The daily check-in kept me honest more than anything else when I was preparing for Part A. This prompt builds the same system for you: a week-by-week plan around your exam date and hours, a weak-areas tracker, a topic checklist, and the instructions for an evening check-in.
Copy the prompt and paste it into a new chat with Claude or ChatGPT.
Answer its five questions. It checks your hours fit before building anything.
Make a project called "MRCS Part A", add what it gives you, and check in each evening.
I'm preparing for the MRCS Part A exam. Set up my study system with me, step by step. Do the steps in order and don't skip ahead. STEP 1: Ask me these questions in one message and wait for my answers. 1. My exam date. 2. How many hours I can study on weekdays and at weekends, and any weeks I already know will be busy (on call, nights, holidays). 3. Which question bank I'm using (e.g. Pastest), whether I've already done any of it, and my scores by topic if so. 4. Whether I've sat a full past paper yet, and my Paper 1 and Paper 2 scores if so. 5. Which paper I think is weaker for me: Paper 1 (Applied Basic Sciences) or Paper 2 (Principles of Surgery in General). The Pastest topic list is at the end of this prompt (3,132 questions across 82 topics, as of July 2026). Also ask me whether my bank shows different topics or question counts, and if it does, use mine instead. STEP 2: Check the plan fits before building anything. Count the unseen questions and work out how many hours they need at about 20-25 questions an hour, including reading the explanations. The last 4 weeks before the exam (the final week included) are for full past papers, not new bank questions. Compare that with my study hours before then, taking out my busy weeks. Tell me plainly whether it fits. If it doesn't, give me 2 or 3 options for what to cut or change, and wait for me to choose before going on. STEP 3: Build three files from my answers and the topic list. a) study-plan: a week-by-week plan from today to my exam, with weeks running Sunday to Saturday. Put the unseen question bank topics first, biggest categories first. In the last 4 weeks before the exam, do full past papers (oldest first, about two a week) with my redo list alongside. The final week is weak areas only, no new content. Show the number of questions and the hours in each week. b) weak-areas: a table of every topic with these columns: category, topic, questions, first score, date, tier, re-score, re-score date, status. Fill in any scores I've already given you. c) topic-checklist: every topic as a checkbox, grouped by category, with question counts and the total. Tick any topics I've already done. STEP 4: Write the instructions for my daily check-in, which I'll paste into the project settings. Include my exam date, study hours, busy weeks and weaker paper, and these rules: - Tier rules: below 60% = full redo. 60-69% = light review (reread the explanations for questions I got wrong, no redo). 70% and above = done. Move a topic to Clear once it is re-scored at 70% or above. - Every evening when I check in: ask what I covered and my scores if I haven't said; add an entry to a study-log file under today's date; update weak-areas and topic-checklist; tell me plainly whether I'm on pace against study-plan, and what's next tomorrow. - If you can't edit the project files yourself, end every check-in with the exact lines for me to add or change, and give me the full updated files once a week. - If I'm behind, say so straight away and suggest what to cut or move. Don't let it slide. - If the question bank runs over, push the past paper phase back. Never shrink the final week. - On past papers, track Paper 1 and Paper 2 separately and flag either one under 70%. Tell me if my weaker paper isn't improving. - In the final week: weak areas only, no new content. - Never log a session I didn't report. If I don't check in, record the day as 'not reported'. STEP 5: Set it up. If you can create projects, folders or files yourself, create a project called "MRCS Part A" with the three files, an empty study-log and the instructions, and tell me when it's done. If you can't, give me each file to download (or in its own code block), and tell me exactly where to click to create the project, add the files and paste the instructions. STEP 6: Finish by telling me what to do tonight, and give me an example of what my first evening check-in message should look like. PASTEST TOPIC LIST (category total in brackets, then each topic and its number of questions) A. Anatomy and Embryology (662): Regional anatomy of the abdominal vessels 50; Regional anatomy of the abdominal viscera 43; Regional anatomy of the abdominal wall and cavity 37; Regional anatomy of the head and neck 111; Regional anatomy of the lower limbs 76; Regional anatomy of the pelvis 17; Regional anatomy of the perineum 20; Regional anatomy of the spine 24; Regional anatomy of the thorax 83; Regional anatomy of the upper limbs and breast 80; Neuroanatomy 30; Anatomy of the autonomic nervous system 16; Surface anatomy of the abdomen 5; Surface anatomy of the head and neck 4; Surface anatomy of the pelvis 5; Surface anatomy of the perineum 7; Surface anatomy of the spine 2; Embryology: abdomen 11; Embryology: head and neck 8; Embryology: pelvis 5; Embryology: perineum 11; Embryology: spine 8; Embryology: thorax 9 B. Physiology (406): Cardiovascular physiology 58; Endocrine system physiology 63; Gastrointestinal physiology 34; General physiological principles 135; Neurological physiology 31; Respiratory physiology 54; Urinary system physiology 31 C. Pathology (237): General pathological principles 59; Lymphoreticular pathology 11; Musculoskeletal pathology 15; Pathology of the breast 9; Pathology of the CVS 16; Pathology of the digestive system 14; Pathology of the endocrine and exocrine system 14; Pathology of the genitourinary system 28; Pathology of the respiratory system 15; Principles of neoplasia and oncology 44; Skin cancer 12 D. Perioperative Care (374): Clinical therapeutics 38; Data interpretation and audit 24; Intraoperative care 45; Management of the dying patient 46; Metabolic and endocrine disorders in perioperative care 30; Nutritional management 28; Perioperative care 56; Pharmacology as applied to surgical practice 7; Postoperative care 34; Preoperative assessment and management 40; Safe prescribing 15; Medicolegal aspects of surgery 11 E. Trauma, Emergencies and Orthopaedics (434): Acute emergencies 78; Burns 30; Fractures and dislocations 58; General principles of trauma 65; Organ specific trauma 66; Orthopaedic conditions 90; Wounds and soft tissue injuries 47 F. Infection, Immunology and Haematology (238): Haemostasis 16; Microbiology as applied to surgical practice 24; Soft tissue infections 4; Surgery and infection 21; Surgical clinical chemistry 13; Surgical haematology 39; Surgical immunology 81; Surgically important microorganisms 40 G. Common Surgical Conditions (565): Breast conditions 42; Cardiovascular and pulmonary conditions 53; Central and peripheral neurological conditions 12; Endocrine disease 85; Gastrointestinal conditions 157; Genitourinary conditions 85; Lymphoreticular disease 16; Urological conditions 2; Vascular surgery 61; Shock 25; VTE 27 H. Neurosurgery, Skin, Head and Neck, and Paediatrics (216): Neurosurgical conditions 67; Skin, head and neck conditions 92; Surgical care of children 57 Total: 3,132 questions across 82 topics.
The topic list inside is the full Pastest bank as of July 2026 (3,132 questions across 82 topics). If your bank shows different topics or counts, the prompt asks for yours and uses them instead. The full handbook explains how I used this system, my real scores, and what I'd do differently.
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