The KAPS (Knowledge Assessment of Pharmaceutical Sciences) exam tests your knowledge and understanding of pharmaceutical sciences. Passing it confirms that you know enough to practise safely and effectively in an Australian setting.
This guide to the KAPS exam outlines the subject areas we assess, and will help you to prepare for the exam. You’ll need to assess your own knowledge level, then evaluate that knowledge as much you can against the exam material.
Exam format
The KAPS exam consists of 200 questions delivered over two 2-hour sessions (a total of 4 hours of assessment) with a 60-minute scheduled break in between.
Before starting the exam, you are given 15 minutes to complete a tutorial designed to familiarise yourself with the exam software. You’re given 5 minutes at the end of the exam to complete a survey.
All questions are multiple-choice questions with one correct answer out of four options.
KAPS is a closed-book exam. This means you cannot bring any printed or handwritten reference materials into the exam with you.
They base their exams on the latest information, which you can find in relevant:
- journals
- publications
- textbooks
It’s up to you to find this information. They do not endorse any external reference sources.
Distribution Per Content Area
| Content area | Approximate distribution per content area |
| Paper 1 | |
| Pharmaceutical Chemistry | 30% |
| Physiology and Pharmacology | 70% |
| Paper 2 | |
| Pharmaceutic | 30% |
| Therapeutics | 70% |
Exam scoring
You must complete all questions in the paper or papers you sit.
To pass the exam, you need a mark of at least 50% in all subsections of the exam.
| Paper 1 | Pharmaceutical chemistry 50% Pharmacology and physiology 50% |
| Paper 2 | Pharmaceutics 50% Therapeutics 50% |
You need an overall mark of at least 50%.
You will receive a results certificate indicating your outcome. They will email you or your agent when your results are available. Expect this to be around 2 weeks after you sit the exam.
Content areas for the KAPS exam
The KAPS exam consists of 2 papers:
- Paper 1: Pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology and physiology
- Paper 2: Pharmaceutics and therapeutics
Paper 1: Pharmaceutical chemistry, pharmacology and physiology
Pharmaceutical Chemistry
You’ll need to show you understand and have suitable knowledge in the following content areas:
| Paper 1 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Organic chemistry | Nomenclature Drug class recognition Reaction types Functional group reactivity Drug stability Acid-base reactions |
| 2 | Stereochemistry | Nomenclature Optical activity Geometric isomerism Conformation |
| 3 | Physical and inorganic chemistry | Kinetics Acid-base reactions Phase equilibria |
| 4 | Analytical chemistry | Spectroscopy Redox reactions Assay techniques Diagnostic agents |
| 5 | Biochemistry | Nomenclature Structures Biochemical classes Thermodynamics Biochemical pathways |
| 6 | Structure-activity relationships | Relationship between a chemical or 3D structure and its biological activity |
| 7 | Medicinal chemistry | Structure-activity relationships Drug presentation and delivery Drug formulation and stability Drug metabolism Mechanism of drug action Modern drug development Absorption, distribution and elimination of drugs |
| 8 | Drug metabolism | Breakdown and conversion of medicines through regularly occurring bodily process, leading to active ingredients and by-products of the original medicine |
Pharmacology and physiology
You’ll need to show you understand and have suitable knowledge in the following content areas:
| Paper 1 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Biochemical pharmacology | Principles of drug action Drug interactions Receptor pharmacology Autonomic transmission Endocrine pharmacology Cardiovascular pharmacology Anti-inflammatory agents and analgesics Antibiotics Diuretics Local and general anaesthetics Vitamins Drugs affecting nutritional and metabolic function Drugs affecting the central nervous system |
| 2 | Systemic pharmacology | The mechanism of drug action as it relates to specific organs and disease states |
| 3 | Chemotherapy | Antibacterial drugs Antiviral drugs Antifungal drugs Antiprotozoal drugs Anthelmintic drugs Anticancer drugs |
| 4 | Toxicology | Common side effects Signs of toxicity Mechanism of toxicity |
| 5 | Pathophysiology | Alteration of physiological processes by drugs or disease states |
| 6 | General physiology | Normal bodily functions including but not limited to the central nervous, digestive, cardiovascular, lymphatic, nervous, respiratory, urinary, endocrine and reproductive systems and their integration Blood and other body fluids |
Paper 2: Pharmaceutics and therapeutics
Pharmaceutics
You’ll need to show you understand and have suitable knowledge in the following content areas:
| Paper 2 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Physical pharmacy | Solvents Types of preparation Solutions Suspensions Emulsions |
| 2 | Biopharmaceutics | Dissolution Drug absorption Bioavailability and bioequivalence Drug interactions with a biopharmaceutical basis |
| 3 | Pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics | Biological half-life Elimination rate constants Apparent volume of distribution Clearance Steady state considerations Drug protein binding Drug metabolism Drug interactions Pharmacogenetics Relevant calculations |
| 4 | Pharmaceutical microbiology | Preservation Antimicrobial agents Sterilisation technology |
| 5 | Formulation | Formulation of drugs for various routes of administration Parenteral dose forms Controlled release preparations Evaluation of particular dose forms |
| 6 | Dose forms, including extemporaneous preparation | Drug products Constituent drug substances Combination compounded products for use via various routes of administration |
Therapeutics
You’ll need to show you understand and have suitable knowledge in the following content areas:
| Paper 2 | Content assessed | Indicative elements |
| 1 | Calculations | Dilutions Percentages Densities Sensitivity of balance Proportions Isotonicity Milliequivalents and milliosmoles Buffers Dose calculations from body weight or surface area Stability |
| 2 | Posology and dose determinations | Appropriate dosages of common medications Dosage regimens of common medications |
| 3 | Medicine choice | Demonstrating an understanding of the clinical processes used for choosing the most appropriate drug for the presenting patient and their condition |
| 4 | Surgical dressings, applications and associated drug delivery systems | Drug choices for surgical dressings The use of and choices for surgical dressings |
| 5 | Adverse reactions to drugs | Adverse reactions for drugs Relevant patient counselling and advice |
| 6 | Drug interactions | Drug interactions Relevant patient counselling and advice |
| 7 | Drug information | Using information sources to find drug and health information relevant to conditions and disease states |
| 8 | Managing minor ailments | Non-prescription prescribing Diagnosing minor illness Rational over-the-counter product selection Over-the-counter drug information |
KAPS exam paper samples Quiz
To help you sit the KAPS exam, we provide 4 official sample papers Quiz Test:
KAPS exam sample Material Test 1 Paper 1
KAPS exam sample Material Test 1 Paper 2
Rest two papers will be uploaded shortly
These each contain older questions to help you practise. These questions are no longer used, but they’ll help you understand:
- the types of content covered in each paper of the exam
- how questions might be presented
If you want to practise the sample papers under exam conditions, you’ll need to answer all 100 questions in each paper in 2 hours.