MRCP(UK) - Gastroenterology

Specialty Certificate Examination in Gastroenterology

Exam Date	UK Registration Period	Pearson VUE UK centre booking date	Overseas Registration Period	Results Release
23 April 2014	16 December 2013 – 19 March 2014	23 January - 9 April 2014	16 December 2013 – 22 January 2014	4 weeks after date of examination

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

Eligibility requirements

There are no entry requirements for the SCE in Gastroenterology, it is NOT be necessary to hold MRCP(UK) or be appointed to a substantive STR programme.

Candidates in UK training posts would normally take the SCE in Gastroenterology during higher specialty training after entering ST3. UK trainees are advised to refer to the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB) website to ensure that they take the SCE at the correct time in their training.

Resources for trainees

The SCE in Gastroenterology covers the whole of the curriculum as outlined by the JRCPTB in 2010. Preparation for the SCE requires a wide breadth of knowledge around the curriculum and should involve reading of textbooks, journals and guidelines and be supplemented by attending conferences and regional society meetings. Experience of the MRCP(UK) examination provides an excellent background to the format of the examination. Suggested sources and reading are listed below.

Knowledge is constantly advancing such that awareness of current guidelines is important and should be applied in a UK setting. Knowledge acquired on-line can be authoritative but also somewhat “off target” or incorrect and judgement needs to be applied in utilising some sources.

Information tested in the SCE may come from a variety of sources and will not be restricted to the sources 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 Gastroenterology Sample Questions

Curriculum and Blueprint

The curriculum is published by 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 Gastroenterology Blueprint

Suggested information sources

Textbooks

Medicine:

Davidson's Principles and Practice of Medicine
Kumar and Clark Clinical Medicine
Oxford Textbook

Gastroenterology:

Oxford Handbook of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 2006 (S Bloom, G Webster)
Textbook of Gastroenterology, 5th Ed, 2008 (Ed T Yamada)
Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease, 9th Ed, 2010 (M Feldman, Laurence S Friedman)
The Textbook of Hepatology, 3rd Ed, 2007 (Ed J Rodes)

Journals