How To Prepare MRCS part A exam?

1. Dr. Momen Tawfiq Abu-Naser
General surgery resident
Ministry of Health

2. To apply for the exam and to book at certain date :
1. Visit the official website of Royal college of Surgeons – England
(https://www.rcseng.ac.uk).
2. Make an account .
3. Book for your exam at available dates at International Exams .
4. Pay for your exam (using ; Visa , MasterCard ..etc) it costs 600 pounds.
5. Post your qualified certificate (using; DHL , Fedex ..etc) to :
Exams Department
The Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields,London
WC2A 3PE

3. 6. You will receive your admission letter to exam around 4 weeks
before the exam.
7. Bring your admission letter , identity card to announced place
and time.
8. Results will be available by logging into your account in certain
date and specific time.

4. Exam overview:
Part A of the Intercollegiate MRCS is a five-hour
MCQ exam consisting of a three hour paper
(Applied Basic Science) followed by a two hour
paper (Principles of Surgery in General), still
taken on the same day.
The exam uses both single best answer MCQs and
extended matching MCQs.

5. Differences Before Jan 2017 After Jan 2017
Number of questions 270 questions
(135 ABS)+(135 PoSG)
300 questions
(180 ABS + (120 PoSG)
Time 2 hours for each paper 3 hours for paper 1
2 hours for paper 2
Time for question < 1 minute 1 minute
Anatomy 45 questions
Around 15% of total
exam
75 questions
25 % of total exam

6. The syllabus: is divided into 10 modules:
 Module 1: basic science knowledge relevant to surgical
practice
 Module 2: common surgical conditions
 Module 3: basic surgical skills
 Module 4: the assessment and management of the surgical
patient
 Module 5: perioperative care of the surgical patient
 Module 6: assessment and early treatment of the patient
with trauma
 Module 7: surgical care of the paediatric patient
 Module 8: management of the dying patient
 Module 9: organ and tissue transplantation
 Module 10: professional behaviour and leadership skills

7. A. Paper 1 – Applied Basic Sciences (180
Questions)
1. Applied Surgical Anatomy 75 Questions in total
.
2. Applied Surgical Physiology 45 questions in
total .
3. Applied Surgical Pathology 37 questions in
total.

8. 4. Pharmacology as applied to surgical practice 8
questions .
5. Microbiology as applied to surgical practice 7
questions .
6. Imaging 5 questions .
7. Data interpretation and audit 3 questions.

9. B. Paper 2 - Principles of Surgery in General (120
Questions):
1. Common congenital and acquired surgical
conditions 45 questions in total
2. Perioperative management 35 questions in total .
3. Assessment and management of patients with
trauma 30 questions in total .
4. Surgical care of children 7 questions.
5. Medico-legal aspects of surgical practice 3
questions.

10. For further information please visit this website:
http://www.intercollegiatemrcsexams.org.uk

11. 1. Start early and go hardly.
2. Plan your study and take it seriously.
3. Read textbooks .
4. Review with peers .
5. Practice .

13. MRCS part A exam is offered in January , April
and September every year.
Application for each sitting closes around 2
months before each exam.
Start at least 3 months before the exam with 3-4
hours daily.

14. Plans are nothing; planning is everything.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

15. 1. How much time I should spend daily?
2. How much time do I need?
3. What are the topics included in exam?
4. What are my resources?
5. What should I focus on ?
6. Is there enough time to revise?

16. A. Basic science textbooks :
1. Anatomy :
 Grant’s Atlas of Anatomy.
 Atlas of Human Anatomy.
 Last’s Anatomy.
2. Physiology :
 Ganong Review of Medical Physiology.
3. Pathology :
 Robbins Basic Pathology

17. B. Clinical textbooks:
 Baily and Love’s Short Practice of Surgery.
 MRCS Part A: Essential Revision Notes Book
Volume 1 and 2 .

18. A. Basic science resources:
1.Anatomy:
 Clinical anatomy by Richard S. Snell
 Dr. Khalid Milad Anatomy Sheets.
2.Physiology:
 Applied Basic Science for Basic Surgical Training by
Andrew T. Raftery
3.Pathology :
 Principles of General Pathology by Gamal Nada.

19. B. Clinical textbooks:
 Baily and Love’s Short Practice of Surgery.
 EMRCS question’s bank and explanations.

20.  University .
 Hospital .
 Facebook MRCS groups .
 Whatsapp groups .

22.  http://www.passtest.com
 http://www.emrcs.com
 http://www.onexamination.com

23.  Sleep enough, Avoid caffeine.
 Set the alarm.
 Eat a well-balanced meal.
 Take your stress off.
 Back to your notes.

24. Spend your time wisely !!
 Avoid drinking water before exam !!
 Question booklet or Answer sheet ?
 Be careful while you are filling your answer
sheet !!
 Don’t waste time on question you don’t know
or you may know !!
 Probably there is no time to revise !!

25. Best Luck !!