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Intercollegiate MRCS update
EDITORIAL
The full regulations for the Intercollegiate MRCS can be downloaded from the College web site or obtained from the examinations department. An explanatory document MRCS Examination—Introduction of New Intercollegiate Regulations is also available and sets out the position for the period during which some candidates will be taking ‘old-style‘ College examinations, some will be taking the Intercollegiate MRCS only, and some will be moving for one system to the other. The English College will continue to offer its old-style core and systems MCQ papers for two sittings in 2004 (April and September) for candidates who have previously passed one of these papers. Candidates who do not pass these papers within that timeframe will have to transfer to the Intercollegiate papers. The old format English College viva and clinical examinations will be held for the last time in June and July 2004, then will be replaced by Intercollegiate orals and clinicals in the autumn. Candidates will be governed by the regulations that applied when they passed their MCQ papers. Candidates will become members of the College when they successfully complete Part 3 of the examination. To be eligible for entry to Higher Surgical Training in Great Britain and Ireland, they also have to possess the Certificate of Completion (CCBST). To acquire the CCBST trainees will need to have passed the MRCS and met a number of other conditions, including successful completion of 24 months’ training in recognized posts from defined specialties and completion of mandatory courses. Full details of the CCBST will be announced early in 2004. A revised syllabus for the Intercollegiate MRCS will be available before the end of the year. The new syllabus will cover the same areas of knowledge as the existing syllabus, but will specify where particular topics may be assessed and the depth to which they will be tested. The syllabus will be presented in terms of coverage of the applied basic sciences and specialty-specific areas. There will also be a specification for generic knowledge covering the headings set out in Good Medical Practice, generic clinical skills and a new syllabus for communication skills. The current STEP™ course materials will still cover the entire syllabus, although some topics will be differently arranged.
Intercollegiate MRCS update Ruth Palmer
This contribution is reproduced courtesy of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and was originally published in: Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2003; 85(Suppl): 349.
Development of the new Intercollegiate MRCS is now well advanced and prospective candidates should check the examinations pages of the Royal College of Surgeons of England web site (see FURTHER READING) regularly for the latest information. The examination format has been agreed and will be made up as follows: Part 1 – Applied Basic Sciences MCQ Paper (three hours; all multiple true/false questions). First paper January 2004. Part 2 – Clinical Problem Solving MCQ Paper (three hours; all extended matching questions). First paper January 2004. Part 3 – Oral component (60 minutes divided into three 20-minute sessions covering applied surgical anatomy and operative surgery; applied physiology and critical care; clinical pathology and principles of surgery). First sitting October 2004. Clinical component (90 minutes divided into four 15-minute bays testing clinical skills in ‘short cases’, plus two communication skills bays totalling 30 minutes’ assessment time). First sitting October 2004. This format is identical in all the colleges and the MCQ papers will be the same wherever they are sat. The MCQ papers will be held simultaneously worldwide and all the colleges will hold the oral exams and clinical exams at similar times within Great Britain and Ireland. All parts of the examination will be offered three times per year. Candidates will continue to enter through individual colleges. The only entry requirement for Part 1 is possession of an acceptable primary medical qualification (see regulations for details), although candidates are recommended to have started Basic Surgical Training (BST). For Parts 2 and 3 candidates must have started BST and the entry to each successive part of the examination is dependent upon passing previous parts. Once candidates have attempted Part 2, the clinical problemsolving paper, they will have three and a half years in which to complete the examination. If it is not completed within this timeframe, candidates will not be permitted to retake any part of the examination unless they are acceptable extenuating circumstances.
FURTHER READING The Royal College of Surgeons of England. http://www.rcseng.ac.uk
Ruth Palmer is Head of Examinations and Assessment, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, London, UK.
SURGERY
iii
© 2003 The Medicine Publishing Company Ltd
The full regulations for the Intercollegiate MRCS can be downloaded from the College web site or obtained from the examinations department. An explanatory document MRCS Examination—Introduction of New Intercollegiate Regulations is also available and sets out the position for the period during which some candidates will be taking ‘old-style‘ College examinations, some will be taking the Intercollegiate MRCS only, and some will be moving for one system to the other. The English College will continue to offer its old-style core and systems MCQ papers for two sittings in 2004 (April and September) for candidates who have previously passed one of these papers. Candidates who do not pass these papers within that timeframe will have to transfer to the Intercollegiate papers. The old format English College viva and clinical examinations will be held for the last time in June and July 2004, then will be replaced by Intercollegiate orals and clinicals in the autumn. Candidates will be governed by the regulations that applied when they passed their MCQ papers. Candidates will become members of the College when they successfully complete Part 3 of the examination. To be eligible for entry to Higher Surgical Training in Great Britain and Ireland, they also have to possess the Certificate of Completion (CCBST). To acquire the CCBST trainees will need to have passed the MRCS and met a number of other conditions, including successful completion of 24 months’ training in recognized posts from defined specialties and completion of mandatory courses. Full details of the CCBST will be announced early in 2004. A revised syllabus for the Intercollegiate MRCS will be available before the end of the year. The new syllabus will cover the same areas of knowledge as the existing syllabus, but will specify where particular topics may be assessed and the depth to which they will be tested. The syllabus will be presented in terms of coverage of the applied basic sciences and specialty-specific areas. There will also be a specification for generic knowledge covering the headings set out in Good Medical Practice, generic clinical skills and a new syllabus for communication skills. The current STEP™ course materials will still cover the entire syllabus, although some topics will be differently arranged.
Intercollegiate MRCS update Ruth Palmer
This contribution is reproduced courtesy of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and was originally published in: Ann R Coll Surg Engl 2003; 85(Suppl): 349.
Development of the new Intercollegiate MRCS is now well advanced and prospective candidates should check the examinations pages of the Royal College of Surgeons of England web site (see FURTHER READING) regularly for the latest information. The examination format has been agreed and will be made up as follows: Part 1 – Applied Basic Sciences MCQ Paper (three hours; all multiple true/false questions). First paper January 2004. Part 2 – Clinical Problem Solving MCQ Paper (three hours; all extended matching questions). First paper January 2004. Part 3 – Oral component (60 minutes divided into three 20-minute sessions covering applied surgical anatomy and operative surgery; applied physiology and critical care; clinical pathology and principles of surgery). First sitting October 2004. Clinical component (90 minutes divided into four 15-minute bays testing clinical skills in ‘short cases’, plus two communication skills bays totalling 30 minutes’ assessment time). First sitting October 2004. This format is identical in all the colleges and the MCQ papers will be the same wherever they are sat. The MCQ papers will be held simultaneously worldwide and all the colleges will hold the oral exams and clinical exams at similar times within Great Britain and Ireland. All parts of the examination will be offered three times per year. Candidates will continue to enter through individual colleges. The only entry requirement for Part 1 is possession of an acceptable primary medical qualification (see regulations for details), although candidates are recommended to have started Basic Surgical Training (BST). For Parts 2 and 3 candidates must have started BST and the entry to each successive part of the examination is dependent upon passing previous parts. Once candidates have attempted Part 2, the clinical problemsolving paper, they will have three and a half years in which to complete the examination. If it is not completed within this timeframe, candidates will not be permitted to retake any part of the examination unless they are acceptable extenuating circumstances.
FURTHER READING The Royal College of Surgeons of England. http://www.rcseng.ac.uk
Ruth Palmer is Head of Examinations and Assessment, The Royal College of Surgeons of England, London, UK.
SURGERY
iii
© 2003 The Medicine Publishing Company Ltd