Practical RANZCP MEQ preparation from recent passers—no secret rubric or magic wording, just habits that helped make clinically reasonable answers clearer and more scorable.
01
Read the command before your brain runs off.
List, outline and describe are asking for different answers.
02
Do not make the marker join the dots.
Spell out why each point matters for this patient.
03
Treat the stem like evidence.
The age, setting and oddly specific details usually mean something.
04
One clear idea per bullet.
Three good points tangled together may still look like one.
05
Let the marks tell you how much to write.
A four-mark question does not need an essay.
06
Collect the obvious marks first.
Go broad before getting clever.
07
Use headings when your brain goes blank.
Risks, ethics and follow-up can rescue a stalled answer.
08
Make your reasoning unmistakable.
Because, given that and so that do useful work.
09
Reset for every subquestion.
Do not let the last section keep stealing attention from the next one.
What we actually used
You found Charlie.
You should be studying.
Charlie left a $10 code with each coach:
ShiangMEOW10
StephPURR10
SheerinPAWS10
First booking only. One use per person. Not combinable with another offer.
Primary
RANZCP past papers and marking guides
Start here. This is the closest thing to seeing how marks are allocated.
Primary
RANZCP post-exam reports
Useful for recurring problem areas, pass-rate context and common mistakes.
Practice
RANZCP computer-based MEQ demo
Learn the interface before exam day so the format itself is not stealing attention.
Practice
Auckland PsychTraining and HETI mock papers
Useful once the College papers start feeling too familiar.
Listening
Psych Matters podcast
Helpful for Australian-system nuance and understanding how experienced psychiatrists frame answers.
Technique
Typing practice
Get fast enough that your fingers are not the rate-limiting step.
People
A study buddy
Swap timed answers, compare structures and catch blind spots. Set an agenda, or it becomes group therapy.
People
A recent passer
Ask what actually helped, what did not, and what they would do differently.
People
Someone senior in governance
They often spot system-level, safety and medico-legal marks that clinicians miss.
Technology
AI tools
Useful for testing reasoning and structure, but check everything. Confidence is not accuracy.
Courses
Paid courses
They can be useful, but do not assume expensive means specific, current or right for how you learn.
