Passing the AMC Part 1 is absolutely achievable — but only with the right plan, the right resources, and honest self-awareness about where you are starting from. This post is different from most AMC guides because it does not give you one generic plan. It gives you two — one for fresh graduates with recent medical knowledge, and one for doctors returning to study after years in clinical practice. Find your category and follow your path.
“I went through this journey myself. The resources and strategies in this post are what I personally used and found most valuable — not a copy-paste from any course brochure. I want to save you the months I spent figuring out what actually works.”
Which category are you in?
🎓 For Fresh Graduates: The 2–3 Month Focused Plan
If your medical knowledge is still relatively fresh, you have a real advantage. You do not need to rebuild from zero — you need to redirect and refine what you already know toward the Australian clinical context and the AMC’s specific exam style. Here is the exact step-by-step plan.
Your 3-month preparation roadmap
Step-by-step study plan
Start with one core textbook — read it cover to cover
Your foundation is everything. Choose one main textbook and commit to it fully before touching anything else.
- John Murtagh’s General Practice — the most AMC-aligned textbook. Covers the Australian clinical context better than any other single resource
- Step Up to Step 2CK — a personal favourite for many IMGs; saves significant time and is highly readable
- Master the Boards (MTB) Step 2 CK — excellent for systematic, high-yield review
Cover Ethics separately using Kaplan’s USMLE Medical Ethics or Khan’s Ethics — do not skip this topic. It appears frequently in the exam.
Work through both AMC Handbooks
The AMC publishes two official handbooks. These are the closest thing to the real exam you will find — treat them with the same seriousness as the actual test.
- Handbook of MCQ (Blue Book) — official AMC question collection, essential
- Annotated MCQ Handbook — includes explanations for each question
For every question: understand why the correct answer is correct, and equally important, why each incorrect option is wrong. Take notes on every explanation.
Question banks — the final gear shift
Now you are ready to test yourself at scale. Use multiple question banks with a disciplined approach — read every explanation, even for questions you got right.
- eMedici — highly recommended, purpose-built for AMC preparation with Australian clinical context
- A-medex — 1,300 questions, available at $7 USD/day. Solve 100–200 questions per day to maximise your subscription efficiently
- AMCQBank — subscribe for one month after A-medex; follow the same approach
Master the Australian guidelines — non-negotiable
The AMC consistently tests against Australian clinical guidelines — not international ones. When guidelines conflict with vague textbook information, always follow the Australian guideline.
- RACGP Red Book — Guidelines for Preventive Activities in General Practice (10th ed.) — essential reading
- Better Health Victoria — useful for public health and community medicine topics
- Growth milestones and developmental stages
- School exclusion guidelines for communicable diseases in children
- Cancer screening guidelines (breast, cervical, bowel, skin)
- Australian immunisation schedule
ECGs and important X-ray presentations
The AMC MCQ includes visual material — do not neglect this. Know your common ECG rhythms cold, and be confident identifying key X-ray findings.
- AF, VT, VF, heart blocks, STEMI patterns, SVT
- Pneumonia, pulmonary oedema, pleural effusion
- TB (primary and post-primary), Sarcoidosis
- Pneumothorax, cardiomegaly, mediastinal widening
Final revision — go through everything one last time
Before your exam date, do one final thorough revision of all your accumulated notes from every step. By this point you should have a single, dense, well-organised set of notes covering the entire AMC syllabus. This is your last pass — make it count.
📝 Past Papers & Recalls — Do Not Skip These
Recalls are real questions remembered and shared by past AMC candidates after their exam. They are one of the most valuable preparation resources available — especially for experienced graduates who need to understand what the exam actually looks like in practice, not just in theory.
The AMC reuses a significant portion of questions across exam sittings. Working through recall question banks from 2018 to 2025 gives you direct exposure to the most frequently tested topics, the exact style of question phrasing, and recurring clinical scenarios. Recalls are not cheating — they are the most efficient form of exam-specific practice available.
There are active Telegram groups where IMG candidates share recalled AMC questions from recent sittings — often available at no cost. Search for “AMC MCQ Recalls” on Telegram to find the most active groups. Use these to supplement your paid recall banks, but always verify clinical information against guidelines before relying on them.
Recommended Resources for Fresh Graduates
These are the resources I personally used and recommend. For fresh graduates, you do not need all of them — pick your main textbook, work through the handbooks, and add question banks progressively.
📚 Core Textbooks
John Murtagh’s General Practice (9th ed.)
The most AMC-aligned single textbook available. Covers Australian GP context comprehensively. Best for those who want the most authentic preparation.
Step Up to Step 2CK
A highly readable, time-efficient alternative. Personally used as a primary resource by many high scorers — saves significant revision time without sacrificing quality.
⭐ Author’s personal favouriteMaster the Boards (MTB) Step 2 CK
Excellent for high-yield, systematic review. Works well as a complement to Murtagh or as a standalone for candidates who prefer structured summaries.
Kaplan USMLE Medical Ethics
Cover the ethics topic from here or Khan’s Ethics. Do not skip — ethics questions appear regularly in the AMC and are often easy marks if you have studied them properly.
📘 Official AMC Resources
AMC Handbook of MCQ (Blue Book)
Official AMC question collection. The single most important resource for understanding the exact style, difficulty, and focus of the real exam.
AMC Annotated MCQ Handbook
Same questions with full explanations. Work through this alongside the Blue Book to understand the reasoning behind every answer choice.
🖥️ Question Banks
eMedici — Purpose-Built for AMC Preparation
eMedici is one of the best question banks available for AMC Part 1 preparation. It is built specifically around the Australian clinical context, uses the same CAT-style reasoning approach as the real exam, and provides detailed explanations for every question. Register using the link below to get started.
Register on eMedici ↗A-medex QBank
1,300 questions at $7 USD/day. Solve 100–200 questions daily to use your subscription efficiently. Read every explanation carefully and take notes.
AMCQBank
Subscribe for one month after completing A-medex. Use the same disciplined approach — timed sessions, full explanation review, note-taking on weak areas.
📋 Essential Guidelines
When a guideline conflicts with a textbook, always follow the Australian guideline. The AMC tests the Australian standard of care. Bookmark and regularly review: the RACGP Red Book (racgp.org.au), the RCH Melbourne Paediatrics Handbook (rch.org.au/clinicalguide), and Better Health Victoria (betterhealth.vic.gov.au).
Two to three months is genuinely enough time if you follow this plan with consistency and discipline. The candidates who fail are rarely those who lacked knowledge — they are those who did not revise enough, skipped the guidelines, or underestimated the importance of question-bank practice under timed conditions. Work the plan. Revise constantly. Trust the process.
0 Comments