Page updated: 03 03 10

MRCP(UK)

The full MRCP(UK) Examination, consisting of Part 1, Part 2 Written and Part 2 Clinical (PACES), is the main form of knowledge assessment for the early years of physician training. 

The Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB) have accepted that from August 2011, possession of the full MRCP(UK) will become a mandatory requirement for ST3 entry into any of the medical (physicianly) specialties. Candidates currently in UK training should note that doctors entering CMT from August 2009 will not be able to exit successfully from the programme until they have the full MRCP(UK). Candidates expecting confirmation of any MRCP(UK) Examination results in time for application to ST3 posts will need to refer to the MRCP(UK) website for information about result release dates.  

The last opportunity for candidates to sit and receive their results by April 2011 is expected to be: 

MRCP(UK) Part 2 Written Examination:          2010/3 diet (24 & 25^TH November 2010)

MRCP(UK) PACES:                                      2011/1 diet (Main assessment period: mid February - March 2011).    

Junior doctors may wish to note this information when planning their attempts for MRCP(UK) Examinations. Regulations for MRCP(UK), including entry requirements,  can be found at www.mrcpuk.org   

If you have any questions about any part of the MRCP(UK) examination please contact the MRCP(UK) office via one of the following email addresses:

ALTERNATIVE QUALIFICATIONS TO MRCP(UK) FOR ENTRY TO SPECIALIST PROGRAMMES IN MEDICINE

One of the key elements built into the revised curricula to be introduced in August 2010 (subject to final PMETB approval) is the introduction of knowledge based assessment for Core Medical Training (CMT), in the form of the full MRCP(UK) examination, which has been mapped to the CMT curriculum specifically for this purpose.

It follows, and has been confirmed by the JRCPTB board, that CMT entrants to specialty programmes from August 2010 will have to demonstrate acquisition of the required assessment.     

Trainees offering any other equivalent qualification to the MRCP(UK), not mapped to the CMT curriculum, will not have complied with the requirements of a programme of training leading to a CCT, and will therefore be on a training programme leading to a CESR(CP).   

There are a number of specialties that accept entry from routes other than CMT.    Provided that trainees have complied with the requirements for these alternative pathways, they will continue onto a CCT programme.    The following alternative pathways apply:

Changes to the MRCP(UK) PACES Examination 

The marking scheme and format of Station 5 are scheduled to change in October 2009.  Click here to read more. 

Specialty Certificate Examinations (SCE)

A Specialty Certificate Examination is now a compulsory component of assessment for Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) for all UK trainees whose specialist training began in or after August 2007 and is in one of the following specialties: Acute Medicine;  Dermatology; Endocrinology and Diabetes; Gastroenterology, Geriatric Medicine; Infectious Diseases; Medical Oncology; Nephrology; Neurology; Respiratory Medicine and Rheumatology.

Trainees would normally take the Specialty Certificate Examination during specialist training, and should have made at least one attempt by the time of their penultimate year assessment. The Specialty Certificate Examination or other approved knowledge based assessment is a prerequisite for attainment of the CCT.

All trainees who sat the SCEs in 2008, and those who enrol for the first time in the calendar years 2009 and 2010, will pay a one-off fee of £800, allowing up to two sittings of the exam in total. 

Information about SCEs is available on the MRCP (UK) website www.mrcpuk.org/SCE.  If you have any questions about the SCEs please see the FAQs or email sce.queries@mrcpuk.org

UK trainees: post-nominals

Trainees with MRCP(UK) who pass the Specialty Certificate Examination in their specialty and who are recommended for a CCT are granted the postnominal MRCP(UK) (Specialty).

Trainees who have joined a higher specialty training programme with a diploma from an alternative UK Royal College, e.g. MRCGP, MRCPCH, who pass the Specialty Certificate Examination in their specialty and who are recommended for a CCT are also granted the postnominal MRCP(UK) (Specialty).

Trainees who have joined a higher specialty training programme with non-PMETB-approved training, passed the Specialty Certificate Examination and are recommended for a CESR(CP) and in addition have passed MRCP(UK) are also granted the postnominal MRCP(UK)(Specialty). 

Trainees who are recommended for a CESR(CP) but who have not passed the MRCP(UK) are not granted the use of the postnominal. They may decide to take MRCP(UK) and if successful will then become eligible for the postnominal.

For more information about CCT and CESR(CP), visit the PMETB website.

Specialty Certificate Examinations - Not Mandatory for SpRs

It has been brought to our attention that at RITA some SpRs are being put under some pressure to sit the Specialty Certificate Examinations (SCE).   Only those trainees who commenced specialty training on or after 1st August 2007 need to sit the SCE for their specialty.  JRCPTB wishes to make it clear that SpRs are not required to sit SCEs, but may do so if they wish, and this would be entirely at individuals’ discretion. 

It has also been suggested that success in the SCE may provide some advantage at appointments committee, but again it will be solely for trainees to make a judgment as to whether or not to sit the examination.

 Other Methods of Knowledge Assessment

Please note that many specialties, including Haematology, Genitourinary Medicine, Audiological Medicine, Cardiology and Immunology will not have an SCE and will be using alternative forms of Knowledge Based Assessment.  Please refer to the relevant curriculum for details.