FCPS Part 1 FAQs

FCPS (Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons) is the postgraduate medical qualification awarded by CPSP in Pakistan. It is taken in two stages: Part 1, which tests the basic sciences underpinning your specialty, and Part 2, which is the clinical examination taken after training.

It is an MCQ examination made up of two papers. Paper 1 covers the basic sciences common to all candidates; Paper 2 is specific to the specialty you applied in and follows that specialty's prospectus.

Paper 1 draws on the shared basic sciences — Anatomy, Physiology, Biochemistry, Pathology, Pharmacology, Microbiology and Community Medicine, with behavioural sciences and research/biostatistics also featuring. Paper 2 follows your specialty syllabus.

CPSP publishes a prospectus for each specialty. You can download all of them free from our FCPS Part 1 syllabus page.

An MBBS/BDS recognised and registered with PMDC, valid PMDC registration, and a one-year house job at a PMDC-recognised institution completed at least one month before the exam date. Foreign graduates need their degree equated by PMDC.

Online through the CPSP portal at cpsp.edu.pk. Our how-to-apply guide walks through the whole process, the documents you need and the fee.

Rs. 25,050 — payable by bank challan, at a CPSP regional office, by bank draft, or by debit/credit card online.

No. Wrong answers are not penalised, so never leave a question blank — a guess can score, a blank cannot.

Not as a plain percentage. CPSP runs a statistical item analysis first, drops questions that failed to discriminate between candidates, and weights the remainder. See our passing criteria page for the detail.

CPSP has revised attempt and eligibility rules over the years. Because this directly affects your plans, check the rule in force for your cycle on the CPSP website rather than relying on second-hand information.

It depends on your starting point and whether you are working. Most candidates give it several focused months. What matters more than the total is consistency and steady MCQ practice under timed conditions.

Build the concepts from a standard text first, then drill MCQs to test whether the concept actually stuck. Review every wrong answer — that review is where the improvement comes from, not from raw question volume.

Yes. Themes recur heavily across cycles, and past-paper style questions train you for the exam's phrasing and time pressure. Our FCPS Part 1 QBank is built around past-paper style MCQs with explanations.

No — and trying to is the classic trap. The marks that decide your result sit in the harder, discriminating questions, which reward understanding and application rather than recall alone.