FCPsych(SA) Part 2: The Complete Guide

FCPsych(SA) Part 2 is the exit examination for psychiatry, set by the College of Psychiatrists of the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA). It assesses whether you can manage the common clinical problems of psychiatry at specialist level without supervision, across adult, child, old age, forensic, addiction and consultation-liaison work. This guide concentrates on the written papers, which you must pass to reach the clinical examination, and explains the format, eligibility and a preparation plan.

What is the FCPsych(SA) Part 2?

Part 2 has a written component and a clinical component, and the written component must be passed before you can enter the clinical examination. The written papers sample the entire Part 2 curriculum blueprint, and the College expects a broad knowledge of the medicine and paediatrics relevant to psychiatry as well as psychiatry itself. Passing Part 2, together with completed registrar training, leads to the Fellowship and specialist registration.

FCPsych(SA) Part 2 format and structure

The current regulations describe the examination as follows:

• Two digital written papers of 3 hours each, both drawing on content from the whole blueprint.
• Each paper contains 75 to 100 single best answer (SBA) questions. Multiple choice, extended matching and very short answer questions may also be included.
• College training material describes the SBA structure as a clinical scenario, a lead-in question and four plausible options with one best answer.
• An overall pass mark for both papers combined is set using the Angoff method, and there is no negative marking.
• The clinical component, which carries 70% of the final mark, is a 12-station OSCE equivalent: nine 20-minute stations across general and special psychiatry, plus a long case worth three stations. It must be passed with at least 50%.

Both papers must be written at the same sitting. If you pass the written component but fail the clinical component, you are exempt from the written papers at the next sitting only. Confirm the current format on the CMSA website when you apply.

Who can sit FCPsych(SA) Part 2?

Entry requirements are detailed and are checked through your Portfolio of Learning. The regulations require a pass in Part 1, or Part 1 of an accredited MMed (Psychiatry), and at least 33 of the 48 months of registrar training completed before the examination date. Your Head of Department must confirm acceptance of your portfolio. You also need documented supervised experience in community psychiatry and in child psychiatry, a year on the staff of an approved psychiatric hospital, supervised training in areas such as neuropsychiatry, psychotherapy, forensic and old age psychiatry, and supervised experience administering ECT. Research knowledge is examined in both written and oral components. Part 2 must be passed within 36 months of completing training. Confirm the current criteria with the CMSA before you register.

FCPsych(SA) Part 2 syllabus: where to focus

The College's curriculum content blueprint is organised into modules, and both papers can sample any of them. College guidance states that questions are based on well-recognised guidelines rather than university-specific practice, and focus on common conditions, life-threatening conditions and conditions that cause marked impairment. Priority areas include:

• General adult psychiatry: psychotic, mood, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, trauma-related and personality disorders, with investigations and multidisciplinary assessment.
• Emergency psychiatry: severe behavioural disturbance, suicide and self-harm, catatonia, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, serotonin syndrome and lithium toxicity.
• Substance-related disorders, consultation-liaison psychiatry including HIV and perinatal mental health, and neuropsychiatry including delirium and the dementias.
• Child and adolescent psychiatry, neurodevelopmental disorders and old age psychiatry.
• Forensic psychiatry and the Mental Health Care Act, including criminal capacity, fitness to plead and state patients.
• Psychopharmacology, brain stimulation treatments, psychotherapies, public mental health, ethics, research and cultural psychiatry in the South African context.

A realistic FCPsych(SA) Part 2 study plan

Most registrars prepare for Part 2 over several months in the final phase of training. Plan in phases, and keep clinical practice going for the OSCE alongside written revision.

• Phase one, audit the blueprint. List every module and rate your confidence. Rotations shape what you know, so start with the modules you have seen least, often forensic, child and adolescent, or old age psychiatry.
• Phase two, guideline-based questions. Work through mixed SBA questions, checking each explanation against current South African and international guidance. Keep a list of prescribing details, such as monitoring requirements and drug interactions, that you get wrong.
• Phase three, simulate. Sit full timed papers, review performance by module, and finish with targeted revision of weak areas, law and psychopharmacology. Use the same period to practise long-case presentations and formulations for the clinical component.

Exam technique that earns marks

Apply the College's own "cover test": read the scenario and lead-in, and try to answer before you look at the options. In SBA questions every option is meant to be plausible, so look for the detail in the stem that makes one option best for this patient, such as a recent medication change, the time course, or the setting. Answer from established guidelines rather than local habit. There is no negative marking and the pass mark is set across both papers combined, so answer every question and keep going steadily even if one paper feels harder than the other.

The best way to revise for FCPsych(SA) Part 2

Because both papers sample the entire blueprint, broad and repeated question practice is the most reliable way to prepare for the written component. The best banks use the same clinical-vignette SBA style as the CMSA, explain why each plausible distractor falls short, and track your performance by module so that no part of the blueprint is left to chance.

Passmed's FCPsych(SA) Part 2 question bank is written by qualified doctors, mapped to the CMSA Part 2 blueprint, and pairs guideline-based explanations with performance tracking across every module. Explore the FCPsych(SA) Part 2 question bank →

Frequently asked questions

How many questions are in the FCPsych(SA) Part 2 written papers?

Each of the two papers contains 75 to 100 single best answer questions, with 3 hours per paper. Other question types may also be included.

How is the written component passed?

An overall pass mark for both papers combined is set by the Angoff method. There is no negative marking.

What does the clinical component involve?

A 12-station OSCE equivalent made up of nine 20-minute stations and a long case worth three stations. It must be passed with at least 50% and carries 70% of the final mark.

When can I sit Part 2?

After passing Part 1 and completing at least 33 of your 48 months of registrar training, with your portfolio accepted by your Head of Department and the other training requirements met.

Exam format details were checked against the Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (accessed October 2026). Regulations, dates and fees change, always confirm the current details on the CMSA website before you sit.