MRCP Part 1: What? When? How?

Hi, my name is Mansi. I am an IMG from India. I have cleared my PLAB-1 in August 2023 and am currently doing a clinical attachment in the UK while preparing for my PLAB-2 exam. I cleared my MRCP Part 1 in April 2023 and in today’s blog, I am going to tell you about my experience of preparing for the same which I hope will help you clear it too.

I will discuss in this blog the following:

1. What is MRCP exam?

2. Eligibility criteria

3. Exam pattern and syllabus

4. Application process

5. Resources for preparation

What is MRCP exam?

MRCPUK stands for the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. As the official website states, it tests the ‘acquisition of a representative sample of medical knowledge, skills and behaviour as specified in the UK Specialty Training Curriculum for Core Medical Training (CMT) / Internal Medicine Training (IMT)’. 

Eligibility criteria

It is worth taking the exam if you are already into IMT training or are sure you would want to pursue it in the future. The only eligibility criteria to fulfil is a minimum of 12 months' postgraduate experience in medical employment. To clarify the doubt, it is worth mentioning here that one-year of internship experience post MBBS counts as ‘post-graduate experience’. 

Exam pattern, syllabus and fee

Unlike many other exams, MRCP Part-1 is a pass/fail exam. It is conducted 4 times a year as two three-hour computer-based papers with 100 questions in each. There is no negative marking and the candidates are supposed to choose best of the five choices for each question. There are no image-based questions in the exam.

The exam tests the candidate’s knowledge over 17 broad clinical topics across various specialities. The official website mentions the blueprint along with average number of questions from each topic.

As for 2024, the exam fee is £460 for UK-based and £616 for international candidates.

Application process:

1. Create an account online.

2. Log into your My MRCP(UK) account.

3. Check all your personal details and fill in details about whether you are training in the UK or not

4. Choose a centre where you would like to take the examination and pay for the same.

5. You will now be assigned an RCP code once your application is submitted.

6. You will need to provide evidence of your primary medical qualification (PMQ) and send it to PMQ@mrcpuk.org along with your RCP code. Make sure the document you provide fulfils the criteria mentioned on the official website.

Resources for preparation

There are various resources available for preparation in the forms of notes and question banks. Some examples of available notes:

• Essential notes by Philip Kalra

• Step Up by El Magrabhy

• Notes & Notes by Hammad

• The only MRCP Notes you will ever need by SudaMedica

Some examples of question banks include:

• Pastest

• Passmedicine

• BMJ

There are numerous resources apart from these and it is a personal choice of the candidate to follow the ones they are most comfortable with. Always remember to go through sample papers on the website and some past papers.

Need more tips and advice?

If you have any more questions, I would be happy to answer them at trewlink.com. You can register using this link. Find me as an ambassador and follow my profile – Mansi Jain – to receive regular support and guidance.

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