Psychiatry is a high-yield clinical subject in the NEET PG exam. While it typically contributes 5–6 questions, these are often direct, scoring opportunities if you have a clear grasp of the concepts. With approximately 70 frequently tested topics, it is a manageable but essential part of your revision strategy.
For structured learning, you can visit mymedschool.org, where you can access these topics, practice questions for each, and revisit high-yield notes to track your performance and identify areas for improvement.
Why Psychiatry is a “Must-Master” Subject
- Clinical Integration: Psychiatry questions in NEET PG are increasingly vignette-based. Mastering these 70 topics helps you recognize clinical patterns, which is a vital skill for the entire clinical section of the exam.
- High-Yield Concepts: Unlike subjects with thousands of pages of content, the core of Psychiatry (like defense mechanisms, antipsychotic side effects, and diagnostic criteria) is finite. You can achieve 100% accuracy in this section with targeted effort.
- Exam Trends: Examiners focus heavily on psychopharmacology, distinguishing between similar disorders (e.g., Delirium vs. Dementia), and recent DSM-5-TR diagnostic criteria.
IN17 Psychiatry: 67
- Mental Status Examination
- Basic Terminology in Psychiatry
- Mental Healthcare Act, 2017
- Classical conditioning
- Operant conditioning
- Transference and countertransference
- Ego defenses
- Grief
- Normal infant and child development
- Child abuse
- Vulnerable child syndrome
- Childhood and early‑onset disorders
- Orientation
- Amnesias
- Ganser Syndrome
- Dissociative disorders
- Delirium
- Psychosis
- Mood disorder
- Schizophrenia spectrum disorders
- Manic episode
- Hypomanic episode
- Bipolar disorder
- Major depressive disorder
- Depression with atypical features
- Peripartum mood disturbances
- Electroconvulsive therapy
- Risk factors for suicide death
- Anxiety disorders
- Panic disorder
- Phobias
- Generalized anxiety disorder
- Obsessive‑compulsive disorders
- Trauma and stress‑related disorders
- Diagnostic criteria by symptom duration
- Personality disorders
- Malingering
- Factitious disorders
- Somatic symptom and related disorders
- Malingering vs factitious disorder vs somatic symptom disorders
- Eating disorders
- Gender dysphoria
- Sexual dysfunction
- Sleep terror disorder
- Elimination disorders
- Narcolepsy
- Substance use disorder
- Gambling disorder
- Transtheoretical model of change
- Psychiatric emergencies
- Psychoactive drug intoxication and withdrawal: Depressants
- Psychoactive drug intoxication and withdrawal: Stimulants
- Psychoactive drug intoxication and withdrawal: Hallucinogens
- Alcohol use disorder
- Psychotherapy
- Central nervous system stimulants
- Antipsychotics
- Lithium
- Buspirone
- Antidepressants
- Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
- Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors
- Tricyclic antidepressants
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors
- Atypical antidepressants
- Pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation
- Medically supervised opioid withdrawal and relapse prevention
How to Use Your Topic List Effectively
1. The “Study-Question-Review” Cycle
Don’t just read about a disorder. For every topic on your list:
- Study: Utilize the high-yield notes on mymedschool.org to understand the diagnostic criteria and pathophysiology.
- Question: Immediately solve practice MCQs for that topic. If you get it wrong, don’t just move on; use the explanation to understand the “why.”
- Review: Track your performance on the mymedschool.org dashboard. If a topic (like “Antipsychotic Side Effects”) consistently shows low accuracy, move it to your “Priority Revision” pile.
2. Prioritize by Frequency
Focus your energy on the “Top-Tier” topics that appear annually:
- Psychopharmacology: Focus on the side effects of Clozapine, Lithium, and SSRIs.
- Schizophrenia Spectrum: Master Schneider’s first-rank symptoms and the dopamine hypothesis.
- Emergency Psychiatry: Know the management of NMS (Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome) vs. Serotonin Syndrome—this is a perennial favorite for examiners.
- Defense Mechanisms: These appear as tricky word problems; ensure you can distinguish between them clearly.
3. Build Your “Mental Map.”
Psychiatry is deeply linked to Physiology and Pharmacology. When studying the treatment of Bipolar Disorder, connect it back to your Pharmacology notes on Lithium. When studying Sleep Disorders, link them to the physiological stages of sleep. This integration helps you answer “mixed” questions that appear in the Medicine section of the exam.
4. Continuous Performance Tracking
Use the mymedschool.org platform to monitor your progress. If you are struggling with “Substance Use Disorders,” use the site’s practice sets to repeatedly test your knowledge until your accuracy improves. A consistent study routine—where you cover 2–3 topics from your list daily—will ensure you finish the entire syllabus well before the 2026 exam.
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