Specialty Certificate Examination in Acute Medicine

The Specialty Certificate Examination (SCE) in Acute Medicine will be delivered once a year.

For UK trainees who started CCT training to the new AIM curriculum on or after 1 August 2009 the SCE in Acute Medicine will be the mandatory knowledge-based assessment. For those appointed to programmes prior to the introduction of the AIM curriculum and who are still following the curriculum for GIM(Acute) the SCE remains optional though trainees may take it if they wish.

Eligibility requirements

There are no entry requirements for the SCE in Acute Medicine, although candidates in UK training posts would normally take the SCE in Acute Medicine in their penultimate year of higher specialty training.

Qualification: Certificate in Acute Medicine

Trainees who have gained the Certificate in Acute Medicine and who are recommended for a CCT will be entitled to apply for the postnominal MRCP(UK) (Acute Medicine). For further details please see the FAQs.

Resources for trainees

Preparation for the SCE requires a wide breadth of knowledge around the curriculum and should involve reading of textbooks, journals and guidelines. Experience of the MRCP(UK) examination provides an excellent background to the format of the examination.

Suggested sources are listed below.

Sample questions

These questions give an indication of the type of question you can expect in the exam:

 SCE in Acute Medicine Sample Questions

Curriculum and Blueprint

The curriculum is published by the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB).

The examination is made up of questions covering the whole curriculum, selected by a predetermined blueprint. Download a copy of the assessment blueprint for more details:

 SCE in Acute Medicine Blueprint