For Psychiatry trainees: 150 questions in three hours, 100 MCQs and 50 EMIs. From January 2027, research methods, statistics and critical review is the largest domain (30–36%), so it is where marks are won or lost, and eight clinical domains decide the rest. The questions are formulaic once you know the patterns; we teach those patterns.
A guided, free tour of the questions the examiners keep coming back to — the critical-appraisal data families and every clinical specialty, each with a briefing and common worked examples. Browse it all without signing up.
| Domain · highest weighting first | Range | Strategy |
|---|---|---|
| Total items | 150 (100 MCQs + 50 EMIs), 3 hours | ~1 min 12 sec per item |
| 1. Critical Appraisal (Domain 13 on syllabus) Research Methods, Statistics, Critical Review & EBP | 30–36% (~45–54 items) | Largest domain: statistics, study design, appraisal |
| 2. General Adult Psychiatry (Domain 6 on syllabus) | 18–22% (~27–33 items) | Disorders in adulthood, perinatal, liaison, emergency, psychosexual |
| 3. Old Age Psychiatry (Domain 7 on syllabus) | 8–12% (~12–18 items) | Dementias, services, physical disease, later-life disorders |
| 4. Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (Domain 9 on syllabus) | 8–12% (~12–18 items) | ACEs, child protection, neurodevelopmental and emotional disorders |
| 5. Organisation & Delivery of Services (Domain 5 on syllabus) | 4–8% (~6–12 items) | Services, treatments, human rights, medicolegal, cultural competence |
| 6. Psychotherapy (Domain 8 on syllabus) | 4–8% (~6–12 items) | Psychodynamic, CBT, systemic, group |
| 7. Addictions Psychiatry (Domain 10 on syllabus) | 4–8% (~6–12 items) | Alcohol, drugs, prescribing, dual diagnosis, behavioural addictions |
| 8. Forensic Psychiatry (Domain 11 on syllabus) | 4–8% (~6–12 items) | Crime and mental disorder, criminal justice, secure settings |
| 9. Intellectual Disability (Domain 12 on syllabus) | 4–8% (~6–12 items) | Services, epidemiology, aetiology, clinical |
Domain 13 (Research Methods, Statistics, Critical Review and Evidence-Based Practice) is 30–36% of Paper B from January 2027. These are its sections.
| § | Section | Key content |
|---|---|---|
| 13.1 | Introductory concepts | Appraisal, hierarchy of evidence, databases, PECO(t), causation, informed decisions |
| 13.2 | Epidemiological studies | Bias, confounding, mortality statistics, SMR; cross-sectional, case-control, cohort, SCCS; Bradford Hill |
| 13.3 | Experimental studies | RCTs, randomisation, blinding, missing data, NNT/NNH, ARR/RRR; pragmatic, n-of-1, cluster, crossover trials |
| 13.4 | Systematic review | Heterogeneity, funnel plots, fixed vs random effects, network meta-analysis |
| 13.5 | Diagnostic studies | Sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, likelihood ratios, nomograms, ROC/AUC, validity |
| 13.6 | Economic analysis | Types of economic evaluation, ICER, sensitivity analysis |
| 13.7 | Qualitative research | Grounded theory, phenomenology, ethnography; sampling; data collection; mixed methods |
| 13.8 | Descriptive statistics | Data types, central tendency, dispersion, SE, confidence intervals, distributions |
| 13.9 | Differential & analytic statistics | Hypothesis testing, p-values, parametric vs non-parametric, type I/II error, power, survival, multiplicity |
| 13.10 | Correlation & regression | Pearson, Spearman, Kendall and others; linear, logistic, multiple, Poisson regression |
| 13.11 | Clinical governance | Audit, quality improvement, service evaluation |
| 13.12 | Guidelines & reporting | Guidelines, NICE development process, advantages and limitations |
| 13.13 | Network analysis | Nodes, edges, centrality, clusters, density, network types |
| 13.14 | Research ethics | Good research practice, governance, ethics approval, declarations, research fraud |
| 13.15 | Artificial intelligence in research | Use of AI in research |
Official RCPsych Paper B calendar. Applications must be submitted no later than 3.30pm UK time on the last date of the application period. Sittings from February 2027 follow the 2027 syllabus. Always confirm on the RCPsych website before booking.
| Diet | Date of examination | Application period | Publication of results |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 07 October 2026 | 13 July – 24 July 2026 | 6 November 2026 |
| 1 | 16 February 2027 | 30 November – 11 December 2026 | 18 March 2027 |
| 2 | 27 May 2027 | 8 March – 19 March 2027 | 25 June 2027 |
| 3 | 13 October 2027 | 12 July – 23 July 2027 | 18 November 2027 |
| Study | Topic | Key Finding |
|---|---|---|
| CATIE | Antipsychotics | SGAs not clearly superior to FGAs |
| CUtLASS | Antipsychotics | UK trial: no clear advantage of SGAs |
| STAR*D | Depression | Stepped treatment; remission declines with each step |
| BALANCE | Bipolar | Lithium + valproate combination most effective |