Part 1 examinations
- Results of the Part 1 exam of 15 September will be released to all candidates on Tuesday 20 October. Candidates who were registered for this exam at paper centres who were cancelled but unable to secure an online place have been offered a backup exam which will take place on 10 November. Additionally, candidates who were registered for the online exam but were unable to enter paper 1 and/or paper 2 because of technical issues have also been offered a place at the November sitting.
- The next diet of Part 1 will be on 12 January 2021; to be offered once again as a hybrid model, with candidates sitting it in both standard paper and in online format. A larger number of candidates will be offered the online version than in the September diet, and this will now also include a number of international candidates.
- Candidates who have taken the November backup exam but who fail this attempt will be offered the opportunity to sit in January.
Part 2 examinations
- The restarted Part 2 exam is scheduled to take place on 27 October. Approximately 1750 UK candidates and a similar number of international candidates are registered for this exam. As with Part 1 in September, in the UK this will be offered in hybrid form: both in traditional paper and in remotely proctored online formats (international candidates will only be able to take the traditional paper format).
- Approximately 1250 UK candidates are registered to take the exam online, with the remainder (approximately 500) taking it in paper form.
- We have arranged a backup exam for Part 2, on 8 December. It will be offered to candidates registered for the October exam whose place at a paper centre is cancelled; and also to candidates who experience significant technical issues with the online exam in October.
- The subsequent diet of Part 2 will take place on 23 March 2021, and we will be aiming to extend this offering to a number of international candidates also.
Specialty Certificate Exams / European Specialty Exams
SCEs and ESEs have also restarted since September, with the delayed Medical Oncology, Respiratory and Dermatology SCEs and the delayed ESE in Gastroenterology and Hepatology having run successfully and largely without incident.
A small minority of candidates have been affected by Pearson Vue centre closures due to local Covid-19 restrictions in different parts of the world, and plans are being developed to offer such candidates a backup exam. Further details will follow in the next few weeks as these plans progress.
Still to come over the next few months are the SCEs in:
- Rheumatology (22 October).
- Acute Medicine (11 November)
- Palliative Medicine (11 November)
- Neurology (18 November)
- Endocrinology & Diabetes (9th December)
Technical issues with remotely proctored online exams
Candidates who took the online Part 1 exam in September generally had no problems, although a few candidates were unable to enter either one or both papers (see above). Additionally, some experienced technical issues during the exam. If you experience technical issues during a forthcoming online exam, please report these immediately afterwards. As stated in the Paragraph 2.3 of the regulations, any issues that arise during one of our exams should be reported immediately, click here to read more.
During the online exam, you will be able to interact with the proctor using a chat facility within the exam; and you should bring any technical issues to their attention. Be aware, however, that their response may take time, and so you should continue with the rest of the exam whilst awaiting their response.
Live MRCP(UK) Twitter chats
Following the success of the two 1-hour long live Q&A Twitter events for candidates, we are holding live written exams Q&A sessions on our Twitter account every second Tuesday afternoon at 3pm BST. We have included items which have previously come up into our FAQs, so please check the website first.
Feedback
We welcome feedback. If you have specific queries relating to your exam day please contact the exams office at your College of entry, click here for details.
For other general queries or suggestions please email: Policy.Officer@mrcpuk.org.