The KAPS exam consists of 200 questions delivered over two 2-hour sessions (a total of 4 hours of assessment) with a 60-minute scheduled break in between.
Major Content Area with Approximate Distribution per Content Area
The KAPS exam consists of 2 papers:
Paper 1
- Pharmaceutical Chemistry (30%)
- Physiology and Pharmacology (70%)
Paper 2
- Pharmaceutics (30%)
- Therapeutics (70%)
Note: To pass the exam, you need a mark of at least 50% in all subsections of the exam.
Paper 1: Pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology and physiology
Organic chemistry
- Nomenclature
- Drug class recognition
- Reaction types
- Functional group reactivity
- Drug stability
- Acid-base reactions
Stereochemistry
- Nomenclature
- Optical activity
- Geometric isomerism
- Conformation
Physical and inorganic chemistry
- Kinetics
- Acid-base reactions
- Phase equilibria
Analytical chemistry
- Spectroscopy
- Redox reactions
- Assay techniques
- Diagnostic agents
Biochemistry
- Nomenclature
- Structures
- Biochemical classes
- Thermodynamics
- Biochemical pathways
Structure-activity relationships
- Relationship between a chemical or 3D structure and its biological activity
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
Drug metabolism
- Breakdown and conversion of medicines through regularly occurring bodily process, leading to active ingredients and by-products of the original medicine
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
Systemic pharmacology
- The mechanism of drug action as it relates to specific organs and disease states
Chemotherapy
- Antibacterial drugs
- Antiviral drugs
- Antifungal drugs
- Antiprotozoal drugs
- Anthelmintic drugs
- Anticancer drugs
Toxicology
- Common side effects
- Signs of toxicity
- Mechanism of toxicity
Pathophysiology
- Alteration of physiological processes by drugs or disease states
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 integration
- Blood and other body fluids
Paper 2: Pharmaceutics and therapeutics
Physical pharmacy
- Solvents
- Types of preparation
- Solutions
- Suspensions
- Emulsions
Biopharmaceutics
- Dissolution
- Drug absorption
- Bioavailability and bioequivalence
- Drug interactions with a biopharmaceutical basis
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
Pharmaceutical microbiology
- Preservation
- Antimicrobial agents
- Sterilization technology
Formulation
- Formulation of drugs for various routes of administration
- Parenteral dose forms
- Controlled release preparations
- Evaluation of particular dose forms
Dose forms, including extemporaneous preparation
- Drug products
- Constituent drug substances
- Combination compounded products for use via various routes of administration
Calculations
- Dilutions
- Percentages
- Densities
- Sensitivity of balance
- Proportions
- Isotonicity
- Milliequivalents and milliosmoles
- Buffers
- Dose calculations from body weight or surface area
- Stability
Posology and dose determinations
- Appropriate dosages of common medications
- Dosage regimens of common medications
Medicine choice
- Demonstrating an understanding of the clinical processes used for choosing the most appropriate drug for the presenting patient and their condition
Surgical dressings, applications and associated drug delivery systems
- Drug choices for surgical dressings
- The use of and choices for surgical dressings
Adverse reactions to drugs
- Adverse reactions for drugs
- Relevant patient counselling and advice
Drug interactions
- Drug interactions
- Relevant patient counselling and advice
Drug information
- Using information sources to find drug and health information relevant to conditions and disease states
Managing minor ailments
- Non-prescription prescribing
- Diagnosing minor illness
- Rational over-the-counter product selection
- Over-the-counter drug information
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