Intern Written Exam 2026: New Open-Book Policy and What It Means

If you've heard that the Intern Written Exam is now "open book," you might be thinking it just got easier. Let me manage your expectations.

What's Actually Allowed

From January 2026, candidates can bring:

• One original physical copy of the Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH)
• One original physical copy of the Australian Pharmaceutical Formulary and Handbook (APF)

That's it. No other books. No electronic devices. No photocopies.

What You Can Do With Your Books

• Highlighting is allowed
• Brief annotations are permitted
• Small sticky flags (maximum 12mm × 44mm) for navigation

What You Can't Do

• No extensive notes written in margins
• No loose pages or inserts
• No multiple copies
• No electronic versions

The books must be original physical copies. Examiners will check.

Why This Doesn't Make It Easy

Here's the reality: the exam is 75 questions in 120 minutes. That's 96 seconds per question.

If you're flipping through the AMH trying to find every answer, you're going to run out of time. The open-book policy helps with specific lookups – confirming a dose, checking an interaction – but it's not a substitute for knowing the content.

The candidates who do well are the ones who know where to look, not the ones who need to look up everything.

Exam Format

Structure:

• 75 questions total
• 90% scored, 10% unscored (used for calibration)
• 120 minutes
• Additional 20 minutes for pre-exam procedures

Question Types:

1. Multiple choice – four options, one correct answer
2. Fill-in-the-blank – pharmaceutical calculations requiring precise answers with specific decimal places

Content Areas

The exam assesses six competency standards from the National Competency Standards Framework:

Domain	Weight
Practise within applicable legal framework	8%
Patient-centred medication management approach	20%
Implement medication management strategy	28%
Monitor and evaluate medication management	28%
Compound medicines	8%
Promote health and well-being	8%

The bulk of the exam (56%) focuses on implementing and monitoring medication management – practical clinical decision-making.

Clinical Topics Covered

Expect questions across:

• Cardiovascular
• Endocrinology (especially diabetes)
• Respiratory
• Gastrointestinal
• Nervous system
• Dermatology
• Immunology
• Rheumatology
• Malignancy supportive care
• Ophthalmology
• Haematology
• Vaccination
• Statutory requirements
• Pharmaceutical calculations

How to Actually Prepare

1. Know Your References

Before the exam, know your AMH and APF inside out. Practice navigating them quickly. Know where specific information lives.

2. Focus on High-Weight Areas

56% of the exam is medication management implementation and monitoring. Study clinical scenarios, drug selection, counselling points, and monitoring parameters.

3. Practice Calculations

Fill-in-the-blank questions require exact answers. A calculation that's close but rounded differently is wrong. Practice until your calculations are consistent and accurate.

4. Understand Legal Requirements

The "applicable legal framework" section is only 8%, but getting these wrong can fail you. Know scheduling, record-keeping, controlled drugs regulations.

5. Take the Pearson VUE Sample Test

The APC specifically recommends this. It familiarises you with the computer interface and question presentation. Don't skip it.

What the APC Says About Prep Courses

The APC explicitly states they don't endorse specific exam preparation programs. They provide:

• A 12-page PDF guide
• A 14-page sample content document
• The Pearson VUE online sample test

These are your official resources. Prep courses (like ours) supplement these, but start with the official materials.

Scoring and Results

The exam uses scaled scoring via psychometric standard-setting. What does this mean?

• Your result is based on your overall performance
• You're not compared to other candidates
• Results are Pass/Fail only – you won't see a percentage or raw score

If you fail, you'll receive general feedback on areas to improve, but not question-by-question results.

The Bottom Line

Yes, the exam is now open-book. No, this doesn't mean you can walk in unprepared with a fresh AMH. The time constraints mean you need to know the content – the books are there for verification and specific lookups, not for learning on the spot.

Prepare as if it's closed-book. Use the references strategically on exam day.

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Our Intern Exam prep includes timed practice under exam conditions, plus strategies for efficient reference use.