How to prepare for MRCS part A
Summary
This on-demand teaching session is focused on preparing for the MRCS exam. Attendees will be taught how to streamline their studies, given tips on how many times to go through the question banks, recommended resources (including links), study tips, video lectures and more. The session is directed to medical professionals. The presenter has experience with the MRCS exam and will share their journey, resources used, and help attendees pass the exam.
Learning objectives
Learning Objectives:
- Understand the requirements of the MRCS Part A exam.
- Learn the best resources and strategies to use when preparing for the MRCS Part A exam.
- Feel confident answering questions on the MRCS Part A exam.
- Understand the importance of using the MRCS online and offline question banks when preparing for the exam.
- Understand how toUse YouTube videos, Recall Sheets, and case discussions to maximize learning objectives.
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Computer generated transcript
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The following transcript was generated automatically from the content and has not been checked or corrected manually.
Doc, can you hear me? Hello? Hello? Doctor? Studio, can you hear me? Okay. Okay. Can you hear me now? All right. Okay. What do you do? Okay, I'm fine. Um, today. So listen, how to share? A slight. I can see she has slides. She has migraine apartment. Let me see. Chest lights. Hmm. Just, like, different. That's fine. Um, fine. Mhm. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Recommends. Can you hear me? And Okay. You can't hear me. Yeah, I can see the slide now. Okay. Yeah. What next? Now? Um, hello. Good evening, everyone. Um, we're just going to give you a few minutes about about five minutes, and then we'll start. Thank you to everyone who has come on this earlier. It helps. Mhm. The information is not is not much to be honest. So if we start early, anyone who joins in any later may miss most of it. Obviously, at any point in time, if you got any questions, feel free to probably send in the cat's box. If you have any questions, even now, if you if it's pop it in the chart box, and I can have that in mind, or like, go ahead. We're just waiting until it's five minutes past seven. And then we'll start right now. You're just joining us? Yeah. I promise to keep it short, simple and straight to the point. And we are starting now. Hello. Good evening, everyone. Um, my name is GHI. Okay? I am currently on Essential Tremor Orthopedics in Rex A mile A hospital. It's in North Wales. So the topic today is how to prepare for MRCS past day. Um, this is the outline. Be talking about the exam of review. My journey. I'll show you some resources I used and give you some study tips and links to the resources I used. Um, I'm not sure if you'd be able to have access to the slides later, but feel free to take a screenshot and just copy the links off when I show you the the links. I mean, so, um, now, I'm assuming that everyone who is here already has an idea of what the MRCS part of the exam is all about. It's a straightforward exam. It's five hours. Um, five hours. Sounds like a long time. But when you're sitting in the chair, trust me, it goes by quickly. Well, if you know what you're doing. Um, there are two sessions of the exam. The paper one, which is the applied basic sciences Another mother likes There are 100 and 80 questions to go through in 100 and 80 minutes. And the second paper, the principles of the surgery and all its 120 questions and 120 minutes. So for each question, you've got one minute. At the moment, it's computer based. Um, it was changed recently. I mean, computers. But when I'm uncomfortable, I mean, you have to go to a center for it. Previously, what they did was everyone used their personal computers, but they thought their questions were looking too much, so they changed the whole process. Now, my experience, I had booked the exam late last year for generally 2022. But due to what what I just mentioned, they they decided to change for most of the exam. They wanted people to come to a center. Um, currently, the pas in view, which is the same, um, the company used by a lot of, um, people who are giving up for exams. So, um, after I booked the exam, I had about two months of study by two months of study was very casual with me. I I was using the MRCS. Then I'll probably I don't think I had studied up more than 500 questions out of the whole question bank within that two months. Um, this was very okay, but as soon as they postponed your exam, I I stopped studying. I won't lie about that. I stopped studying entirely because you know how it is in medical exams. You the The motivation only comes as the date comes closer. Then I had a more regular study three months to the exam itself. My exam was moved to me. So three months of the exam was gonna say that getting the feeling the heat of the exam and then got a lot more serious with the exam. No, no. Um, these are the resources I used, uh, which my, uh one of the best advice I would give for this exam is Keep everything you're doing streamlined. Do not try to use everything. If you try to do that, you're going to waste time. I'm sure there are some people who have their exam next month and, um, obviously, this is not the time to start looking at anything new. Or should we do now with other revisions? Um, so with the MRCS, my advice is, there are offline question banks. Um, I hope there is no e m R s. Yes, Representative. Here there are offline question banks now, usually what advice with the MRCS is scroll through these questions? Um, it's close to these questions. Don't try to Don't. If you try to read and have all the details of each question you're going to spend all day long in one question, um, scroll through, read each line once you know the answer. Now, this exam, they repeat questions a lot. They questions may not be vibrating, but the repeat questions a lot. Uh, please feel free to ask any questions at any point, any point in time, because it's quite straightforward. I'm not going to spend a lot of time with what I have to say. So the question is a lot. So you have a lot of advantage if you're able to go through these questions as many times as possible as many times as possible. If you go through your masters at least two times. You're you're good for the exam in the sense that you're probably going to get at least 70%. Well, unfortunately, 70% may not get you a pass, but 70% of the exam. If you go through MRCs multiple times you you will be steady for you to be sure of that. Now, um, after you've gone through the offline question banks, Yeah. The next thing you want to do is this is going to go back to the online question bank and this time around, try and go through each questions a lot faster than you did with the offline one as well, because you would have seen the questions. You would have seen the explanation. So this time around, all you're doing is just to fly through. You're flying through your just reminding yourself of what each questions about, um, now, yes, E MRCs helps you streamline. It helps you tell. It gives you a record of how you're doing. Um, So by the time you've gone through the questions offline and then you're going through the questions online again, this is probably the second time you're going through the questions you have a lot more confidence going through these questions. Um, I didn't do this at first until I got better advice, so I totally abandon the online. When I went offline when I came back, my performance was a lot better. Initially, I discussed are not anything to write home about. So that is the MRI. Yes. Now, um, the other resources you need, Um, now there are There is a guy on YouTube. Doctor Michelle. He's also got He's on YouTube and telegrams on Facebook. Now, um, he's a doctor who has done a lot of, um, help. He has helped a lot of people pass this, um, MRCs exam. So he has a lot of resources online that he has. He's got timetables. He's got videos. It's all over YouTube. I'm going to give you the links. Anyway, now, his voice lectures. What I did with them was, um I Listen, what I did was I listen to the voice lectures. He's got a playlist of everything arranged. I listen to the voice lectures, and after listening to the voice lectures, I in each section, for example, I go through anatomy or I go to the physiology and then I go to the offline banks. Now that what that means is, I have a fair idea of the basic principles because he's got the experience. He's going through this for many years now. So what he does is he gives you all the little tricks around. Each question he discusses around each question. He tells you, Let the little bit of things you need to know about each question. And then that way, after listening to that, you're able to go through a lot of questions and you understand what what's happening there. Then, um, they found your sheets. Now how's your sheets? Is like a concentrated collection of questions like, Yeah, concentrate, collection of question banks. Um, what it does is it's like it's almost as safe. What? Um, it's almost as if the real College of surgeons guys they use is the fact that it is like the baseline from which they extrapolate and build up and give you all the different types of questions they bring up. So it, once you're able to go through this, how's your sheets? It's, um it just clears a lot of things for you. It's if you're able to go to for that shit at least two times. Now, remember, I said MRCS brings you up to 70%. Now, if you're able to go through this for your shot at least two times, you're coming up to 75%. And I think the last time there was the score the person scores above 25% was in 2020. Now, basically, if you if you're able to do all of this, you're you're almost You're almost there. Now, the last India is the recall questions. Now, unfortunately for me, I only saw only had the time to go to recall question is, the night before my exam and I was able to go through about five of them. Now, at this time, I was I was already very consistent with a lot of the questions. I'm able to go through a lot of questions. Um, in a few hours. Now, what do you recall questions? Do you mean I had I saw a bank that was quite, um, most of the questions looks correct to me. So what happened in my situation? What happened was, uh there were a few questions I saw that I didn't really understand why the questions were I mean, the answer is, well, what they chose. But I saw the questions for the team in the exam, and, well, I didn't have the time to go through it. And all I did was copy and paste. Remember the questions? I remember the answer that you use, and I just give it back to them. Now, what this means is we recall questions. You, uh you're gonna see a lot of questions that they are going to repeat the property. And if you already know your onions, obviously from studying previously and if you've got the time to go through these records questions and, um, I'm very sure you're gonna get above 80% in this exam. And trust me that in the past there is no there hasn't been a history of this, uh, MRCs past where anyone who got above 80% didn't pass. Now, um, it's also got here. Yes. So, with falsely a sheet, Um, what I did was I went through this. This is the link for I think his name is Dr Remy. Now. It was like a group discussion where he had people. Really? You know how the group discussions work. Um, so they went through each question and the foul shit with explanations of the answers. And with each one, they were able to dissect the question. And also they are able to give you the principals to answer very similar questions. This I personally, I'm not a group study person. I studied for this exam alone, and that's what that's what works for me now. But this, um, this YouTube video was a group discussion. It was a good discussion because you've got a lot of people answering questions that you've got someone who knows the answers, directing you on the right path, the three links, Um, just they're links to each, Um, the father is a couple of questions. So all the trillions, just it's all about the explanation of the father ship, the answers and all now one very important to keep in going through YouTube videos, especially this far as your shit is, do not play that anything less than 1.5 times Otherwise. Actually, people have these videos at two times otherwise going to spend, because I think the first one is about five hours long. The second one about three hours and exactly talking about three hours as well. So that's almost 10. That's more than 10 hours already. And if you want to go through this, you can go through this for their sheets. At least if you get If you go to this other sheet up to three times, yeah, you're doing very well now. Play these videos at at least 1.5 times because some you know how it is in group discussion. Sometimes they drill, so you have to be fast about it. What was? The other thing you can also do is to tell them the closed captions, which is actually subsided. It helps because what you might not hear and you see, even though the prescription may not be correct because you have an idea of the context everything links up and then keep it going, Um, the links I have here for the first under doctor be sure the first one is, um, is a playlist of his different voice shots explaining a lot of things. Um, for each section of the exam, if you can go through a lot of it, you know, it's I use his videos hand in hand with the MRCS study. It helps me get the basic idea of whatever what I was going into. And then when I start answering the questions, I'm not lost and I'm not feeling and I'm not discouraged. Uh, and then the second link is a telegram group created by DR Be Sure, now the telegram group. In there, you're going to find lots of resources as well and a lot of noise as well. Um, what I used it for was basically going there and get some record questions. That was where I got my record questions, which I used, and these are just some extra notes celebrate, and on my mind, it's it's It's like a summary of a lot of things. They just bullet points. Most of them are. You will just be able to something you can revise with, but I think it's a lot, but it can be helpful if you've got time. But if not, if you do not have time, you can see Quit the MRCS um offline and then start online. Try to if you go through, the more times you go through all of these, the more your chances of remembering what they are producing in the exam. Now I must say that this exam is not. It is not a study. It is not an exam about what you know or your application of whatever. Clinically, you can always be a good doctor. You can always study. Study for an exam is very is an entirely different ballgame from studying. To be able to practice study for an exam, you have to work with what the exam is presenting you with. You have to go. However, you can work the system and pass your exam. That is the most important thing. Everything else the second room you can. Which is why it may not make sense to because earlier, I said while studying the offline MRCs just scroll through. The point of scrolling through is you cover a lot of questions in a shorter time. If you decide to read because I'm sure everyone will be tempted to read. If you decide to read and you know it's so you can apply it clinically, it's unfortunately that might not be very helpful. You're going to waste a lot of sense you can read after your exam. We can reach for your clinical knowledge after the exam. But for this exam, what you need is what you need to do is then what? How the questions come. Learn how they put in tricks in the questions and passed the exam. I met a guy recently who, unfortunately, has had to sit for this exam seven times, and he has marked as his chances. And he's He was disappointed that obviously he cannot go on with surgical career here in the UK and that's not good. I did this exam just once, and luckily for me, I had the right information. I had the right resources and I was able to pass this exam in one go. It's It's doable. It is very doable. Now. I think that's really the end. Um, yeah, if I could do it, it definitely will. And best of luck to everyone. I've got some questions here. Um, the exam is about the reason. About four times in a year, Um, is it four times or three times now? I'm not entirely sure. It's written in February. It's written in April. It's three times February, April and September. I think the next, uh, cohort is coming up in September, I think 17. I'm not sure. Um the cost of the exam is 550 lbs. And if you want to register for it 550 lbs now imagine the person who has recent exam seven times, seven times, 550. That's a lot of money. That's if you invest that something else. You. Anyway, um, how do you register for the exam? If you register, just go to the real College of Surgeons website. It doesn't matter whether you register with England or they just registered, um, fill in the details. Usually you see the requirements in the, uh it's straightforward on self explanatory regulative surgeons MRCs. But if you put them into Google, follow that link and you will be all right. Now, any more questions? Please feel free to ask me any questions, especially those who have got your exams in September. I don't know if you've got anything you would like to clarify anyone, any counselor opinions. Well, um, if no questions, then, um, I think that's the end now, exams, uh, exams are just a moment. Stuff. It's Whatever happens in the moment is that and that's the end of it. It doesn't, really. The final result doesn't really define whether you are very good. Okay, um, what's it about not feeling already? The other things that are not feeling ready is to keep going. Um, keep going. Keep going. The more questions you go through, the the the better, the more you're going to feel confident about it, it's it's a medical exam. You hardly ever if you're ready for it, even the even the moments before you answer the, um even for the moment, the answer. The center You never feel really bored. You just have to do is just keep going. Keep going through all the resources. And if if you've got your exam and you're feeling like you're not really ready, I think a final revision, um resource would be a good final revisions. Finally, responsibility for your shit. Um, if you can go to the YouTube videos, you can go through the whole thing in in in a day. It should help you cover a lot of things that will come out in the exam. They will definitely come out. Um, how to remember all you've studied the only way to remember, all you have studied is repetition. Which is why you see the people who have passed this exam talking about how many times they've gone through any one of the resources. Um, so the higher the more times you go to the resources, these resources, the closer you are getting 100% past that, is it, Um, just keep going through it as many times as you can. Um, and what's, in my opinion, is a must use resource for success. Uh, this I would say number 13 and four. The MRCS go through your MRCS, go through your how's your sheets and go through the recall questions. Go through this tree at least twice each. You're going to pass this exam. You're gonna pass exam. I can. I can almost actually going to pass the exam. And the more times you actually do that, the more likelihood you're going to score very, very high. Um, I'm not sure how you can get access to the slides. I'm sure the moderato lets us know. Um, but I'm also happy to send the slides as well. I don't know about the recording as well. Um, the moderato answer that too. So, uh, for everyone who is going to be going in for the exam? One of the things one of the things on told me was Don't worry about this exam. Good. Test a car, you're going to pass this exam, and it really helped. And I'm here to also tell you that Do not worry. Do you do the needful and you're going to pass this exam. How about the last test I did this past test? That's just the beginning end of it. A lot of people have recommended it that it helps with the principles of surgery, but I didn't use it myself. I had it in my study folder, but, um, I didn't get the time to go through it. Uh, I didn't. I only I was working while studying for this exam. Um, I spent three months to the exam for internal study, and then I had to take, obviously have to take two weeks a fan of study, leave before the exam itself to study on a daily, and even at that, I still had a t. L s cost the same week of the exam. So I had a lot going on. So I didn't have the time to go through a lot of the things I could have gone through. But in in my experience so far from every other person who has also passed this exam, a lot of them did not go through past test. I think, uh, some people have complained that the information is voluminous. Um, it's a bit difficult to, um, really true, but it's up to you. Some of us do not have the brain capacity. Some of you may have. But if you've got the time, sure. But these are the things I use, and I passed. And obviously, the most important thing is the past, the exam, and not have to sit through this exam in a second time or third time or whatever time. Okay. Any more questions, please feel free to ask any questions. Everyone Okay? No questions coming up. So thank you, everyone for your time. Thanks for coming on online. Thanks for listening to me. And I really wish you the best of luck. You will do very well in this exam just to the need for go through these questions banks a couple of times, and you will definitely pass. Pass the shot, people. A lot of people feel the exam, but a lot of people will pass this exam. The prostate is usually less than 40% but I don't know how come that's the case. But if you if you do all of these, you pass. Just keep at it. Keep going. Obviously, consistency is keep go through the questions every day, at least 200 questions a day. In the beginning, it's going to be difficult. Anyone who's just fast enough studying in the beginning, it's gonna be difficult. You're probably going to get go through more than 10 questions in the day, but you need to move fast as well and keep going. So, um yeah, one more thing for the telegram group for that. To be sure, if you can get across to any of the exams and tangibles he creates, it helps give you some perspective. It can help. It helps you plan your study, and he also within the timetable. It's a comprehensive timetable. He puts in links to offline marks that you can as well do. He helps. It helps you study, so if you could go across to it. It will help as well. Excuse me. All right. Thank you. Everyone for coming in line. I think that's the That's all I have to say. Unless anyone has got any more questions. Anyone? Fine. Thank you. Thank you very much, Doctor G. Um, that was quite enlightened. Okay, so we'll be sharing a the link, Um, having the recordings to this lecture. So we're sharing it on the cigar firm group page, And then there's a feedback form in the light box, so please end able to feel them so that you can get your certificate of the tendons. Thank you. Then the slide. I will. I will try and get across the board so that she can send send the slide to me. It could also be shared on the cigar group pages so that you can have access again. Yeah. Thank you. Once again, Dr J. Thank you. I'm at How do you joined the group? I'm not sure to be honest. Well, if you you can check out cigar from on Twitter. Okay? Monitor. It has to answer. Yes. Um, if you want to join the group, just pipe cigar cigar from Google s. I D E f good. And two, The first link that comes up a click on it and then follow the, um process involved. When you look at you did that start? Okay. Thank you, everyone.