Websites

A Primer for the Primary FANZCA Examination
This is a pdf document written by Dr Mark Reeves, former Chair of the Primary Exam subcommittee. It is available from the Primary LO of the Day website (see below). This is a must read. It contains

  • fantastic advice and insight into the exam
  • a much more user-friendly version of the syllabus
  • recommendations on amount of time to spend and an importance rating for each topic
  • recommended resources for each topic
  • practice questions to test your knowledge

Primary LO of the Day
A website curated by Dr Emma Giles and other Primary examiners. You should bookmark this site and follow the daily posts

Kerry Brandis
Obviously everyone needs to get the Brandis Viva book. The online sections on acid-base and fluids are also gold!

Propofol Dreams
Lots of model SAQ answers here (MAK95 links into this website)

Amanda Diaz
Lots of model SAQ answers here (MAK95 links into this website)

Ketamine Nightmares
A website by Dr Stuart Watson, recipient of the Renton prize in 2019. Lots of model SAQ answers here (MAK95 links into this website)

Life in the Fast Lane – Part One
A website by Dr Jake Barlow, an Anaesthetist/ Intensivist from Melbourne, Australia. The site covers the curriculum for both the ANZCA and CICM Primary exams. (MAK95 links Learning Objectives into this website)

Deranged Physiology
A website by Dr Alex Yartsev, an Intensivist from Sydney, Australia. Whilst the site is aimed towards the CICM Primary exam, the material is almost the same as for the ANZCA Primary exam. (MAK95 links Learning Objectives into this website)

ANZCA Primary Notes
Notes by Dr Adam Hollingworth. His Diagram or Die pdf is worth having a look at

ANZCA Primary examination support resources
You will need to sign into your ANZCA account to access this

West Respiratory Video Tutorials
If you prefer watching videos to reading, you may want to check out this collection of tutorials by Prof John West himself

How Equipment Works
This is a website by a UK anesthesiologist, Dr Pras Tilakaratna. He has a very step by step, easy to understand way of explaining things

Capnography
This is a website by Prof Bhavani Shankar Kodali MD of the University of Maryland. It has in depth explanations of important concepts regarding capnography

Access Anaesthesia
Not sure who runs this website ?tutor/trainee. Has a range of resources on there (notes, recommended textbooks, etc). In the Resources -> Notes section, there are some presentations on drawing graphs in the vivas which are really good, which seem to come from the Christchurch and Waikato Refresher courses

Anaesthesia Coffee Break
This is a podcast series by Dr Lahiru Amaratunge and Dr Stanley Tay, anaesthetists based in Melbourne who also run The Anaesthesia Collective. The podcasts include various Primary topics, practice vivas and interviews with examiners. Available to view on YouTube and also in audio format on Spotify and Apple podcasts. Perfect to listen to while driving to and from work

Offline Resources

I don’t have links to these resources as they are not available online, as far as I am aware, and they are not mine to distribute. But I’m sure if you ask around, they will be easy to source.

The Pharmacology SAQ Book – pdf doc by Dr Matthew Ho
The Physiology SAQ Book – pdf doc by Dr Matthew Ho

Pharmacology SAQ Answers (Booklet) – pdf doc by Dr R Wengritzky