MRCP Part 2: 450 BOFs Carolyn Allen, Suzanne Forbes, David Hunt, Heather Lewis, Ravi Menon
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1MRCP Part 2: 450 BOFs
23MRCP Part 2: 450 BOFs
Carolyn AllenMBChB MRCP Consultant Physician, Rotorua Hospital, Rotorua, New Zealand Suzanne ForbesBSc MBChB MRCP Specialist Registrar in Nephrology, Royal London Hospital, UK David HuntMBBS BSc PhD MRCP Clinical Teaching Fellow, Newham University Hospital, UK Heather LewisMBChB MRCP Specialist Registrar in Gastroenterology, Newham University Hospital, UK Ravi MenonMBBS MRCP MD Honorary Clinical Lecturer, Newham University Hospital, UK Luke MooreMBChB MRCP(Lond.) FRCPath MSc MPH DTM&H Lecturer, Division of Infectious Diseases & Immunology, Imperial College, London, UK
Edited by
Aruna DiasBSc MBBS MRCP Consultant Gastroenterologist, Newham University Hospital, UK Eric BeckMBBS FRCP FRCPG FRCPE Former Chairman of MRCP(UK) Part 2 Board and former Member of the MRCP (UK) Part 1 Board, University College London, UK
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5Preface
‘Assessment drives learning’ is a crucial mantra; it emphasises the broad educational value of the best of five (BOF) MCQs in this book. Its value is further enhanced by the inclusion of explanatory answers, making this a valuable source of continuing medical education and continuing professional development. However, the prime readership will, of course, be candidates preparing for the written Part 2 MRCP examination.
In this book you will find authentic questions, comprehensively covering the curriculum, devised by ‘battle-hardened’, recently successful examinees who are now teachers. The chapters reflect the specialties covered by the MRCP Part 2 exam. The number of questions per specialty is directly proportional to the weight each specialty area will carry in the exam. Each chapter covers a broad range of topics within the specialty, and questions range in difficulty between relatively easy and very difficult, as in the exam itself. For each answer, there is a section explaining why that answer is the most appropriate and also why the other options are not correct.
The emphasis of the Part 2 examination is in testing the application of basic medical science knowledge to more clinical situations. By passing the Part 1 examination, you have already demonstrated your command of this knowledge. This book gives you an opportunity to practise applying it. Apart from practice, there are no special techniques or tricks to be learned to pass the exam because the examiners take considerable care to use plain English and avoid including ambiguities or clues when setting questions. Nevertheless, always remember the general exhortation for all written examinations: ‘read the question carefully before answering!’
The final ingredient required for success is what we all wish you – ‘Good Luck’.
Eric Beck
January 2013
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9Exam revision advice
Format
The MRCP(UK) exam consists of three elements. Part 1 is a written exam, whereas Part 2 is split into a written exam and a clinical exam (PACES). Part 2 can be attempted only by candidates who have passed Part 1 within the previous 7 years. The Part 2 written exam and PACES can be attempted in either order.
The MRCP(UK) Part 2 written exam has a three-paper format. Each paper lasts 3 hours and consists of 90 multiple choice questions. The examination lasts 2 days, with two of the papers taken on the first day and the remaining paper on the second day. As in the Part 1 exam, questions take a best of five (BOF) approach, where the most appropriate answer must be selected from a choice of five possibilities, with questions covering the full range of medical specialties. However, one major difference between the two exams is that a proportion of Part 2 questions will be illustrated with a medical image (e.g. ECG, radiograph, CT, MRI, blood film, photograph of a clinical finding), interpretation of which is key to correctly answering the question. The composition of the papers is demonstrated in .
There is no specific syllabus for the MRCP(UK) Part 2 examination, but the Royal Colleges recommend that candidates refer to the Specialty Training Curriculum for General Internal Medicine, prepared by the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board.
Table 1   Composition of the MRCP Part 2 exam
Specialty
Number of questions per 100*
Cardiology
  10
Dermatology
  5
Endocrinology and metabolic medicine
  10
Gastroenterology
  10
Haematology, immunology
  5
Infectious diseases and genitourinary medicine
  10
Neurology, ophthalmology, psychiatry
  10
Oncology and palliative medicine
  5
Renal medicine
  10
Respiratory medicine
  10
Rheumatology
  5
Therapeutics and toxicology
  10
Total
  100
*Figures should be taken as an indication of the likely number of questions – the actual number may vary by up to 2%. A proportion of the questions will be on adolescent medicine and medicine for elderly people.
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The MRCP(UK) Part 2 exam is now marked using a process called equating. Using the equating system means that rather than being given a percentage overall score, candidates will instead be given an ‘overall scaled score’. This score is a number between 0 and 999, which is calculated from the number of questions a candidate has answered correctly (out of the maximum possible) and takes into account the relative difficulty of the exam. Since no two exams contain the same questions, it is inevitable that some papers may be slightly harder (or easier) than others, and equating is a statistical process that addresses this. At present, the equated score required to pass MRCP(UK) Part 2 is 425.
Candidates are strongly advised to visit the MRCP(UK) website for further details of the exam.
How to prepare for MRCP (UK) Part 2
Here are some general tips to help prepare for the exam:
Medical Society websites
Association of British Neurologists – http://www.theabn.org
British Association of Dermatologists – http://www.bad.org.uk
British Cardiovascular Society – http://www.bcs.com
British Infection Association – http://www.britishinfection.org
British Society of Gastroenterology – http://www.bsg.org.uk
British Society for Haematology – http://www.b-s-h.org.uk
British Society for Rheumatology – http://www.rheumatology.org.uk
British Thoracic Society – http://www.brit-thoracic.org.uk
11European Federation of Neurological Societies – http://www.efns.org
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) – http://www.nice.org.uk
Renal Association – http://www.renal.org
Society for Endocrinology – http://www.endocrinology.org
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13Acknowledgements
We are deeply indebted to the many people who provided helpful suggestions through all stages of preparing this book. We would especially like to thank the following individuals:
Dr Peter Byrne, Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Iyas Assalman, Specialist Registrar in Psychiatry, Newham University Hospital and Dr Jelena Jankovic, Consultant Psychiatrist, at Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust for reviewing the psychiatry questions.
Dr Chulanie De Silva, Consultant Rheumatologist at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, for reviewing the rheumatology questions.
Dr Olivia Kreze, Consultant Haematologist, and Kathir Mahadevan, Section Leader of the Haematology Laboratory at Newham University Hospital, for supplying the blood films and reviewing the haematology questions.
Dr Mark Blunden, Consultant Nephrologist, and Michael Sheaff, Professor of Pathology, at the Royal London Hospital for providing the renal biopsy images and reviewing the renal questions.
Dr Catherine Harwood, Consultant Dermatologist at the Royal London Hospital, and Dr Ferina Ismail, Consultant Dermatologist at the Royal Free Hospital, for providing the dermatology images and reviewing the dermatology questions.
Dr Sean O'Sullivan, Consultant Neurologist at Cork University Hospital, Ireland, and Dr Benjamin Turner, Consultant Neurologist at the Royal London Hospital, for reviewing the neurology questions.
Dr Shamira Perera, Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore, Dr Sam Khandhadia, Clinical Research Fellow at University Hospitals Southampton, and Anila Nair at the Newham Diabetic Retinal Screening Service for providing the ophthalmology images and reviewing the ophthalmology questions.
Dr Francesca Ng, Speciality Registrar in Radiology at Northwick Park Hospital, Dr Hussein Kamel, Consultant Radiologist at Newham University Hospital, Enhui Yong at Barts and the London Medical School, and Dr Ava Jackson and Dr Hafiz Syed, Consultant Stroke Physicians at Newham University Hospital, for providing the radiological imaging.
We are very grateful to Dr Aruna Dias, Consultant Gastroenterologist and Physician, Newham University Hospital, for his constant help and tireless support throughout all stages of writing and editing this book. We would also like to thank Dr Eric Beck for giving his time to provide helpful editorial input. We are very appreciative of the dedication and commitment that Hannah Applin, Richard Furn and Thomas Fletcher from JP Medical have shown to us at all times.
CA, SF, DH, HL, RM, LM
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15Dedication
To our families.
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