SMLE High-Yield Topics: What the Official Blueprint Weights Most

SCFHS publishes the SMLE blueprint with a mastery level of 1, 2 or 3 beside every topic. Level 3 means core knowledge candidates must be able to demonstrate, and skills they must be able to perform independently. That is the closest thing to an official "high-yield" list. The overall split is Medicine 30%, OB/GYN 25%, Pediatrics 25% and Surgery 20%, with up to 5% movement per category between forms.

Medicine (30%) at mastery level 3

• Cardiology: coronary artery disease, heart failure.
• Pulmonology: asthma, COPD, pulmonary embolism.
• Gastroenterology: peptic ulcer disease, IBD, chronic viral hepatitis, complications of cirrhosis.
• Nephrology: sodium and potassium disorders.
• Infectious disease: pneumonia, tuberculosis.
• Endocrine: thyroid disorders, acute diabetic complications.
• Haematology: iron deficiency, thrombotic disorders, sickle cell disease.
• Rheumatology and neurology: SLE, ischaemic stroke.

Obstetrics and Gynecology (25%) at level 3

• Third-trimester bleeding, preterm labour, preterm rupture of membranes, postpartum conditions, maternal-fetal topics, preconception care.
• Ectopic pregnancy, spontaneous abortion, abnormal uterine bleeding, dysmenorrhoea, uterine fibroids.
• Cervical screening (Pap smear and HPV DNA testing) and gynaecological infections.

Pediatrics (25%) at level 3

• Common acute illness: gastroenteritis, febrile seizures, asthma, bronchiolitis, pneumonia, cellulitis, upper respiratory infection, UTI, constipation, otitis-related and ENT conditions such as adenotonsillitis, croup and pharyngitis.
• Growth and prevention: immunisation, development, rickets, iron deficiency.
• Systems: epilepsy, congenital heart disease and heart failure, cystic fibrosis, IBD, appendicitis, jaundice, SLE, rheumatoid arthritis.
• Infection and renal: tuberculosis, meningitis, encephalitis, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome.
• Haematology and endocrine: haemolytic anaemias, ITP, haemoglobinopathies, diabetes mellitus, adrenal disorders, hypoglycaemia, transient tachypnoea of the newborn.

Surgery (20%) at level 3

• Surgical antibiotics, wound care, breast mass and breast cancer.
• Upper and lower GI problems, peptic ulcer and perforation, bowel obstruction, mesenteric ischaemia, appendicitis, biliary disease, hernias.
• Necrotising infections, compartment syndrome, burns, pressure ulcers.
• Trauma: initial assessment, life-threatening injuries, shock, chest, abdominal, pelvic and head trauma (the ATLS approach).

Safety, ethics and preventive medicine at level 3

• Medication safety, blood transfusion, radiation safety.
• Breaking bad news, patient privacy, confidentiality, conflict of interest, sick leave, research ethics.
• Disease screening, mode of transmission, vaccination, childhood immunisation, disease frequency, study types and measures of association.

How to use this list

Open each level 3 topic in your question bank, do the questions, and tick it off only when you can explain the reasoning without looking. Then move to level 2. Our SMLE QBank covers all four disciplines plus ethics, community medicine and pharmacology. The SMLE structure and blueprint guide shows the same weights, and the 8-week plan is here.

Practise the full SMLE QBank: nearly 3,000 vignette MCQs with one-line explanations, plus timed mock exams that follow the real two-block structure. Your first 20 questions are free.

Exam rules change. Everything above comes from the SCFHS SMLE blueprint; confirm the current version on the official portal before you book or pay.