6-Month AMC Part 1 Study Plan

Overview

This 6-month study plan provides a week-by-week framework for AMC Part 1 preparation. It is designed for candidates with approximately 3–5 study hours per day and covers all six patient groups from the official AMC content blueprint: Adult Health – Medicine (~30%), Adult Health – Surgery (~20%), Women's Health (~12.5%), Child Health (~12.5%), Mental Health (~12.5%), and Population Health & Ethics (~12.5%).

The plan is structured in four phases: Foundation, Clinical Deep Dive, Consolidation, and Exam Simulation. Topics are sequenced so that the highest-weight patient groups are covered first, with practice questions integrated from week one and volume increasing as you progress.

Phase 1 — Foundation (Months 1–2)

Goal: Build core knowledge across the Adult Health – Medicine patient group (~30% of the exam) and the fundamentals of Mental Health (~12.5%). Establish your question bank baseline and daily study rhythm.

Month 1

Weeks 1–2: Adult Health – Medicine — Cardiovascular and Respiratory

• Ischaemic heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, hypertension, valvular disease
• Asthma, COPD, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, lung cancer
• ECG interpretation and chest X-ray reading
• 40–50 practice questions per week

Weeks 3–4: Adult Health – Medicine — Gastroenterology and Endocrinology

• IBD, peptic ulcer disease, liver disease, gastrointestinal malignancies, pancreatitis
• Diabetes mellitus types 1 and 2, thyroid disorders, adrenal pathology, calcium metabolism
• 40–50 practice questions per week

Month 2

Weeks 5–6: Adult Health – Medicine — Neurology + Mental Health

• Stroke, seizures, headache, dementia, movement disorders, peripheral neuropathy
• Depression, anxiety disorders, psychosis, substance use disorders, psychopharmacology (SSRIs, antipsychotics, mood stabilisers)
• Mental state examination and suicide risk assessment
• 40–50 practice questions per week

Weeks 7–8: Adult Health – Medicine — Renal, Haematology, and Rheumatology

• AKI, CKD, electrolyte disorders, urinalysis interpretation
• Anaemia, coagulation disorders, leukaemia, lymphoma
• Rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, connective tissue disease
• 50–60 practice questions per week

By the end of Phase 1, you should have covered the entirety of Adult Health – Medicine and Mental Health — together approximately 42.5% of the exam. Your question bank accuracy across these areas should be trending upward, with specific weak topics identified for later revision.

Phase 2 — Clinical Deep Dive (Months 3–4)

Goal: Cover the remaining four patient groups — Adult Health – Surgery (~20%), Women's Health (~12.5%), Child Health (~12.5%), and Population Health & Ethics (~12.5%). Increase question volume significantly.

Month 3

Weeks 9–10: Adult Health – Surgery

• Surgical emergencies (appendicitis, bowel obstruction, perforation, acute abdomen)
• Trauma assessment and fracture management
• Perioperative assessment, risk stratification, DVT prophylaxis, postoperative complications
• Common elective conditions (hernias, gallstone disease, urological presentations)
• 60 practice questions per week

Weeks 11–12: Women's Health (Obstetrics and Gynaecology)

• Antenatal care, screening, and complications of pregnancy (pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, ectopic pregnancy)
• Labour and delivery, postpartum haemorrhage
• Common gynaecological conditions (PCOS, endometriosis, fibroids, abnormal uterine bleeding)
• Cervical screening, contraception, menopause
• 60 practice questions per week

Month 4

Weeks 13–14: Child Health (Paediatrics)

• Developmental milestones and growth assessment
• Common childhood illness (respiratory infections, otitis media, gastroenteritis, febrile illness)
• Australian National Immunisation Program schedule
• Paediatric emergencies (croup, bronchiolitis, febrile convulsions, meningitis)
• Neonatal conditions and child safeguarding
• 60 practice questions per week

Weeks 15–16: Population Health & Ethics + Cross-Cutting Pharmacology

• Epidemiology, biostatistics, screening program principles
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
• Ethical decision-making, consent, confidentiality, medico-legal issues
• Professionalism and cultural safety
• Integrated pharmacology revision: first-line treatments, key adverse effects, and contraindications across all patient groups studied so far
• 60–70 practice questions per week

Population Health & Ethics is the patient group most candidates underestimate. At 12.5%, it carries the same weighting as Mental Health, Child Health, or Women's Health. Skipping it or leaving it to the final weeks is a common and avoidable mistake.

Phase 3 — Consolidation (Month 5)

Goal: Identify and close gaps across all six patient groups. Revisit flagged questions. Sit your first full-length mock and use the results to set Phase 4 priorities.

Month 5

Weeks 17–18: Weak Area Targeted Revision

• Review your question bank performance by patient group. Any area consistently below 60% accuracy needs dedicated time this fortnight.
• Revisit all questions you flagged as incorrect or uncertain across the previous four months. Re-attempt them without looking at the explanation first, then check whether your reasoning has improved.
• Cross-reference your coverage against the Anthology of Medical Conditions — identify any clinical presentations you have not yet studied.
• 70–80 practice questions per week (mixed topics, timed)

Weeks 19–20: Integrated Review + First Full-Length Mock

• Shift to mixed-topic question blocks covering all six patient groups in each session. This mirrors the real exam, where questions jump between cardiology, paediatrics, ethics, and surgery without warning.
• Complete your first full-length 150-question timed mock under realistic conditions (3.5 hours, no breaks, no returning to previous questions). Score it honestly.
• Analyse the mock results: which patient groups had the most errors? Were they knowledge gaps, reasoning errors, or time-pressure mistakes? Use this data to set your revision priorities for Month 6.
• 80 practice questions per week (in addition to the mock)

Phase 4 — Exam Simulation (Month 6)

Goal: Build exam stamina, sharpen time management, and reach consistent passing performance on full-length mocks.

Month 6

Weeks 21–22: Full Mock Examinations + Targeted Review

• Sit 2 full-length timed mocks on separate days, each under exam-like conditions. Treat each mock as if it were the real exam — no distractions, no pauses, no reference materials.
• After each mock, conduct a thorough review of every incorrect answer. For each error, note whether the root cause was a knowledge gap (need to learn or re-learn the content), a reasoning error (knew the content but applied it wrong), or a careless mistake under time pressure (misread the question, rushed the answer).
• Spend the non-mock days on targeted revision of the specific topics where errors clustered. This is the highest-yield revision you can do at this stage.

Weeks 23–24: Final Preparation

• Sit one final full-length mock early in Week 23. This is your last objective readiness check. If your score is consistently at or above the passing threshold across mocks, you are ready.
• Spend the remainder of Week 23 on light revision of high-yield summary notes: first-line treatments, key investigations, common acute differentials, and any remaining weak spots.
• Week 24 (final days): Do not introduce any new content. Light review only if it helps you feel prepared. Focus on rest, sleep, hydration, and logistics — confirm your test centre address, required ID documents, and arrival time.

Daily Study Structure

A consistent daily structure improves focus and retention. The following is a template for a 4-hour study day — adjust the time blocks proportionally if you have more or fewer hours, but maintain the same balance between content review and active recall.

The most common scheduling mistake is spending too much time on content review and too little on questions. From week one, at least 40% of your study time should involve active recall — answering questions, explaining concepts without notes, or working through clinical scenarios.

Resources You Will Need

Start with the official AMC materials:

• AMC MCQ Examination Specifications — the content blueprint and patient group weightings that this plan is built around
• Anthology of Medical Conditions — 130+ clinical presentations forming the core exam framework; use it as a coverage checklist
• AMC MCQ Preparation App — 210 free practice questions developed with eMedici, reflecting the style and difficulty of the actual exam

Supplement with:

• A reliable question bank mapped to the AMC blueprint — see the Question Bank page for what to look for
• One core clinical reference (UpToDate, or an equivalent covering diagnosis and management across all patient groups)
• A spaced repetition tool (Anki or similar) for pharmacology, key investigations, and clinical criteria

For study methods to use alongside this plan, read the AMC Part 1 Preparation Strategy. For a detailed breakdown of each patient group, refer to the AMC Part 1 Syllabus. To avoid the errors that most commonly hold candidates back, see Common Mistakes. For a faster path if you have more daily hours, use the 3-Month Study Plan.