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Become a PACES examiner

We require experienced clinicians to become examiners and assess candidates undergoing the MRCP(UK) Part 2 Clinical Exam (PACES).

Eligibility

To be considered for appointment as a PACES examiner, you must:

  • Hold MRCP(UK) (desirable).
  • (UK only) Be a Collegiate Member or Fellow in good standing of one of the Royal College of Physicians of the UK.
  • (Non-UK only) Hold Fellowship of one of the UK colleges of physicians and be in good standing.
  • Be GMC registered with a licence to practise and in good standing (or regulatory equivalent in country of practice).
  • Have been involved with physicians in training within the last two years.
  • (UK only) Participate in revalidation, including annual appraisal in current post, and adhere to CPD requirements.
  • (UK only) Have undergone equality and diversity training within the past three years.
  • Be interested in, but not necessarily expert in, medical assessment.
  • Be a Collegiate Members who has achieved the Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT), or be on the specialist register, and be in a substantive consultant post.

Commitment

To become a PACES Examiner and retain examiner status you must:

  • Maintain adherence to the criteria.
  • Have successfully complete PACES examiner training.
  • Commit to examine at least 6 cycles (30 candidates) per annum (averaged over 2 years), i.e. a minimum of 2/3 days examining per year.
  • Abide by the PACES examiner code of conduct.

You will be asked to confirm the above on an annual basis. If you are unable to take part in the required number of cycles over 2 years, you will be asked to refresh your examiner training.

Becoming a PACES examiner in the UK

PACES examiners can examine for any College but must apply to an individual College to be trained and accepted as an examiner.

Following the extended pause in examiner recruitment during the pandemic, the London College is currently experiencing very high volumes of interest in PACES examining. As a result there may be a significant period of time between any expression of interest in examining, and an invitation to formally apply. If you do wish to express interest in becoming an examiner please complete this short survey.

If you are applying to examine for Glasgow, please download the PACES Examiner Application form, complete and return it to the college.

If you are applying to examine for Edinburgh, please click here.

If you have any queries, please contact your parent college.

Appointment process

The full process time may vary depending on the panel or board reviewing the applications. The time between submission of application and approval to train usually takes between one and two months.

If you are approved, you will be invited to a training session which will be in the form of observation and shadowing at a PACES centre.

UK examiners moving to work overseas

Examiners relocating overseas can continue to examine as a UK examiner for two years.  After two years examiners should join the relevant local examiner panel in their country of practice. Contact us to be introduced to your local centre.

UK examiners wishing to examine overseas

Please contact your College for further information on how examine PACES internationally.  

Becoming a PACES Examiner internationally

There are limited opportunities for non-UK fellows to become a PACES examiner at an international centre. The local team are responsible for balancing the local panel of examiners, ensuring suitable numbers and a range of clinical specialties.

Fellows interested in becoming an international local PACES examiner must be supported by the local Federation lead examiner before submitting their application. We cannot accept applications that have not yet been supported and would ask you instead to contact international.examiners@mrcpuk.org.

Local examiners must ensure that they assess at least 30 candidates per year. We recommend that most examiners at international PACES centres are local to that centre to contribute to the organisation of the exam i.e. finding patients, writing local scenarios, hosting etc.

Eligibility

To be eligible to become an internationally based PACES examiner you should comply with the general criteria for becoming a PACES examiner which can be seen above.

How to apply

  • Complete the International PACES examiner survey.
  • The two referees supporting your application must be fellows of one of the royal colleges of physicians of the United Kingdom and at least one should be a current MRCP(UK) PACES Examiner. We will contact them to ask them for a reference so please make them aware.
  • The applicant and the referees must be in good standing with their college of fellowship.