How to prepare for Combined Medical Service Exam-(UPSC 2023)

Papers of the UPSC Combined Medical Service Examination will be of MBBS standard.

A candidate for the Combined Medical Service examination must not have attained the age of 32 years as on 1st August, 2023 i.e. the candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd August, 1991. However, for Medical Officers Grade in General Duty Medical Officers Subcadre of Central Health Services, the upper age limit must not exceed 35 (thirty-five years) as on 1st August, 2023.

For updated Syllabi

SCHEME OF COMBINED MEDICAL SERVICES EXAMINATION: TO BE MADE EFFECTIVE FROM CMSE‐2018

Combined Medical Services Examination, 2023

The Combined Medical Service examination shall be conducted according to the following plan:‐

Part‐I

COMPUTER-BASED EXAMINATION – (500 marks)

For the UPSC Combined Medical Service Examination candidates will take the Computer-based examination in two Papers, each Paper carrying a maximum of 250 marks. Each Paper will be of two hours duration.

Part‐II

Personality Test: (100 Marks):

Combined Medical Service Examination – Personality test carrying 100 marks of such of the candidates who qualify on the results of the Computer-based examination.

(A) Computer based Examination:

1. The components and syllabi of two Papers and the weightage to different components in the two papers are given below: ‐

Paper I Maximum
(Code No. 1) Marks: 250

General Medicine and Paediatrics:
Total questions in Paper I = 120 (96 from General Medicine and 24 from Paediatrics);

Syllabus of Paper‐I

(a) General Medicine including the following:
(i) Cardiology
(ii) Respiratory diseases
(iii) Gastro‐intestinal
(iv) Genito‐Urinary
(v) Neurology
(vi) Hematology
(vii) Endocrinology
(viii) Metabolic disorders
(ix)Infections/Communicable Diseases
a) Virus
b) Rickets
c) Bacterial
d) Spirochetal
e) Protozoan
f) Metazoan
g) Fungus
(x) Nutrition/Growth
(xi)Diseases of the skin (Dermatology)
(xii) Musculoskeletal System
(xiii) Psychiatry
(xiv) General
(xv) Emergency Medicine
(xvi) Common Poisoning
(xvii) Snakebite
(xviii) Tropical Medicine
(xix) Critical Care Medicine
(xx) Emphasis on medical procedures
(xxi) Pathophysiological basis of diseases
(xxii) Vaccines preventable diseases and Non vaccines preventable diseases
(xxiii) Vitamin deficiency diseases
(xxiv) In psychiatry include – Depression, psychosis, anxiety, bipolar diseases and Schizophrenia.

(b) Paediatrics including the following ‐

(i)Common childhood emergencies,
(ii) Basic newborn care,
(iii) Normal developmental milestones,
(iv) Accidents and poisonings in children,
(v) Birth defects and counseling including autism,
(vi) Immunization in children,
(vii) Recognizing children with special needs and management, and
(viii) National programmes related to child health.

Paper II Maximum

(Code No. 2) Marks : 250

(a) Surgery
(b) Gynaecology & Obstetrics
(c) Preventive & Social Medicine

Total questions in Paper II = 120 (40 questions from each part.)

Syllabus of Paper ‐ II

(a) Surgery
(Surgery including ENT, Ophthalmology, Traumatology and Orthopaedics)

(I) General Surgery

i) Wounds
ii) Infections
iii) Tumours
iv) Lymphatic
v) Blood vessels
vi) Cysts/sinuses
vii) Head and neck
viii) Breast
ix) Alimentary tract
a) Oesophagus
b) Stomach
c) Intestines
d) Anus
e) Developmental
x) Liver, Bile, Pancreas
xi) Spleen
xii) Peritoneum
xiii) Abdominal wall
xiv) Abdominal injuries

(II) Urological Surgery

(III) Neuro Surgery

(IV) Otorhinolaryngology E.N.T.
(V) Thoracic surgery
(VI) Orthopedic surgery
(VII) Ophthalmology
(VIII) Anesthesiology
(IX) Traumatology
(X) Diagnosis and management of common surgical ailments
(XI) Pre‐operative and post operative care of surgical patients
(XII) Medicolegal and ethical issues of surgery
(XIII) Wound healing
(XIV) Fluid and electrolyte management in surgery
(XV) Shock patho‐physiology and management.

(b) GYNAECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS

(I) OBSTETRICS

i) Ante‐natal conditions
ii) Intra‐natal conditions
iii) Post‐natal conditions
iv) Management of normal labours or complicated labour

(II) GYNAECOLOGY

i) Questions on applied anatomy
ii) Questions on applied physiology of menstruation and fertilization
iii) Questions on infections in genital tract
iv) Questions on neoplasma in the genital tract
v) Questions on displacement of the uterus
vi) Normal delivery and safe delivery practices
vii) High risk pregnancy and management
viii) Abortions
ix) Intra Uterine growth retardation
x) Medicolegal examination in obgy and Gynae including Rape.

(III) FAMILY PLANNING

i) Conventional contraceptives
ii) U.D. and oral pills
iii) Operative procedure, sterilization and organization of programmes in the urban and rural surroundings
iv) Medical Termination of Pregnancy

(c) PREVENTIVE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE

I Social and Community Medicine
II Concept of Health, Disease and
Preventive Medicine
III Health Administration and Planning
IV General Epidemiology
V Demography and Health Statistics
VI Communicable Diseases
VII Environmental Health
VIII Nutrition and Health
IX Non‐communicable diseases
X Occupational Health
XI Genetics and Health
XII International Health
XIII Medical Sociology and Health Education
XIV Maternal and Child Health
XV National Programmes
XVI Management of common health problems
XVII Ability to monitor national health programmes
XVIII Knowledge of maternal and child wellness
XIX Ability to recognize, investigate, report, plan and manage community health problems including
malnutrition and emergencies.

2. The Computer based examination in both the papers will be completely of objective (Multiple choice
answers) type. The question Papers (Test Booklets) will be set in English only.

3. Candidates must mark the Papers themselves. In no circumstances will they be allowed the help of a
scribe to mark answers for them.

4. The Commission have discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or both the papers of the examination.

5. Penalty for wrong answers

There will be penalty (Negative Marking in Combined Medical Service Examination ) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the objective type
question papers.

(i) There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a wrong
answer has been given by the candidate, one third of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.

(ii) If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the
given answers happens to be correct and there will be same penalty as above for that question.

(iii) If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that
question.

6. Candidates are not permitted to use calculators for answering objective type papers. They should,
therefore not bring the same inside the Examination Hall.

7. Both the Papers of the CMSE will be of MBBS standard.

(B) PERSONALITY TEST – (100 marks):

Candidates who qualify in the computer based examination will be called for Interview/Personality Test to be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. The Interview/Personality Test will carry 100 marks.

The Interview for Personality Test for Combined Medical Service Examination will be intended to serve as a supplement to the computer-based examination for testing the General Knowledge and ability of the candidates in the fields of their academic study and also in the nature of a personality test to assess the candidate’s intellectual curiosity, critical powers of assimilation, balance of judgement and alertness of mind, ability for social cohesion, integrity of character, initiative and capability for leadership.

The Combined Medical Service examination shall be conducted according to the following plan:‐

Part‐I

COMPUTER-BASED EXAMINATION – (500 marks)

For the UPSC Combined Medical Service Examination candidates will take the Computer-based examination in two Papers, each Paper carrying a maximum of 250 marks. Each Paper will be of two hours duration.

Part‐II

Personality Test: (100 Marks):

Combined Medical Service Examination – Personality test carrying 100 marks of such of the candidates who qualify on the results of the Computer-based examination.

(A) Computer based Examination:

1. The components and syllabi of two Papers and the weightage to different components in the two papers are given below: ‐

Paper I Maximum
(Code No. 1) Marks: 250

General Medicine and Paediatrics:
Total questions in Paper I = 120 (96 from General Medicine and 24 from Paediatrics);

Syllabus of Paper‐I

(a) General Medicine including the following:
(i) Cardiology
(ii) Respiratory diseases
(iii) Gastro‐intestinal
(iv) Genito‐Urinary
(v) Neurology
(vi) Hematology
(vii) Endocrinology
(viii) Metabolic disorders
(ix)Infections/Communicable Diseases
a) Virus
b) Rickets
c) Bacterial
d) Spirochetal
e) Protozoan
f) Metazoan
g) Fungus
(x) Nutrition/Growth
(xi)Diseases of the skin (Dermatology)
(xii) Musculoskeletal System
(xiii) Psychiatry
(xiv) General
(xv) Emergency Medicine
(xvi) Common Poisoning
(xvii) Snakebite
(xviii) Tropical Medicine
(xix) Critical Care Medicine
(xx) Emphasis on medical procedures
(xxi) Pathophysiological basis of diseases
(xxii) Vaccines preventable diseases and Non vaccines preventable diseases
(xxiii) Vitamin deficiency diseases
(xxiv) In psychiatry include – Depression, psychosis, anxiety, bipolar diseases and Schizophrenia.

(b) Paediatrics including the following ‐
(i)Common childhood emergencies,
(ii) Basic newborn care,
(iii) Normal developmental milestones,
(iv) Accidents and poisonings in children,
(v) Birth defects and counseling including autism,
(vi) Immunization in children,
(vii) Recognizing children with special needs and management, and
(viii) National programmes related to child health.

Paper II Maximum

(Code No. 2) Marks : 250

(a) Surgery
(b) Gynaecology & Obstetrics
(c) Preventive & Social Medicine

Total questions in Paper II = 120 (40 questions from each part.)

Syllabus of Paper ‐ II

(a) Surgery
(Surgery including ENT, Ophthalmology, Traumatology and Orthopaedics)
(I) General Surgery
i) Wounds
ii) Infections
iii) Tumours
iv) Lymphatic
v) Blood vessels
vi) Cysts/sinuses
vii) Head and neck
viii) Breast
ix) Alimentary tract
a) Oesophagus
b) Stomach
c) Intestines
d) Anus
e) Developmental
x) Liver, Bile, Pancreas
xi) Spleen
xii) Peritoneum
xiii) Abdominal wall
xiv) Abdominal injuries
(II) Urological Surgery
(III) Neuro Surgery
(IV) Otorhinolaryngology E.N.T.
(V) Thoracic surgery
(VI) Orthopedic surgery
(VII) Ophthalmology
(VIII) Anesthesiology
(IX) Traumatology
(X) Diagnosis and management of common surgical ailments
(XI) Pre‐operative and post operative care of surgical patients
(XII) Medicolegal and ethical issues of surgery
(XIII) Wound healing
(XIV) Fluid and electrolyte management in surgery
(XV) Shock patho‐physiology and management.

(b) GYNAECOLOGY & OBSTETRICS

(I) OBSTETRICS

i) Ante‐natal conditions
ii) Intra‐natal conditions
iii) Post‐natal conditions
iv) Management of normal labours or complicated labour

(II) GYNAECOLOGY

i) Questions on applied anatomy
ii) Questions on applied physiology of menstruation and fertilization
iii) Questions on infections in genital tract
iv) Questions on neoplasma in the genital tract
v) Questions on displacement of the uterus
vi) Normal delivery and safe delivery practices
vii) High risk pregnancy and management
viii) Abortions
ix) Intra Uterine growth retardation
x) Medicolegal examination in obgy and Gynae including Rape.

(III) FAMILY PLANNING

i) Conventional contraceptives
ii) U.D. and oral pills
iii) Operative procedure, sterilization and organization of programmes in the urban and rural surroundings
iv) Medical Termination of Pregnancy

(c) PREVENTIVE SOCIAL AND COMMUNITY MEDICINE

I Social and Community Medicine
II Concept of Health, Disease and
Preventive Medicine
III Health Administration and Planning
IV General Epidemiology
V Demography and Health Statistics
VI Communicable Diseases
VII Environmental Health
VIII Nutrition and Health
IX Non‐communicable diseases
X Occupational Health
XI Genetics and Health
XII International Health
XIII Medical Sociology and Health Education
XIV Maternal and Child Health
XV National Programmes
XVI Management of common health problems
XVII Ability to monitor national health programmes
XVIII Knowledge of maternal and child wellness
XIX Ability to recognize, investigate, report, plan and manage community health problems including
malnutrition and emergencies.

2. The Computer based examination in both the papers will be completely of objective (Multiple choice
answers) type. The question Papers (Test Booklets) will be set in English only.

3. Candidates must mark the Papers themselves. In no circumstances will they be allowed the help of a
scribe to mark answers for them.

4. The Commission have discretion to fix qualifying marks in any or both the papers of the examination.

5. Penalty for wrong answers

There will be penalty (Negative Marking in Combined Medical Service Examination ) for wrong answers marked by a candidate in the objective type
question papers.

(i) There are four alternatives for the answers to every question. For each question for which a wrong
answer has been given by the candidate, one third of the marks assigned to that question will be deducted as penalty.

(ii) If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the
given answers happens to be correct and there will be same penalty as above for that question.

(iii) If a question is left blank i.e. no answer is given by the candidate, there will be no penalty for that
question.

6. Candidates are not permitted to use calculators for answering objective type papers. They should,
therefore not bring the same inside the Examination Hall.

7. Both the Papers of the CMSE will be of MBBS standard.

(B) PERSONALITY TEST – (100 marks):

Candidates who qualify in the computer based examination will be called for Interview/Personality Test to be conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. The Interview/Personality Test will carry 100 marks.

The Interview for Personality Test for Combined Medical Service Examination will be intended to serve as a supplement to the computer-based examination for testing the General Knowledge and ability of the candidates in the fields of their academic study and also in the nature of a personality test to assess the candidate’s intellectual curiosity, critical powers of assimilation, balance of judgement and alertness of mind, ability for social cohesion, integrity of character, initiative and capability for leadership.

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