MRCP(UK) - Dermatology

Specialty Certificate Examination in Dermatology

Exam date	UK Registration Period	Pearson VUE UK centre booking date	Overseas Registration Period	Results Release
10 October 2013	13 June - 5 September 2013	10 July - 26 September 2013	13 June – 11 July 2013	4 weeks after date of examination

The Specialty Certificate Examination (SCE) in Dermatology is delivered once a year.

Eligibility requirements

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

Qualification: Certificate in Dermatology

Trainees who have gained the Certificate in Dermatology and who are recommended for a CCT will be entitled to apply for the postnominal MRCP(UK) (Dermatology). 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 and reading are listed below.

Sample questions

The questions are in ‘best of five’ multiple choice format. This format, in addition to testing core knowledge and comprehension, also assesses the ability to interpret information and to solve clinical problems. There will be five options - one correct answer and four alternatives to the correct answer. The four distractors will be closely related to the preferred option but less correct, therefore acting as plausible alternatives.

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

SCE in Dermatology Sample Questions

Curriculum and Blueprint

It is essential to read the curriculum which is published by the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB):

Dermatology curriculum

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 Dermatology Blueprint

For reference:

Rook's Textbook of Dermatology (Eds DA Burns, SM Breathnach, N Cox, CE Griffiths. Pub Wiley-Blackwell)
Textbook of Pediatric Dermatology (Eds AD Irvine, PH Hoeger, AC Yan. Pub Wiley-Blackwell)
Dermatology (Eds JL Bolognia, JL Jorizzo, RP Rapini. Pub Elsevier)
McKee’s Pathology of the Skin (JE Calonje, T Brenn, A Lazar, P McKee. Pub Elsevier)
British National Formulary (BNF)