This is a complete day-by-day AMC Part 1 study schedule. Exactly what to study on each of 72 study days across 12 weeks, with daily question targets and mock exam timing. It is built around a structured question bank of 2,800+ questions and weighted to the AMC’s published exam blueprint rather than to whatever feels productive on the day.

The exam you are scheduling for


Format	150 single-best-answer questions, five options each
Duration	3.5 hours, about 84 seconds per question
Delivery	Computer Adaptive Test at Pearson VUE centres
Scoring	Scaled 0 to 500, pass standard 250
Navigation	No going back. You must answer to progress.
Negative marking	None. Never leave a question blank.

Blueprint weighting: the reason this schedule exists

Patient group	Share of exam	Days in this plan
Adult Health, Medicine	30%	20 days
Adult Health, Surgery	20%	9 days
Women’s Health (Obstetrics & Gynaecology)	12.5%	8 days
Child Health (Paediatrics)	12.5%	4 days
Mental Health	12.5%	4 days
Population Health & Ethics	12.5%	4 days
Cross-cutting guideline and screening revision	n/a	11 days
Mocks, review and targeted weak-area work	n/a	12 days

Weeks 1 to 3: Adult Medicine, part one

Week 1

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
1	Cardiology	Heart failure, acute coronary syndrome, acute chest pain, tachyarrhythmia, bradyarrhythmia, atrioventricular block, supraventricular and ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation	50
2	Cardiology	Hypertension management, hyperlipidaemia, statin-associated myalgia, familial hypercholesterolaemia, cardiovascular disease risk assessment, stroke prevention, pericarditis, cardiomyopathy, VTE prophylaxis and anticoagulation, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, pulmonary hypertension in pregnancy	49
3	Respiratory Medicine	Pulmonary embolism, COPD, bronchial asthma, spontaneous pneumothorax, cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, interstitial lung disease, allergic rhinitis, pulmonary function testing, haemothorax, cardiac tamponade and chest trauma	52
4	Gastroenterology	Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease, H. pylori infection, bleeding peptic ulcer management, drug-induced oesophageal injury, eosinophilic oesophagitis	37
5	Gastroenterology	Coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis and diverticulosis, pancreatitis, small bowel and mesenteric ischaemia, iron deficiency anaemia	38
6	Gastroenterology	Colorectal carcinoma, perianal disorders, pilonidal sinus, medical management of achalasia, functional dysphagia, globus sensation, distal oesophageal spasm	35

Week 2

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
7	Nephrology	Acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome, Henoch-Schonlein purpura, renal artery stenosis, polycystic kidney disease	39
8	Nephrology / Urology	Renal stone, haematuria, benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostatitis, prostate carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, testicular carcinoma, scrotal swelling and pain	44
9	Haematology	Anaemia, thalassaemia, Fanconi anaemia, sickle cell disease, haemolytic anaemia, G6PD deficiency, hereditary spherocytosis	40
10	Haematology	Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, haemolytic uraemic syndrome and disseminated intravascular coagulation, immune thrombocytopenia, heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, bleeding disorder, paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria	41
11	Haematology	Warfarin and international normalised ratio, warfarin and surgery, venous thromboembolism, leukaemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma	41
12	Endocrinology	Diabetes mellitus, thyroid disorder, parathyroid disorder, adrenal gland disorder, pituitary disorder, osteoporosis, disorders of thirst axis, gynaecomastia	45

Week 3

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
13	Neurology	Cerebrovascular accident, transient ischaemic attack, intracranial haemorrhage, carotid artery stenosis, intracranial locations, epilepsy, seizure disorder	51
14	Neurology	Headache types, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barre syndrome, myasthenia gravis, motor neuron disease, Parkinson disease, Bell’s palsy, vertigo, benign paroxysmal positional vertigo, Ménière disease, tinnitus, heat stroke	50
15	Rheumatology	Seropositive and seronegative rheumatoid arthritis, DMARD therapy, gout, systemic lupus erythematosus, osteoarthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, giant cell arteritis, back pain	56
16	Dermatology	Skin cancer, dermatitis, psoriasis, tinea management, scabies, human papillomavirus warts, herpes simplex virus infection	36
17	Dermatology	Acne vulgaris management, cutaneous drug reactions, angioedema and urticaria with ACE inhibitor drug reactions, lichen planus, granuloma annulare, pityriasis rosea and versicolor, infantile haemangioma, napkin dermatitis management	36
18	Infectious Diseases	Vaccination, hepatitis, human immunodeficiency virus, TORCH infections, cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus	42

Weeks 4 and 5: finishing Medicine, starting Surgery

Week 4

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
19	Infectious Diseases	Cellulitis, Clostridioides difficile infection, measles, mumps and rubella, chickenpox, coronavirus disease 2019, lichen sclerosus, genetic disorder	40
20	Infectious Diseases	Travel-related infections, traveller’s diarrhoea, rabies, toxoplasmosis, hydatid disease, cat scratch disease, men who have sex with men health	39
21	General Surgery	Large and small bowel obstruction, cecal volvulus, Ogilvie syndrome, acute pancreatitis, pancreatic pseudocyst, gallbladder pathologies, postcholecystectomy syndrome, haemorrhoids	57
22	General Surgery	Kidney stone and ureter stones, bladder carcinoma, renal cell carcinoma, oesophageal carcinoma, surgical management of achalasia, hepatic abscess, cervical mass, scrotal lumps, salivary gland stone, rectus sheath haematoma, diverticulitis with management and imaging, bariatric surgery complications, conservative versus operative management, red flags for urgent surgery	57
23	Orthopaedic Surgery	Upper and lower limb fracture, open fracture, stress fracture, compartment syndrome, bone infection	35
24	Orthopaedic Surgery	Shoulder and ankle dislocation, knee joint injury, Achilles and biceps tendon rupture, frozen shoulder, overuse injury, pigmented villonodular synovitis	35

Week 5

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
25	Urology & Vascular Surgery	Urinary tract infection, hernia, bowel and bladder dysfunction, vesicoureteral reflux, abdominal aortic aneurysm, mesenteric artery aneurysm, peripheral arterial disease	53
26	Otolaryngology & Breast	Rinne and Weber test, otitis media, ear pain, sinusitis, otolaryngology lumps, breast cancer, mastitis, breast abscess, fibroadenoma, popcorn calcification on mammography	51
27	Ophthalmology	Acute red eye, acute angle-closure glaucoma, glaucoma, corneal ulcer, infective corneal ulcer, keratitis, ocular trauma, orbital floor fracture	53
28	Ophthalmology	Sudden loss of vision, central retinal artery and vein occlusion, amaurosis fugax, transient ischaemic attack, retinal detachment, optic neuritis, age-related macular degeneration, hypertensive retinopathy, acute visual disturbance, chalazion and stye	53
29	Trauma & Emergency Medicine	Splenic rupture, traumatic pneumothorax, haemorrhagic shock, paracetamol poisoning, opioid poisoning, alcohol withdrawal syndrome, snake bite, spider bite, button battery ingestion	41
30	Obstetrics	Preconception care, genetic screening for Down, Patau and Edwards syndromes, chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis with timing, iodine and folic acid supplementation, gestational diabetes, anaemia in pregnancy	47

Weeks 6 and 7: Women’s Health and Paediatrics

Week 6

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
31	Obstetrics	Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia, thyroid disorders in pregnancy, intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy, deep vein thrombosis in pregnancy, antiepileptic drug use in pregnancy	47
32	Obstetrics	Infections in pregnancy, Rh isoimmunisation, indications for anti-D immunoglobulin	47
33	Obstetrics	Miscarriage, ectopic pregnancy, fetal demise, hydatidiform mole, antepartum haemorrhage, postpartum haemorrhage, uterine atony management	47
34	Obstetrics	Preterm labour and management with fetal fibronectin, contraindications to tocolytic therapy, premature rupture of membranes, cervical insufficiency and cerclage, multiple pregnancy, polyhydramnios, fetal growth restriction, fetal macrosomia, post-term pregnancy	47
35	Obstetrics	Stages of labour and management, labour and delivery management, cardiotocography interpretation, shoulder dystocia, umbilical cord prolapse, uterine rupture, uterine inversion, meconium-stained liquor, fetal lie, developmental dysplasia of the hip, uterine fibroids in pregnancy	46
36	Gynaecology	Contraception, abnormal uterine bleeding, amenorrhoea, dysmenorrhoea, endometriosis, adenomyosis, uterine fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome	47

Week 7

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
37	Gynaecology	Menopause, hormone replacement therapy, infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease, abnormal vaginal discharge, atrophic vaginitis, Bartholin gland cyst and abscess, vulvar masses, cervical cancer, vulvar cancer	47
38	Paediatric Gastrointestinal	Pyloric stenosis, intussusception, Hirschsprung disease, Meckel’s diverticulum in children, intestinal atresia, necrotising enterocolitis	40
39	Paediatric Gastrointestinal	Cow’s milk protein allergy, lactose intolerance in children, gastroenteritis, dehydration in children, umbilical hernia in children, meconium plug syndrome	40
40	Neonatology & Development	Neonatal jaundice, neonatal sepsis, neonatal resuscitation, respiratory distress in the newborn, neonatal hypoglycaemia, congenital anomalies, developmental milestones	52
41	Paediatrics, remaining	Bronchiolitis, croup, asthma in children, paediatric rash, allergic diseases in children, acute scrotum in children, testicular torsion in children, hydrocele, varicocele, epididymoorchitis, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder	65
42	Mental Health	Major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, mania, grief, anxiety disorder, panic attack and de-escalation, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia, postpartum psychosis	44

Weeks 8 and 9: Mental Health, Population Health, and guideline revision

Week 8

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
43	Mental Health	Alcohol intoxication, substance withdrawal, carbamazepine intoxication, personality disorder, acute behavioural disturbances and anticholinergic effects, dementia and Alzheimer disease, delirium	49
44	Mental Health	Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum presentations, tic and Tourette disorder	41
45	Mental Health	Eating disorders, side effects of antipsychotics and agitated patient management, side effects of antidepressants, hyperprolactinaemia	22
46	Medical Ethics	Consent and capacity, informed consent, confidentiality, right to refuse treatment, do not resuscitate orders, end-of-life decision making, neonatal death and ethical considerations	41
47	Medical Ethics	Mandatory reporting and notifications, notifiable disease reporting, domestic violence, duty of care and negligence, aggressive patient management, organ donation, elderly care, doctor-patient relationship, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, clinical referral and continuity of care	41
48	Public Health & Preventive Care	Obesity management, nutrition in health and disease, cerebrovascular accident prevention, smoking cessation, alcohol use and brief intervention, adolescent health, fitness to drive	38

Week 9

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
49	Population Health, remaining	Needlestick and sharps injuries, infection prevention and control, foodborne illness recognition and reporting, indigenous health, positive and negative predictive values, risk measures, epidemiological statistics, breaking bad news, difficult patient interaction, cultural safety	25
50	High-Yield Guidelines	Cardiology and Respiratory guideline sets	60
51	High-Yield Guidelines	Gastrointestinal general and Nephrology guideline sets	60
52	High-Yield Guidelines	Endocrine and Neurology guideline sets	60
53	High-Yield Guidelines	Infectious diseases and Dermatology guideline sets	60
54	High-Yield Guidelines	Musculoskeletal and Emergency medicine guideline sets	59

Weeks 10 and 11: cross-cutting revision, then simulation

Week 10

Day	Module	Topics	Qs
55	High-Yield Guidelines	Obstetrics and Womens health guideline sets	60
56	High-Yield Guidelines	Paediatrics and Psychiatric guideline sets	60
57	High-Yield Guidelines	Aboriginal health guideline set	30
58	High-Yield Screenings	Cancer screening: cervical, breast, colorectal, prostate, lung, skin	63
59	High-Yield Screenings	Cardiometabolic screening: diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, abdominal aortic aneurysm, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease	60
60	High-Yield Screenings	Infection and psychosocial screening: HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, sexually transmitted infection, depression, domestic and family violence, Barrett’s oesophagus	74

Week 11

Day	Focus	What to do	Qs
61	Targeted weak areas	Work the platform’s flagged weak topics. Do not choose these yourself, because candidates are consistently wrong about their own weakest areas.	50
62	Targeted weak areas	Second weak-area block. Read every explanation, including for correct answers.	50
63	MOCK EXAM 1	Full 150 questions, 3.5 hours, timed, no interruptions. Sit it at the same time of day as your real exam.	150
64	Mock 1 review	Review every question, wrong and right. Log each error. Identify your three weakest blueprint categories.	n/a
65	Targeted weak areas	Attack the three categories the mock exposed.	60
66	MOCK EXAM 2	Full timed mock. Compare the category breakdown against Mock 1.	150

Week 12: consolidation and taper

Day	Focus	What to do	Qs
67	Mock 2 review	Full review. Update the error log. Note which weak areas improved and which did not.	n/a
68	Targeted weak areas	Whatever did not improve between mocks. This is where the remaining marks are.	60
69	Error log review	Read the entire error log from Day 1. Re-attempt the questions you logged.	50
70	MOCK EXAM 3	Final full timed mock. Treat it as a dress rehearsal. Same time, same conditions, no phone.	150
71	Review and rapid revision	Mock 3 review, then rapid revision only. Screening intervals, immunisation schedule, notifiable conditions, common first-line prescribing, consent and ethics principles.	n/a
72	Taper	Light review of the error log. No new material. Confirm test centre, ID and start time. Sleep.	n/a

What to do in the three weeks after your exam

Do not start your English language exam preparation during this schedule. Twelve weeks at 20 to 25 hours is already a full load, and splitting your attention costs you more on the AMC exam than it gains you on IELTS or OET.

Use the results wait instead. There is roughly a three-week gap between sitting AMC Part 1 and receiving your result, and it is the most wasted stretch of time in the entire pathway. Most candidates spend it refreshing their inbox. It is close to ideal for the English exam, because nothing clinical is competing for your attention, your study habit is still intact from twelve weeks of daily work, and you are already in exam condition rather than rebuilding it from cold.

Book your IELTS or OET date before you sit AMC Part 1, timed to fall inside or just after the results window. The moment your AMC exam finishes, the next one is already scheduled and you do not lose a fortnight deciding.
Start preparation the day after your AMC exam, not once your result arrives. Waiting for the result wastes exactly the window this is designed to use.
Take one or two days off first. Three weeks absorbs a short break and you will work better for it.
If you pass, you have already cleared or nearly cleared the English requirement and can move straight to limited registration and the job search. If you need to resit, you have lost nothing. The English requirement had to be done regardless, and it is now behind you.

Start now

The most common reason a study plan fails is not that it was the wrong plan. It is that Day 1 kept moving. Book the exam, sit the baseline mock, and start Day 1 this week.

AMC Academic gives you 20 questions free, no card and no signup, if you want to see the standard of explanation this schedule is built around before committing to anything.

FAQ

How many hours a day should I study for AMC Part 1?

On a 12-week schedule, around 3 to 4 hours a day across six days a week, totalling 20 to 25 hours. On a 24-week schedule, 1.5 to 2 hours a day. Consistency matters more than intensity, so a sustainable daily block beats occasional long sessions.

How many questions per day for AMC Part 1?

Roughly 40 to 50 questions a day on a 12-week plan, or 20 to 25 a day over 24 weeks. In the final two weeks this shifts from daily volume to full-length 150-question timed mocks.

How long does it take to complete an AMC question bank?

A bank of around 2,800 questions takes approximately 60 study days at 45 questions a day, which is about ten weeks at six days a week. Budget an additional two weeks for mock exams and targeted weak-area revision.

What should I study first for AMC Part 1?

Adult Health Medicine, because it is 30% of the exam, more than any other category. Within it, start with cardiology and respiratory. Do not start with whichever subject you find most interesting. Start with the one carrying the most marks.

How many days should I spend on each AMC subject?

Allocate days by blueprint weighting rather than by how many questions exist. On a 72-day plan that means about 20 days for Adult Medicine (30%), 9 for Adult Surgery (20%), and 4 to 8 each for Women’s Health, Child Health, Mental Health and Population Health and Ethics (12.5% each), plus roughly 11 days of cross-cutting guideline and screening revision and 12 days of mocks and targeted revision.

When should I start doing mock exams for AMC Part 1?

Sit one full-length mock before you start studying, as a cold baseline. Then sit three more in the final two weeks, spaced several days apart. The baseline mock is the one candidates most often skip and most often regret skipping, because without it you spend twelve weeks guessing at your own weaknesses.

Should I study by subject or do random mixed questions?

By subject during the content phase, so you build coherent knowledge in one area at a time. Switch to mixed and randomised questions in the final three weeks, because that is what the real exam is, and switching between unrelated topics under time pressure is its own skill.

Can I follow this schedule while working full-time?

Yes, by stretching it to 24 weeks rather than compressing it into your evenings. Halve the daily question target to 20 to 25, treat each numbered day as two, and keep one long study block on your day off each week. The sequence stays identical and only the pace changes.

What if I fall behind the schedule?

Do not try to catch up by doubling volume, because that reliably produces a second missed week. Drop the lowest-value content within your largest module instead, since Medicine has the most redundancy, and protect three things absolutely: the mock exams, the Population Health and Ethics block, and the explanation review.

Should I do the whole question bank twice?

One thorough pass with every explanation read, plus targeted repeat work on your flagged weak areas, beats two rushed passes. A second full pass is only worth it if you finish early and your mock scores have plateaued, and even then targeted revision usually moves the score further.

How much time should I spend on Population Health and Ethics?

About four dedicated days plus the three screening revision days, which is around 12.5% of your total study time and matches its exam weighting. It carries roughly 19 marks, it is highly learnable, and it is the section candidates most consistently neglect because it does not feel like clinical medicine.

When should I stop studying before the AMC exam?

Stop introducing new material three days before the exam. The final days are for reviewing your error log, rapid revision of high-yield specifics like screening intervals and the immunisation schedule, and sleep. Nothing learned in the last 72 hours will reliably be available under exam pressure.

Is 8 weeks enough to prepare for AMC Part 1?

It is possible if you are in active clinical practice and can commit heavily, but the trade-offs are real. Keep all three mock exams, keep the full Population Health and Ethics block, and compress within Adult Medicine rather than cutting the smaller modules, because those smaller categories still carry 12.5% each on the exam.

Should I do IELTS or OET at the same time as AMC Part 1 preparation?

No, and we recommend against it. Twelve weeks at 20 to 25 hours a week is already a full load, and splitting your attention costs you more on the AMC exam than it gains you on the English test. The better window is the roughly three-week wait between sitting AMC Part 1 and receiving your result, when your study habit is intact, nothing clinical is competing for your attention, and you are still in exam condition. Book the English test date before you sit Part 1 so it falls in or just after that window.

What should I do while waiting for my AMC Part 1 results?

Sit your English language exam, if it is not already done. The wait is roughly three weeks and it is the most commonly wasted period in the whole pathway. Take a day or two off first, then start. You are already in exam condition, and clearing the English requirement here means that whatever your AMC result, one more registration requirement is behind you rather than ahead of you.