The RACP Divisional Written Examination is the major knowledge assessment for basic physician trainees in Australia and New Zealand. It tests broad general medicine or paediatric knowledge across all internal medicine subspecialties and sits once per year — typically in February. There is no second sitting. If you fail, you wait twelve months.
The exam uses a combination of MCQ (SBA) and EMQ formats across two papers totalling approximately 170 items. The preparation cycle is long — most successful candidates describe twelve months of progressive revision alongside clinical training.
The Australian guideline challenge
The RACP Written tests Australian clinical practice. This means the Australian Therapeutic Guidelines (eTG) and the Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) are the primary references, not NICE or BNF. NHMRC guidelines, Kidney Health Australia (KHA-CARI) guidelines, Heart Foundation of Australia recommendations, and Cancer Council Australia guidelines all inform the expected management algorithms.
If you have trained in the UK or elsewhere before entering Australian training, adapting to Australian prescribing conventions and guideline frameworks is a non-trivial part of your preparation. Drug names are largely the same (Australian practice uses rINN conventions — Adrenaline, Paracetamol, Salbutamol), but specific management pathways, PBS prescribing criteria, and risk assessment tools may differ from what you learned previously.
Topic weighting — adult medicine
The adult medicine paper covers all internal medicine subspecialties. Based on curriculum weighting, the approximate distribution is as follows. Cardiology accounts for roughly 12 per cent, covering acute coronary syndromes, heart failure, arrhythmia, and valvular disease. Respiratory accounts for 10 per cent. Gastroenterology and hepatology account for 10 per cent. Neurology accounts for 8 per cent. Endocrinology and diabetes account for 8 per cent. Nephrology accounts for 8 per cent. Rheumatology, infectious diseases, haematology, and dermatology each account for 4 to 8 per cent. Clinical pharmacology, emergency medicine, and general internal medicine make up the remainder.
The breadth is the challenge. Unlike a specialty exam, you cannot afford to neglect any major subspecialty. A candidate who scores highly in cardiology and respiratory but loses marks in rheumatology, nephrology, and dermatology may still fail overall.
The resource gap
The RACP Written has historically been underserved by modern preparation tools. The existing resources — TopPhysician.com.au, BasicPhysicianTraining.com, and various textbook-based guides — are largely text and forum-based. No polished SaaS question bank with adaptive learning, EMQ support, and mobile access has existed for this exam until now.
Revision strategy
Start twelve months before the February sitting. The first six months should be low-intensity — integrate question bank practice into your clinical learning, covering one subspecialty per fortnight alongside your rostered clinical work. Use your performance data to identify which subspecialties need the most attention.
Months seven to ten should shift to dedicated revision — systematic question bank practice covering all subspecialties, with guideline reading from the eTG for each topic area. Ensure you are covering EMQ format practice as well as SBAs.
Months eleven and twelve should focus on timed mock exams, weak-area revision, and final guideline review. Sit at least two full mock exams under timed conditions to build endurance for the exam day.
Using iatroX for RACP Written
iatroX offers dedicated RACP Adult Medicine and RACP Paediatrics question banks, each containing over 1,500 questions in both SBA and EMQ formats. Questions are framed in Australian clinical context, referencing the eTG, AMH, NHMRC guidelines, and Australian specialty society recommendations.
The adaptive algorithm tracks your performance across all subspecialties and shifts question selection toward your weakest areas — essential for a broad general medicine exam where neglecting any single subspecialty can cost you the pass. EMQ sets are grouped by clinical theme, replicating the real exam format.
Full mock exams simulate the two-paper format. The mobile app supports revision during clinical placements. All included at £29 per month or £99 per year alongside every other exam on the platform.
The RACP Written is a marathon, not a sprint. Start early, revise broadly, track your performance data, and direct your remaining time where the data shows you need it most.