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How to organise the paediatric MRCP (UK) part II clinical examination

Responsibility for the organisation of postgraduate examinations in paediatrics will soon transfer to the new Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (which will award the MRCPCH). The whole philosophy of how and when to examine is currently under debate, so it is appropriate to review recent experience with the current clinical examination, the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP (UK)).The present clinical part of the examination includes a long case (60 minutes for candidates to take a history and examine the patient, and 20 minutes with the examiners), a selection of short cases (as many as are seen within 30 minutes), and a 20 minute oral. Each candidate is seen by a separate pair of examiners for each of these three components.

All paediatricians will be familiar with the mental stress experienced by candidates for postgraduate clinical examinations, such as part II of the MRCP (UK). However, most will probably be less aware of the perspective of those on the ‘other side of the fence’, including the organisers of the clinical examination, the examiners, and, very importantly, the children and families who act as ‘patients’, all of whom may face anxieties and difficulties for a variety of reasons. The host examiner and registrar take responsibility for the smooth and fair running of the clinical examination, which depends on their efforts and interactions with the patients, guest examiners, and candidates.

In recent years, the Royal Colleges of Physicians have found it increasingly difficult to find suitable venues with paediatricians willing to host postgraduate examinations. Traditionally, most examinations have been held in teaching hospitals, but competition from undergraduate examinations and an increasing shortage of suitable patients in specialised units has led to a move to hosting the MRCP (UK) in district general hospital paediatric units. Newcastle has hosted the …