Are you a pharma graduate who is interested in working in Australia? Then the KAPS exam is an essential step in the process. KAPS is conducted by the Australian pharmacy council(APC). With careful preparation, you can successfully clear the exam and achieve your dream of a career in Australian pharmacy.
But the question is, where to get the study material & which books to refer to. When you go online and search for the KAPS study material, you will find an overwhelming amount of information. A lot of pages, YT channels, & individuals recommending and sharing a lot of stuff. It is very difficult to decide and shortlist. And another challenge is you don’t know which information is reliable.
So, in this blog we try to simplify your search by relying on the gold standard of references, the must have books for KAPS preparation. But 1st let us understand a bit more about the KAPS exam.
Mode and frequency of KAPS exam:
KAPS is an online exam. Accordingly, you can give the exam in any of the centres in your country. For example in India centres are in New Delhi, Gurgaon, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Bengaluru. The exam is conducted 3 times in a year – November, March, and July.
Exam pattern:
KAPS exam is an objective type of exam. It has multiple choice questions, which tests your knowledge and understanding of pharmaceutical sciences. The exam consists of 2 papers. Each paper has 100 MCQ’s and has a 120 minute time limit. There will be a 60 minute break between the 2 papers. The 2 papers are:
- Paper 1 – Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Physiology and Pharmacology
- Paper 2 – Pharmaceutics and Therapeutics
Passing criteria:
To clear the exam you need to score 50% in all subjects of the paper and an overall score of at least 50%. In case one of the papers is cleared with one remaining, you get a breather of 2 years to clear the unsuccessful paper. However, if you fail to clear the exam in 2 years time frame, you will have to register and give both the papers afresh. If you wish to know about the KAPS exam, check out our previous blogs here.
With this in mind, let us look at how we can ace this exam. There are a number of resources available to help you prepare for the exam. These include practice tests, study guides, and online courses. As with any eligibility exam preparation, referring to standard books will help you clear the exam with ease. Here are our recommendations.
Must read books for exam preparation:
1. Lippincott Illustrated Reviews – Pharmacology, 8th edition.
It is best suited for the study of clinical pharmacology. It has numerous illustrations, which make it easier to recollect using pictographic memory. This book has an effective way of explaining the mechanism of drugs in image format. This book can be found on Amazon for ₨. 6850/-
2. Comprehensive Pharmacy Review (CPR) – 8th edition.
This book provides a wide range of topics central to the study of pharmacy, chemistry, pharmaceutics, pharmacology, pharmacy practice and drug therapy. The references in this book can be used as a quick review of essential topics. This book needs to be imported and can be ordered on Amazon for ₨. 35,000/-
3. Australian Medical handbook
A concise, practical, reliable drug information arranged into chapters, drug classes and monographs, therapeutic information and appendices including a drug interactions section. It is a peer-reviewed medicine prescribing guide for Australian health professionals. This can be a game changer helping with quick revisions! This book too needs to be imported and can be brought for a price of around ₨. 23,000/-
4. Stoklosa and Ansel’s Pharmaceutical Calculations
The gold standard on pharmaceutical calculations, this widely acclaimed text covers the full range of calculations pharmacy students must learn for successful pharmacy practice, including dosing, compounding and metric conversions. A consistent, step-by-step approach makes it easy to work through the problems and gain a greater understanding of the underlying concepts. This book again imported can be brought on Amazon for ₨. 9300/-
In addition to these must read books, you can also refer to Robbins and Kumar, Basic Pathology and Gerard J Tortora – Principles of Anatomy and Physiology. These books will be helpful to dig deeper into the medical subjects and hence clear your concepts.
Apart from the above mentioned books, another important aspect of preparation is solving previous year papers. This exercise cannot be skipped at any cost as it gives you an idea about the paper pattern and what to expect. Solving the previous papers in the time limit helps you get a better understanding of the exam and subsequently prepares you mentally.
In conclusion, this is the ultimate guide for you to ace the KAPS exam. We at Coachminister will help you ace the exam and come out with flying colors. If you wish to connect with us and join the KAPS preparatory course, click here. Do follow our YouTube page for regular updates related to the KAPS exam here. Best wishes for your exam preparation!
