MRCPsych Paper B: Old Age Psychiatry | Questions & Revision
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MRCPsych Paper B · Revision

Old Age Psychiatry

Old age psychiatry is one of the 9 areas assessed in MRCPsych Paper B. Here is what the exam tests, the high-yield subtopics, and worked example questions referenced to New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry.

What Paper B tests in Old Age Psychiatry

Paper B is a written paper of about 150 questions (single-best-answer MCQs and extended matching items) sat over three hours, blueprinted against the RCPsych syllabus. Questions from this domain typically cover:

  • Dementias
  • Late-Life Depression & Psychosis
  • Alzheimer's Disease
  • Vascular Dementia
  • Frontotemporal Dementia
  • Delirium
  • Depression in Late Life
  • Assessment in Older Adults
  • Service Provision for Older Adults
  • Demographics of Ageing
  • Parkinson's Disease Dementia
  • Anxiety Disorders in Older Adults
In our question bank
72 questions in this section (EMIs counted per stem), each with a full explanation and a reference to the recommended text (New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry). Balanced answer keys, MCQs and EMIs.

Worked example

This is a real question from the Old Age Psychiatry section, the kind you will see in Paper B:

The single most important step in managing delirium is:

  1. Physical restraint
  2. Immediate sedation with antipsychotics
  3. Identifying and treating the underlying cause
  4. Transfer to a psychiatric ward
  5. Starting a cholinesterase inhibitor
Answer: C. Management of delirium centres on identifying and treating the underlying cause (e.g. infection, drugs, metabolic disturbance), alongside supportive and environmental measures. Antipsychotics are reserved for severe distress or risk, at the lowest effective dose.

How to revise this section for Paper B

Work in short, active blocks: attempt questions first, read the explanation whether right or wrong, and log the subtopics you miss. Our weakness tracker flags any subtopic where you score below 60% so you can target revision rather than re-reading everything. Anchor your reading to the recommended text (New Oxford Textbook of Psychiatry) so your facts match the exam blueprint.

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See the full MRCPsych Paper A guide or browse all 14 revision sections.

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