Rigorous preparation is required to succeed in Member of Royal College of Physicians (United Kingdom) or MRCP (UK) examinations and gain access to specialist training in the UK. MRCP Part 1 is taken up during postgraduate medical training and features a wide-ranging study. Just as the preparation for the examination is strategic, so is also its timing.
The MRCP (UK) Part 1 is an entry-level exam available for doctors who have a minimum of 12 months’ postgraduate experience in medical practice. The MRCP concentrates on the real-world application of medical skills by combining academic and practical knowledge. Statistics and trends say that the pass rate was high for students who took the exam between 12 and 24 months after graduation.
About 70% of the students who sat for the MRCP Part 1 exam between 12 and 24 months of graduation cleared it. On the contrary, only 50% of the candidates attempted the exam after another 12 months passed. The rate of clearing the exam was only 40% for those who waited for three to four years.
So going by the trends, it is advisable to take up the exam between 12 and 24 months of graduation.
Preparation for the MRCP Part 1 Exam
MRCP is a challenging yet rewarding examination. The intense and focused study is crucial to clear it. Setting aside time every day for the exams covering all the topics in the curriculum is essential. Another must-do is practicing model questions to understand the pattern and format of the exam and attempting mock tests. It is also suggested that the aspirant seeks advice/tips from those who have cleared MRCP exams.
Apart from these, there is an IELTS requirement to start working on your English from an earlier stage – when you are 2-3 years into your MBBS or bachelor’s degree in medicine.
Syllabus for MRCPH
General
- Cardiology
- Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Clinical sciences**
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic medicine
- Gastroenterology and Hepatology
- Geriatric medicine
- Hematology
- Infectious diseases
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Medical ophthalmology
- Palliative medicine and end of life care
- Psychiatry
- Renal medicine
- Respiratory medicine
- Rheumatology
Clinical
- Cell, molecular, and membrane biology
- Clinical anatomy
- Clinical biochemistry and metabolism
- Clinical physiology
- Genetics
- Immunology
- Statistics, epidemiology, and evidence-based medicine
Study Strategies
- Use a recommended book and always use it for reference.
- Revision and consistency will beat talent. Keep revising regularly
- Question bank go through previous years question bank at least once
- Keep a list of all the questions that are tough for you.
- Review Books: Khalid El Magraby
- Set a minimum limit of the question you have to complete, say 20-50.
- Don’t work hard to remember the question and answers as it is. Try to understand why an answer is correct or wrong.
- Don’t read and waste your time on every other material that gets your way. Keep your resources limited.
- During the internship, keep a log of critical cases that pertain to the topics mentioned above.
Why do you need a mentor?
Getting Expert Help for MRCP
If you enroll with institutions that train hundreds of MRCP aspirants, you can concentrate on your work as a doctor. Expert aided courses enable systematic preparation for one of the most intense examinations. Widely speaking, this pertains to opting for a mentoring approach to save your time.
- Guidance: As a student who is yet to explore the field, having a mentor goes a long way to ensure that you stay on the right track.
- Suitable Material: A experienced person who has finished the course you are pursuing knows what study material you need to follow to succeed in your MRCP exam.
- Training: A mentor can guide you through your internship. Moreover, they help you input the right internships and suitable profiles needed to qualify for your exams.
- Language assistance: As a candidate who wants to study and practice in the UK, it comes with an added exam or learning for Indians or anyone whose second language is English. When you work with people who converse in English every day, it comes naturally to you. Moreover, with mentors and programs like Texila American University, you can be sure that you are a part of a global network that will help match all the criteria required for the selection.
- Syllabus: As an individual, it can be hard to track the progress, and with medical exams that have a wide range of subjects and topics to be completed, it becomes necessary that you have some beacon to guide you through that vast syllabus. Usually, the mentors are the practicing MRCP doctors who have walked that mile before you, making learning more accessible.
Why Texila?
Partner with institutions like Texila American University offers training programs for students who want to prepare for MRCP in India while practicing medicine. They have tied up with multiple hospitals in India all across the country. These hospitals not only have doctors who have cleared MRCP, but you will also train under them.
Texila American University, in association with UCN university, provides a PG Medical Program with MRCP Training. They help get placed in the best campuses and institutes to ensure that you have the proper skill set sought after in the applicants. Texila American University (TAU) has recognition by World Health Organization (WHO); As a result, the degree program and the certificate you acquire with them have global acceptance. You are likely to be placed in good positions.
TAU offers Fellowship Program with Royal College Examination Training, a unique program whereby students who have completed their under graduation in MBBS can pursue the training through Texila American University.
MRCP exam, as discussed above, is a two-phase exam. Completing the first part of the exam is work half done.
The second exam introduces a more practical exam pattern that will include the clinical exam and a more challenging set of questions specific to your field of interest.
This three-year course is a boon to all the candidates who need complete training for both levels of the exams. As an individual, you might try to crack the first level and then crack the second level of the exams. At the same time, many students at many institutes would prepare for both groups. It’s about having that problem-solving capacity. The type of question you get in the 2nd paper will be the best type of question, which means the options will be the correct answers, but you will have to pick the right answer out of all in the given options. The best possible way to get that is with experience. The programs that such institutions provide are more than capable of giving you this experience. Worrying about your English is unnecessary or your level in the official hierarchy. It will be planned for you by the program specialists.
Conclusion
As a student, if you are ready and prepared to take up a career and sure about it, you can take up self-studying. But, that is not the case with most students. They become aware of the career path while learning or in the final year.
