Useful links

Some extra resources that will help to polish off your knowledge base

Dr Jake Barlow has made an amazing website with a simple drop down menu that covers the Part 1 curriculum with very little 'fluff.' It's to the point and has all the key points that you should expect to put in an 10 minute SAQ. As I got closer to my viva, if found I used Part 1 more and more, you could easily revise a topic in 5-10 minutes. The real hidden gem in Part 1 is the Equipment and Measurement Section!! He has very easy to read descriptions of complex measurement tools like the 'Wheatstone Bridge,' 'BIS,' 'Vapourisers' and I would just memorise these descriptions for my opening statement in a viva!!

Don't worry the first time you look at Diagram and Die you will freak out. "How am I supposed to remember all these!" Then as you get to your viva you will think "I can't wait to never see these diagrams again." Fair to say this resource created by Dr Adam Hollingworth is must review before sitting the viva. There is not much more to add, it's in the name! Dr Hollingworth also his own website with Primary Notes that are well worth a read. There you will also find the equally as important Definitions Study Aid!

Every sitting there seems to be at least one new SAQ that is a repeat from the ICU CICM exam. For the time poor candidate you might not ever visit this resource and that's ok, it's not a must for passing. However if you do have the time please check it out! CICM Wrecks has a huge library of SAQs and I would compare it to Ketamine Nightmares. Generally a 'Model Answer' is 1-2 pages which I found was more palatable and the examiner reports are included! There are some absolute nasty SAQs just waiting to be asked in the Part 1 (like classification of antibiotics and mechanism for resistance) and some really common questions that you think would have already been asked but haven't (in my sitting it was 'define cardiac preload and describe its determinants').

If you don't like to write notes or read eBooks then you should look to buy the FRCA Flash Cards. The curriculum and content is very similar to ANZCA. The physics flashcards are likely too much depth, but the general pharmacology, and equipment cards do summarise core concepts very neatly. One down side is that it can be a bit too much to carry to work if that is your preferred site to study. If you have already purchased the Must Have $ then I would caution you from resource overload, yes that's a thing!

These guys are great! They are my inspiration for starting my own Primary Podcast. Not only does Dr Lahiru Amaratunge do the Coffee Break Anaesthesia Podcast but he also has the ABCs of Anaesthesia YouTube channel. My favourite videos are the mock viva's to candidates. You can get a lot out watching those and I just don't mean knowledge. A viva has many non-technical components that are hard to master and we all have a bad habit or two that we would like to shake off. Dr Stan Tay also has his own YouTube page Adrenaline Memories where he shares very high yield tips on answering SAQs. Many of my colleagues became Patreons to his channel!

Dr Rathie's name is synonymous with the primary exam in Queensland. This is the first book I read when I got on the Anaesthetic training program. It's a very easy read with lots of must knows about our profession. Things that don't make any sense like a TCI to non-anaesthetic trainee become crystal clear after reading the 'Everything you should know about Propofol TCI.' To this date this is the single best resource I read for understanding TCI and I used it as my go to reference guide for my primary. While their is a copy you can get from Amazon, Dr Rathie has made a online free version to access.

Now I have to put a disclaimer, these are simply my recommendations. There are endless resources available to use! I think the trick to getting the most out of your time and increase efficiency is by absorbing knowledge via different mediums.

An important step to studying well is to first understand how you study. I knew I was someone that loves to handwrite notes and I knew this would take time (why didn't I just use ANKI!). I also know that I am someone that needs to go over the same concept over and over and over again until it sticks. Reading my notes again and again was going to be too time consuming, so I would use car ride to work as an easy way to smash out a topic with a podcast! When I didn't feel like reading text books I would switch and watch YouTube videos on topics (email me if you want some suggestions of good ones). Working full time then coming home and having to study is a drag. But as one my SOT's put it "you know if you're studying enough when a trip to Woolworths becomes the highlight of your day." That sounds awfully bleak but in many respects it's true. As you get closer to your written date it gets harder to try and stay active and its easier just to get caught up with studying thinking you don't have enough time! It's true you will never feel like you have enough time but the exam is not end of the world. Put aside at least 30 minutes a day to do something active. Plan a nice date night with your loved ones every few weeks. It's common sense but all common sense goes out the window with the Primary. Hopefully you will find that taking short breaks from studying actually makes you more efficient at studying. If you ever feel like you need guidance don't hesitate to ask! We are all in this together!!!

Feedback always welcome, if you think anything else needs to be added to the Useful Links list please let me know!