including contraindications, interactions and prescribing errors. Worth 4 marks each.
Planning Management
Select the most appropriate treatment or management option for a patient based on their individual clinical circumstances. Worth 2 marks each.
Providing Information
Identify the most important information or advice to help patients, carers or healthcare professionals use medicines safely and effectively. Worth 2 marks each.
Calculation Skills
Calculate doses, quantities, concentrations and administration rates accurately, including weight-based dosing and unit conversions. Worth 2 marks each.
Adverse Drug Reactions
Recognise adverse drug reactions and interactions, identify the likely causative medicine and select the appropriate management. Worth 2 marks each.
Drug Monitoring
Select the most appropriate method and timing to monitor the beneficial or harmful effects of medicines. Worth 2 marks each.
Data Interpretation
Interpret clinical and investigation data and use the results to make the safest decision about ongoing drug therapy. Worth 2 marks each.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the PSA and how is it structured?
The Prescribing Safety Assessment (PSA) is a UK-wide 2-hour, 60-question online assessment that evaluates the prescribing skills expected of newly qualified doctors. The PSA assesses eight competencies including prescribing, prescription review, management planning, providing information, calculation skills, adverse drug reactions, drug monitoring, and data interpretation. The questions are clinically realistic and require you to write or review prescriptions using similar electronic prescribing systems used in the NHS.
When is the PSA sat?
The PSA is held on multiple national assessment dates throughout the academic year. Your medical school will allocate your assessment date.
How is Plabable for PSA different from other PSA question banks?
Plabable aims to equip you with the right amount of resources to give you the best opportunity to pass on your first attempt. We pride ourselves on our interface, which reflects the actual exam and realistic questions at the same difficulty level as the exam. We also provide the option to elevate your learning experience through our Gems, which are flashcards containing bite-sized information for revising and live webinars throughout the year.
Are your questions aligned with the current PSA blueprint?
Yes. Our questions cover the full range of competencies tested in the exam and we regularly review and update these.
Do I need other PSA question banks alongside Plabable?
That is entirely your choice and it is down to individual preference. We believe that our resources give you the best chance of passing the exam.