Regisration

Details from their official website

Exam format

• Two papers each with 100 MCQs = total 200 questions
• Number of questions in each speciality/subcategory differs from exam to exam. MRCPUk website has a table of estimated average number of questions per speciality.

What to bring with you

• Yourself 
• The agreement document they will send you printed and signed
• Your passport or any ID that includes your signature
• A non-hoodie jacket/sweater (per their email: hoodies not permitted, but some exam centers may be more lenient with this rule)
• Water and snacks. There is a short 1 hour break between both papers
• NO watches, calculators, writing utensils. Pencils and erasers are provided. A calculator will not be provided however. 

Study Tips from my own experience

General tips

• Don’t be discouraged. The question banks can be tricky when solving for the first time. Take it as a learning experience more than a test of your knowledge. 
• Generally speaking, pass-medicine was more important for step 1 while pastest was essential for step 2.
• Tackle the questions sections by sections rather than studying randomly.
• Always read the explanation after the question and note them down when necessary. I liked to copy/paste points that I thought were important for me to remember into a google document. 
• Your studying for PART 1 will help you pass PART 2. I would recommend doing PART 2 as soon as possible after passing PART 1.
• Textbooks for MRCP theory exams (part 1 and part 2): I didn’t use them. I relied on the online textbooks on passmedicine and pastest, to a lesser degree. I used to write my own notes and compiled them into various documents. 
• Books there are various published books for MRCP theory exams. The most well-known ones are:
  • The Only MRCP notes you will ever need by Hani Abuelgasim → this book is largely a plagiarized reorganization of the online textbook on passmedicine. It may add a few points here and there but it also misses others and is less updated.
  • Step up to MRCP by Khaled El magraby → I have no experience with this book, but I know a few who have found it helpful. 
  • Notes and Notes and MRCP by Yousif Hamad → I have no experience with this book either, buy I know a few who have found it helpful as well. 

How I studied for PART 1 MRCP

• I tried to solve passmedicine in full, tackling each speciality at a time. During this time I wrote notes. Then I studied my notes and reset the questionbank. This time I solved questions randomly. I only managed to solve half the questionbank the second time around. 
• The week before the exam, I solved the sample questions on the MRCPUK official website. I believe they had close to 200 question in total. I also used the free trial of pastest and solved the past exams. 

How I studied for PART 2 MRCP

• Similar to the first time, I first tackled passmedicine. However, there are a lot less questions for part 2 on passmedicine. So I had set my sights on completing both the passmedicine and pastest questionbanks. 
• Just like for PART 1, I took notes for the part 2 exam while solving questions and simply added them to my part 1 notes. I studied these notes. 
• In total, I solved the passmedicine questionbank, almost all the pastest questionbank, and all past papers on pastest up until 2019. 

Finally, I wish you the best of luck.

I studied for MRCP during my R1 residency in internal medicine. As the exam drew closer, my life had turned into a predictable routine of work-force myself to study-sleep-repeat. The combination of working full time, doing on calls, and cramming for an exam was brutal. 

At times, self doubt would creep in. Especially as I did not personally find the questionbanks to be easy. 

I found that more than anything, for these types of exams, discipiline is the difference maker. 

The discipline to make yourself solve another 50 questions today, when you would really rather not. 

I can’t claim to be the most self-disciplined individual either, so it was definitely an internal struggle at times.

Remember to take care of yourself during this process. Listen to your body and your needs. 

Take time off when you need it.

Put yourself first. 

After all, it’s only an exam 🙂 

– Maryam