About to start serious prep for the FANZCA written exams and I'd love to hear realistic numbers from people who've been through it. How many hours a week were you studying, and how far out did you start? I've heard everything from 3 months of light review to 9 months of full-on intensive prep and I honestly can't tell what's typical versus exceptional.
I'm a registrar with about 2.5 years of anaesthetics experience, which I think puts me in a reasonable position content-wise, but the exam structure is unlike anything I've done before. The MCQ component with the true-false format is particularly unfamiliar. I'm told the negative marking changes how you have to approach uncertain questions, which adds a strategic layer on top of content knowledge.
Pass rates I've seen cited are around 55–60% per sitting, which is sobering. I'd genuinely rather take two full sittings and do well than rush the first one and deal with the psychological toll of a failure on top of training demands. But I also don't want to delay sitting if I'm already at a point where I could be ready.
Primarily curious about the pharmacology SAQs — is that where most people struggle? I find the physical principles section more straightforward to study but the pharmacology scope feels enormous.
My study group all found the physiology integration questions harder than pure pharmacology. They'll give you a clinical scenario and you need to apply basic science across multiple systems simultaneously. Content knowledge alone isn't enough for those — that type of thinking takes dedicated practice.
The negative marking on the MCQs changes everything. I left about 8% of questions blank on my first sitting because I wasn't confident, and in hindsight some of those I could have reasoned through. By my second sitting I had a much better feel for when I was genuinely uncertain versus when anxiety was making me second-guess solid knowledge.
I sat twice — failed the first sitting, got through the second about 8 months later. First attempt I started prep 4 months out doing about 10 hours a week. Second time I started 6 months out doing 15–18 hours a week and it made a real difference. The pharmacology scope is massive but the exam tests depth not just breadth.
Pharmacology SAQs were my weakest section too. The trick is that they're not just asking you to list drug classes — they want mechanism of action, clinical application, side effect profiles, and comparative pharmacology all tied together. Treating each agent as an isolated fact won't cut it.
Just passed my Part 1 written last sitting so hopefully this is useful. I did about 6 months, starting with maybe 8-10 hours a week and ramping up to 20+ in the last two months. The thing that actually made the difference for me wasn't reading more -- it was doing past papers under timed conditions way earlier than felt comfortable. I kept putting it off because I didn't feel "ready" but honestly that's the wrong mindset. You learn what you don't know by being forced to answer questions, not by reading another chapter.
The other thing I'd say is don't underestimate the physiology vivas prep even for the written. Understanding the concepts deeply enough to explain them out loud made the MCQs click in a way that passive reading never did. It's a hard exam and there's no shortcut, but six solid months with good question practice is very achievable. Good luck.
Just passed my primaries in April so this is fresh. I did about 6 months total but honestly the first two were pretty unfocused — I didn't really hit my stride until I committed to 3 solid hours every weekday and a longer session on Saturdays. The one thing that actually moved the needle for me was doing past SAQs under timed conditions, not just reading through them. Reading feels productive but it isn't the same as sitting down with a timer and forcing yourself to write a structured answer from scratch.
The other thing I'd say is don't underestimate the physiology depth they expect. I kept thinking I knew a topic until I had to actually write it out and realised there were gaps everywhere. So if I had to give you one piece of advice it's this: start writing answers early, even when they're terrible, because that's when you figure out what you don't actually know.
Quick update from someone mid-prep: just hit 74% on my most recent MCQ practice block and I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. I've been going about 3 hours a day, six days a week, starting around 5 months out. It's a lot but it doesn't feel unsustainable yet.
I'm planning to sit the Primary written in October. Fingers crossed it holds. If you're earlier in the process than me, I'd say don't underestimate how much the physiology section can sneak up on you — I definitely did at first.
Honestly, it took me two attempts for the written and I don't think that's unusual at all. I was working full-time as a registrar through most of my prep, so I couldn't do the 40-hours-a-week grind some people describe. I started about six months out and averaged maybe 8 to 10 hours a week, ramping up to closer to 15 in the final six weeks. The key thing I'd say is consistency beats intensity — I didn't take big study weekends, I just did an hour most mornings before my shift.
For question practice specifically, don't underestimate how much the application-style questions trip people up if you're used to just reading. I used fanzca/questions/practice and application 5 a lot in my second attempt and I think it genuinely shifted how I was thinking through the reasoning, not just recalling facts. You'll figure out your own rhythm but give yourself at least five months if you're working — three months light review isn't enough unless you're already very close to the mark.