OPRA uses Australian conventions even though it does not test Australian law. The APC exam guide states that questions use TGA-approved drug names, ACSQHC-approved abbreviations and SI units, with CORRECT, MOST, LEAST and NOT in bold capitals. For answers, the working references are the Australian Medicines Handbook for drug information and dosing, Therapeutic Guidelines for treatment choices, TGA Product Information, and the Australian Immunisation Handbook. The PBS Schedule and the Poisons Standard are useful background only. This guide shows which source to use for which kind of question.
What the APC says about style
The APC OPRA exam guide describes the item conventions. Drug names are those approved by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). Abbreviations are those approved by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC). Units are SI. The determiners CORRECT, MOST, LEAST and NOT are bold and capitalised. The exam does not test Australian or New Zealand legislation or practice standards, which the APC says are assessed during internship.
Those last two sentences settle how to spend your time. You need to read and answer in the Australian style. You do not need to learn the Pharmacy Board's codes or state poisons laws for this exam.
Source map: which reference answers which question
| Reference | Use it for | Priority for OPRA |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Medicines Handbook (AMH) | Drug classes, doses, adverse effects, interactions, use in pregnancy, renal and hepatic impairment | High |
| Therapeutic Guidelines (eTG) | First-line treatment choices for conditions, including antibiotic selection | High |
| TGA Product Information | Approved indications, contraindications and precautions for a named product | Medium |
| Australian Immunisation Handbook and National Immunisation Program schedule | Vaccination and prevention content | Medium |
| ACSQHC medication safety material and approved abbreviations | Safe prescribing and chart conventions, abbreviation style | Medium |
| PBS Schedule | Subsidy context only | Low |
| Poisons Standard (SUSMP) schedules | Scheduling context only (S2, S3, S4, S8) | Low |
| Pharmaceutical Society of Australia professional standards | Practice context only | Low |
The priorities are our editorial view, based on what the APC says OPRA tests. They do not mean that the lower-priority sources are irrelevant to a career in Australia. They mean that OPRA marks do not depend on them.
Drug names and spelling
Use the names you will see on the paper. Australian spelling and names differ from some other systems, and a name you know under a different label can cause a misread.
| You may know it as | Australian usage |
|---|---|
| Acetaminophen | Paracetamol |
| Epinephrine | Adrenaline |
| Norepinephrine | Noradrenaline |
| Albuterol | Salbutamol |
| Nitroglycerin | Glyceryl trinitrate |
| Furosemide or frusemide | Furosemide is the current TGA-harmonised name; older material uses frusemide |
| Anemia, pediatric, esophagus | Anaemia, paediatric, oesophagus |
Where you are unsure whether a name is the current TGA-approved one, look it up in the AMH or on the TGA website, not in a textbook from another country. Build a personal list of the names you convert and review it weekly until the Australian name is automatic.
Units and abbreviations
- Use SI units. Concentrations in mmol/L and micromol/L, mass in mg, g and kg, volume in mL and L.
- Write microgram in full. Australian safety guidance avoids the abbreviation "mcg" because it can be mistaken for "mg".
- Write "units", not "U". A written "U" can be misread as zero or four. This matters for insulin and heparin questions.
- Avoid trailing zeros. Write 5 mg, not 5.0 mg, to avoid a tenfold misreading. Write a leading zero for decimals below one, as in 0.5 mg.
- Know the lab values in Australian units. Potassium in mmol/L, creatinine in micromol/L, glucose in mmol/L. Textbooks from other systems may use mg/dL.
These conventions are drawn from the APC statement on TGA names, ACSQHC abbreviations and SI units, and from established Australian medication-safety practice. For the authoritative list of approved abbreviations and the do-not-use list, check the ACSQHC publications.
How to use the Australian references in study
- Pick the condition, then read the eTG topic. Note the first-line choice, the alternative for allergy and the duration. You are learning reasoning, not memorising a table.
- Open the AMH entry for each drug. Read the class summary, adverse effects, interactions and special-population notes.
- Write a three-line summary. Mechanism, main use, main hazard. That is the unit of revision for most drugs.
- Test it with a question block. If you get a question wrong because your reference said something different, trust the Australian source and note the difference in your log.
Try OPRA (formerly KAPS) practice questions free
Free account, no card needed. Answer sample questions with full explanations before you pay anything.
Building a study library
You do not need every reference in full. A lean library that covers the five areas is better than a large one you cannot finish.
- One core pharmacology and therapeutics reference in the Australian style: the AMH, and Therapeutic Guidelines for the topics you study.
- One physiology and pathophysiology text you already know, used for the biomedical block. A familiar text saves time.
- One pharmaceutics or physical pharmacy text for formulation, stability and the pKa material.
- A pharmacokinetics source with worked examples you can repeat by hand.
- The APC exam guide and sample content, read once at the start and once in the final month.
A simple note system
Keep three kinds of notes only. The first is a drug card with mechanism, uses, hazards, interactions and monitoring. The second is a condition card with first-line choice, alternatives and referral triggers. The third is the error log, with one rule per mistake. Every note should carry the Australian name of the drug and the SI units, so your revision matches what you will see on the day. Date each note and the reference edition it came from. If you later find a conflict, the date shows which source is newer.
What to do about access and cost
The AMH and eTG are published by organisations that may charge for access, and availability in your country is not something we can promise. The pages we reviewed do not say whether the APC provides any of them to candidates. Check the publishers' sites for current access options, and ask your university or employer library. Do not buy a pirated or outdated copy. Using an old edition can teach you first-line choices that have changed.
Whatever you use, check the edition date. OPRA answers are expected to reflect current Australian practice, and the APC does not publish a statement of which edition applies. If you are unsure, prefer the current version.
A worked example of convention checking
Take an imaginary stem about a patient on a loop diuretic. Several conventions apply before you reach the clinical question. The drug name should be the TGA-approved form, so check that you are comfortable with furosemide and not only the older frusemide. The dose should be in mg. The potassium result should be in mmol/L, and you should recognise the reference range in those units. If the stem refers to an infusion, the rate will be in mL per hour or mg per hour, and a microgram dose will be written in full. Only then do you ask the clinical question: what monitoring, what interaction, what advice?
This two-step habit, convention first and clinical question second, takes a few seconds and prevents a surprising number of misreads. Practise it in your question blocks until it is automatic. The bold determiners fit the same routine: the last line of the stem tells you whether the answer must be the CORRECT, MOST appropriate, LEAST likely or NOT true option.
Keeping your references current
Australian guidance is revised regularly. The Australian Medicines Handbook is updated on a set cycle, Therapeutic Guidelines are revised by topic, and the Australian Immunisation Handbook is amended when the schedule changes. Because the APC does not publish a list of editions, the safe approach is to use the current version of each reference during your study and to note the date you consulted it. In the final month, spot-check the ten topics you find most difficult against the current text, in case a recommendation has moved since you first made your notes.
Where two Australian sources seem to differ, look for the one that is more specific to the question: a condition-specific guideline usually outweighs a general summary. If a difference remains, record both in your error log and understand why they differ. That habit builds the comprehension that 30% of questions test.
Cultural and practice context in questions
Questions are written for an Australian setting: community pharmacy, hospital, general practice, and in some cases Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. You do not need to know service structures in depth for the exam. You do need to read stems without assuming a system from your home country. For example, a pharmacist-only medicine in Australia may be prescription-only elsewhere, and a vaccine schedule may differ. If the stem gives a schedule, use it. If it asks about a general principle, answer on principle.
For how these conventions affect individual domains, see the calculations and safe use of medicines page and the pharmacology and toxicology page. The overall exam structure is on the OPRA hub.
Frequently asked questions
Which books should I use to study for OPRA?
The Australian Medicines Handbook for drug information and dosing and Therapeutic Guidelines for treatment choices are the working references. TGA Product Information and the Australian Immunisation Handbook are also useful. The APC does not publish a required reading list.
Does OPRA test Australian legislation?
No. The APC exam guide says the exam does not test Australian or New Zealand legislation or practice standards. These are assessed later during internship.
Which drug names does OPRA use?
TGA-approved names, for example paracetamol, adrenaline and salbutamol. Convert names from other systems before the exam.
What units does OPRA use?
SI units, and abbreviations approved by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Write microgram in full and units instead of U.
Do I need to learn the PBS and the Poisons Standard for OPRA?
Treat them as background. The APC says legislation and practice standards are not tested, so spend most of your time on pharmacology and therapeutics.