Well, if you’re planning to write the KAPS exam, the first thing you should know is to learn about the exam – know everything about the exam. When you do this, then you make informed decisions. We have written a series of articles to help students like you. Check this out – Everything you need to know about the KAPS exam.
In this article, we will be decoding the KAPS syllabus – we will dissecting and analyzing the topics and concepts that are asked in both paper 1 and paper 2. And our aim is help you understand how you can plan your preparation to score a passing marks in each of the two papers.
Let’s first start with paper 1. You might already be knowing that paper 1 majorly deals with Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Physiology & Pharmacology. But one thing to note here is weightage for both the topics are drastically different. Look at the table below –
| Topics | Weight (approx) |
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 30% |
| Physiology & Pharmacology | 70% |
When you think about your preparation strategy broadly, you should be spending about 30% of your time on Pharmaceutical Chemistry and 70% of your time on Physiology and Pharmacology. All you need if 50% in the paper 1 clear it.
If you’re thinking that, “I will focus on only Physiology & Pharmacology because this should be enough to score 50%, and I will completely ignore Pharmaceutical Chemistry.” Then let me remind you that will not be a wise approach KAPS expects you to score a minimum of 50% in each of these two subjects – 50% in Pharmaceutical Chemistry and 50% in Physiology & Pharmacology.
Let’s dive deeper and look at what are chapters and topics of paper 1 in detail. The table below details out the topics and chapters of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. Well, if you look at the table you feel two things – if Chemistry was your strong subject in 12th (and also in college), you need not worry a lot. And you should focus on Organic Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry, because you would get enough questions from these two.
| Paper 1 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Organic chemistry | Nomenclature Drug class recognition Reaction types Functional group reactivity Drug stability Acid-base reactions |
| 2 | Stereochemistry | Nomenclature Optical activity Geometric isomerism Conformation |
| 3 | Physical and inorganic chemistry | Kinetics Acid-base reactions Phase equilibria |
| 4 | Analytical chemistry | Spectroscopy Redox reactions Assay techniques Diagnostic agents |
| 5 | Biochemistry | Nomenclature Structures Biochemical classes Thermodynamics Biochemical pathways |
| 6 | Structure-activity relationships | Relationship between a chemical or 3D structure and its biological activity |
| 7 | Medicinal chemistry | Structure-activity relationships Drug presentation and delivery Drug formulation and stability Drug metabolism Mechanism of drug action Modern drug development Absorption, distribution and elimination of drugs |
| 8 | Drug metabolism | Breakdown and conversion of medicines through regularly occurring bodily process, leading to active ingredients and by-products of the original medicine |
Now, let’s look at the details of Physiology & Pharmacology. The table below suggests that you should focus a lot on Biochemical Pharmacology and Chemotherapy.
| Paper 1 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Biochemical pharmacology | Principles of drug action Drug interactions Receptor pharmacology Autonomic transmission Endocrine pharmacology Cardiovascular pharmacology Anti-inflammatory agents and analgesics Antibiotics Diuretics Local and general anaesthetics Vitamins Drugs affecting nutritional and metabolic function Drugs affecting the central nervous system |
| 2 | Systemic pharmacology | The mechanism of drug action as it relates to specific organs and disease states |
| 3 | Chemotherapy | Antibacterial drugs Antiviral drugs Antifungal drugs Antiprotozoal drugs Anthelmintic drugs Anticancer drugs |
| 4 | Toxicology | Common side effects Signs of toxicity Mechanism of toxicity |
| 5 | Pathophysiology | Alteration of physiological processes by drugs or disease states |
| 6 | General physiology | Normal bodily functions including but not limited to the central nervous, digestive, cardiovascular, lymphatic, nervous, respiratory, urinary, endocrine and reproductive systems and their integrationBlood and other body fluids |
Now, let’s look at the KAPS paper 2 – the table below tells the broad subjects that get covered in the KAPS paper 2 exam. Again, let me remind – you must score at least 50% in both the subjects and an aggregate 50% to pass in the paper 2.
| Topics | Weight (approx) |
| Pharmaceutics | 30% |
| Therapeutics | 70% |
Let’s break down the first subject and look into different topics and chapters that it covers. From the table below, it’s clear that ‘Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics’ covers a lot of questions and should be prioritised. The second priority should be given to Physical pharmacy and formulation.
| Paper 2 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Physical pharmacy | Solvents Types of preparation Solutions Suspensions Emulsions |
| 2 | Biopharmaceutics | Dissolution Drug absorption Bioavailability and bioequivalence Drug interactions with a biopharmaceutical basis |
| 3 | Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics | Biological half-life Elimination rate constants Apparent volume of distribution Clearance Steady state considerations Drug protein binding Drug metabolism Drug interactions Pharmacogenetics Relevant calculations |
| 4 | Pharmaceutical microbiology | Preservation Antimicrobial agents Sterilisation technology |
| 5 | Formulation | Formulation of drugs for various routes of administration Parenteral dose forms Controlled release preparations Evaluation of particular dose forms |
| 6 | Dose forms, including extemporaneous preparation | Drug products Constituent drug substances Combination compounded products for use via various routes of administration |
Now let’s look at the details of therapeutics.
| Paper 2 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Calculations | Dilutions Percentages Densities Sensitivity of balance ProportionsIsotonicity Milliequivalents and milliosmoles Buffers Dose calculations from body weight or surface area Stability |
| 2 | Posology and dose determinations | Appropriate dosages of common medications Dosage regimens of common medications |
| 3 | Medicine choice | Demonstrating an understanding of the clinical processes used for choosing the most appropriate drug for the presenting patient and their condition |
| 4 | Surgical dressings, applications and associated drug delivery systems | Drug choices for surgical dressings The use of and choices for surgical dressings |
| 5 | Adverse reactions to drugs | Adverse reactions for drugs Relevant patient counselling and advice |
| 6 | Drug interactions | Drug interactions Relevant patient counselling and advice |
| 7 | Drug information | Using information sources to find drug and health information relevant to conditions and disease states |
| 8 | Managing minor ailments | Non-prescription prescribing Diagnosing minor illness Rational over-the-counter product selection Over-the-counter drug information |
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