Where should I start?

Some suggestions:

Read through the tutorials one by one

Go through the past papers one by one

Go through the past paper subject topics in the indexes and go through the links:

• Index for Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice Questions
• Index for Legislation Questions
• Index for Pharmacy Practice Calculations

Refer to the PPB list

There is also a list of references pinned to the top of the FB group

How long does it take to prepare for the exams?

The shortest I have come across is 2-3 months but these were hospital pharmacists who were also able to dedicate 2-3 months of full time studying.

On average if you are a community pharmacist it would take at least one year. Less if you are a hospital pharmacist because hospital pharmacists tend to get clinical training at work. Less if you are not working and willing to study full time. Less if you are very motivated, and more if you don't study consistently!

If you are working full time you need to schedule in study time each day if possible, it is not possible to pass the exams without studying for them.

How do I know what drugs are used in HK?

The Drug Office database

Hospital Authority Drug Formulary

IMPACT for antibiotics

PSHK booklet (quite old though 2011)

You can also refer to MIMS HK and the Poisons List

For the list of references in the FB group, there are so many, which one first?

Just as a suggestion the HK Reference Frameworks for hypertension and diabetes are really well laid out and local references you can start off with these to warm up. They also have guidelines on statins which you can read through, but I recommend you also cross reference with the statin past paper questions in the tutorials.

Another HK guideline I recommend you read through eventually the is the antibiotics guidelines IMPACT, although this is more of a challenging read it is worth the effort.

If you are really struggling to understand a concept you can contact me or often there is a youtube video on the topic which can be very helpful.

For Legislation

Start with going through the 'Legislation Notes'

There is so much to study, I'm overwhelmed!

If you give yourself enough time to prepare it will be fine. Start small to begin with to warm up your brain muscles. Try using some of the tips in the brain hacks course such as visualisation.