INI CET Psychiatry Syllabus

Psychiatry syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Psychiatry in INI CET, not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Introduction to Psychiatry

   2 topics

   • History of psychiatry
     • Evolution of psychiatric concepts and treatments
   • Mental health and illness
     • Definition
     • Stigma
     • Determinants of mental health
2. 2

   Psychological Assessment

   3 topics

   • Mental status examination
     • Appearance
     • Behavior
     • Speech
     • Mood
     • Affect
     • Thought content
     • Thought process
     • Cognition
     • Insight
   • Psychiatric history taking
     • Presenting complaints
     • Personal history
     • Family history
     • Medical history
     • Substance use history
     • Psychiatric treatment history
   • Psychometric assessment
     • Screening tools (PHQ-9, GAD-7, AUDIT, CAGE)
     • Standardized rating scales (HAM-D, MADRS, PANSS)
3. 3

   Psychiatric Disorders

   6 topics

   • Mood disorders
     • Major depressive disorder
     • Bipolar disorder
     • Dysthymia
     • Cyclothymia
     • Mood disorder due to a medical condition or substance
   • Anxiety disorders
     • Generalized anxiety disorder
     • Panic disorder
     • Social anxiety disorder
     • Specific phobias
     • Obsessive-compulsive disorder
   • Psychotic disorders
     • Schizophrenia
     • Schizophreniform disorder
     • Schizoaffective disorder
     • Delusional disorder
     • Brief psychotic disorder
   • Substance-related disorders
     • Alcohol use disorder
     • Opioid use disorder
     • Stimulant use disorder
     • Cannabis use disorder
     • Tobacco use disorder
   • Neurodevelopmental disorders
     • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
     • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
     • Intellectual disability
     • Specific learning disorders
   • Personality disorders
     • Borderline personality disorder
     • Antisocial personality disorder
     • Narcissistic personality disorder
     • Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
4. 4

   Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders

   2 topics

   • Somatoform disorders
     • Somatization disorder
     • Conversion disorder
     • Hypochondriasis
     • Somatic symptom disorder
   • Dissociative disorders
     • Dissociative amnesia
     • Dissociative fugue
     • Depersonalization/derealization disorder
     • Dissociative identity disorder
5. 5

   Eating Disorders

   3 topics

   • Anorexia nervosa
     • Clinical features
     • Medical complications
     • Nutritional rehabilitation
     • Psychotherapy
   • Bulimia nervosa
     • Clinical features
     • Medical complications
     • Cognitive-behavioral therapy
     • Pharmacotherapy
   • Binge-eating disorder
     • Clinical features
     • Medical complications
     • Psychotherapy
     • Pharmacotherapy
6. 6

   Sleep Disorders

   3 topics

   • Insomnia disorder
     • Difficulty falling asleep
     • Difficulty staying asleep
     • Non-restorative sleep
     • Sleep hygiene
     • Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia
   • Sleep-related breathing disorders
     • Obstructive sleep apnea
     • Central sleep apnea
     • Continuous positive airway pressure
     • Weight loss
   • Parasomnias
     • Nightmare disorder
     • Sleep terror disorder
     • Sleepwalking disorder
     • REM sleep behavior disorder
7. 7

   Sexual Disorders

   3 topics

   • Sexual dysfunctions
     • Erectile dysfunction
     • Premature ejaculation
     • Female sexual interest/arousal disorder
     • Genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder
   • Paraphilic disorders
     • Exhibitionism
     • Voyeurism
     • Fetishism
     • Pedophilia
     • Sexual masochism/sadism
   • Gender dysphoria
     • Incongruence between assigned gender and experienced gender
     • Clinical features
     • Psychosocial support
     • Hormone therapy
     • Gender-affirming surgery
8. 8

   Geriatric Psychiatry

   3 topics

   • Dementia
     • Alzheimer's disease
     • Vascular dementia
     • Lewy body dementia
     • Frontotemporal dementia
     • Management (cholinesterase inhibitors, memantine)
   • Delirium
     • Clinical features
     • Etiology (infection, medication, metabolic disturbances)
     • Management (identifying and treating underlying causes)
   • Late-life depression
     • Clinical features
     • Risk factors
     • Management (antidepressant medications, psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy)
9. 9

   Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

   4 topics

   • Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
     • Clinical features
     • Diagnosis (DSM-5 criteria)
     • Management (stimulant medications, behavioral therapy)
   • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
     • Core features
     • Diagnosis (DSM-5 criteria)
     • Management (behavioral interventions, social skills training)
   • Conduct disorder
     • Clinical features
     • Diagnostic criteria (DSM-5)
     • Management (parent management training, cognitive-behavioral therapy)
   • Pediatric anxiety disorders
     • Separation anxiety disorder
     • Generalized anxiety disorder
     • Social anxiety disorder
     • Management (cognitive-behavioral therapy, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
10. 10

    Legal and Ethical Issues in Psychiatry

    3 topics

    • Mental health legislation
      • Involuntary hospitalization
      • Capacity to consent
      • Confidentiality
    • Ethical principles in psychiatry
      • Autonomy
      • Beneficence
      • Nonmaleficence
      • Justice
    • Forensic psychiatry
      • Assessment of competency
      • Criminal responsibility
      • Civil commitment

Psychiatry flashcards for INI CET

21 of 51 cards from the Psychiatry deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. Who is regarded as the 'father of descriptive psychiatry' and is known for the classification dividing major psychoses into dementia praecox and manic-depressive insanity?

   Emil Kraepelin. His distinction between dementia praecox (later schizophrenia) and manic-depressive illness forms the basis of modern psychiatric nosology.

2. According to the WHO, what is the definition of mental health?

   A state of well-being in which an individual realizes their own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to contribute to their community. It is not merely the absence of mental illness.

3. What are the main components, in order, of the Mental Status Examination (MSE)?

   Appearance & behaviour, Speech, Mood & affect, Thought (form/content/possession), Perception, Cognition (orientation, attention, memory), Insight, and Judgement.

4. In an MSE, what is the difference between 'mood' and 'affect'?

   Mood is the patient's sustained, subjectively reported emotional state ('how you feel'); affect is the examiner's objective observation of the patient's expressed emotion at the moment, described by quality, range, and congruence.

5. What is the difference between an illusion and a hallucination?

   An illusion is a misperception of a real external stimulus; a hallucination is a perception occurring in the absence of any external stimulus, experienced as real and arising in external space.

6. What is the standard structure of a psychiatric history?

   Identifying data, chief complaint, history of present illness, past psychiatric history, past medical history, family history, personal/developmental history, premorbid personality, and substance use history.

7. What is the difference between intelligence and personality on psychometric testing, and name a classic test for each?

   Intelligence is assessed by tests like the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS); personality is assessed by tests like the MMPI (objective) and the Rorschach inkblot test (projective).

8. What MMSE (Mini-Mental State Examination) score range typically suggests cognitive impairment/dementia?

   MMSE is scored out of 30; a score below 24 suggests cognitive impairment, with 18-23 indicating mild and below 18 indicating severe impairment (adjusted for education).

9. What are the DSM-5 duration criteria for a major depressive episode versus a manic episode?

   Major depressive episode: 5+ symptoms for at least 2 weeks. Manic episode: elevated/irritable mood with increased energy for at least 1 week (or any duration if hospitalization required).

10. How is Bipolar I disorder distinguished from Bipolar II disorder?

    Bipolar I requires at least one full manic episode (depression not required); Bipolar II requires at least one hypomanic episode plus at least one major depressive episode, with no history of full mania.

11. What is the minimum duration criterion for persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia) in adults?

    Depressed mood for most of the day, more days than not, for at least 2 years (1 year in children/adolescents), with no symptom-free period longer than 2 months.

12. What is the DSM-5 duration requirement for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)?

    Excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not for at least 6 months, about a number of events or activities, that is difficult to control.

13. What characterizes a panic attack, and how soon does it peak?

    An abrupt surge of intense fear or discomfort with 4+ somatic/cognitive symptoms (e.g., palpitations, sweating, derealization, fear of dying) that peaks within minutes (typically about 10 minutes).

14. What is agoraphobia in DSM-5?

    Marked fear/anxiety about 2+ of: public transport, open spaces, enclosed spaces, standing in line/crowds, or being outside the home alone, due to fear that escape might be difficult or help unavailable; duration typically 6+ months.

15. What are Schneider's first-rank symptoms of schizophrenia?

    Audible thoughts, third-person/running-commentary auditory hallucinations, thought withdrawal/insertion/broadcasting, made (passivity) feelings/impulses/actions, somatic passivity, and delusional perception.

16. What are the DSM-5 symptom and duration criteria for schizophrenia?

    Two or more of delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, grossly disorganized/catatonic behaviour, or negative symptoms (at least one core positive symptom) for a significant portion of 1 month, with continuous disturbance for at least 6 months.

17. How does schizophreniform disorder differ from schizophrenia and brief psychotic disorder by duration?

    Brief psychotic disorder lasts 1 day to less than 1 month; schizophreniform disorder lasts 1 to less than 6 months; schizophrenia lasts 6 months or more.

18. What is the difference between schizoaffective disorder and a mood disorder with psychotic features?

    In schizoaffective disorder, delusions/hallucinations persist for at least 2 weeks in the ABSENCE of a major mood episode; if psychosis occurs only during mood episodes, it is a mood disorder with psychotic features.

19. In substance use disorders, what is the difference between tolerance and withdrawal?

    Tolerance is the need for markedly increased amounts to achieve the desired effect (or diminished effect with the same amount); withdrawal is the characteristic syndrome of physiological/psychological symptoms when use is stopped or reduced.

20. What is the CAGE questionnaire used to screen for, and what score is significant?

    Alcohol use disorder. CAGE = Cut down, Annoyed, Guilty, Eye-opener; a score of 2 or more positive answers is clinically significant for problematic drinking.

21. What is delirium tremens and its typical onset after the last alcohol drink?

    A severe, life-threatening alcohol withdrawal state with autonomic hyperactivity, confusion, agitation, and hallucinations, typically beginning 48-72 hours after the last drink.

See more Psychiatry flashcards →

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