Here’s a timeline and summary of the resources that helped me:
When to start studying?
3 months is a good amount of time to cover the material and get sufficient practice whilst on a full-time on-call Rota.
Re-framing your mindset.
Going through the revision process twice was exhausting at the time. What got me through was having the mindset that I wanted to be better for my patients and more confident in my skills ahead of my registrar years. You do this everyday at work – it’s just refinement!
Creating a revision schedule
Map out your on-calls, and factor in consistent study time around this. Ask for study leave in the form of courses/personal study time. Don’t forget the occasional social event too! Ask ahead of time for study days/ on-call swaps in the week leading up to your exam, so you have some time for relaxation/last minute revision.
I did:
System-wise prep for a couple of months Then 3-4 weeks before, mixed cases with my study buddies
Courses
I did the virtual Evelina course for the ‘no-patients’ 2022 sitting and the Royal London course for the ‘with patients’ 2023 sitting. Both were excellent.
The Free ‘Ripple’ programme in London was excellent. These were after-work virtual practice sessions with senior peers. Valuable time to learn from those sitting the exam with you.
In general, I definitely recommend a course to ‘get in the zone’. Make sure you do all your studying beforehand – the course is to consolidate learning,
not to learn from scratch.
There is no greater motivator to study/improve than watching your peers
handle a situation better than you!
You can claim your course fees back if you’re a trainee, so this is essentially FREE and a good excuse to take study leave
Books (Must haves)
Communication: Communication Scenarios for the MRCPCH and DCH Clinical Exams (MasterPass) – Rebecca Casen’s
Clinical station: Short Cases for the MRCPCH – Angela Thomson & Circuits for the MRCPCH (MRCPCH Study Guides) – Damian Roald
Overall:Posttest MRCPCH Clinical Short Cases, History Taking and Communication Skills: Short Cases, History Taking & Communication Skills – Simon Bedwani
Pediatric podcasts (Spotify)
You’re Kidding Right:An excellent podcast covering the history, investigation and management of various paediatric topics in 20 mins. Also includes examples of how to explain these conditions in ‘lay-person’ terms to parents – great for comms practice.
Dragon-Bytes:Another popular podcast!
Study Buddies
Find a group of 3-4 reliable friends and/or colleagues.
Be critical but supportive of each other.
Prepare a couple of half-day mock exams for each other (with no break/feedback between stations) to simulate the real circuit.
Organize a teaching rota at your hospital, and get consultants to sign up to teach!Plan something fun for after.
During revision
Record yourself! You’re your own biggest critic. Record yourself, play it back on your way to work. You will find areas for improvement, be pleasantly surprised at your competence, or both! This was the MOST USEFUL thing I did for myself.
Practice on patients. Ironically might seem less high-yield/inefficient, but the best practice for long-term competence.
Plan your journey:
Plan ahead for the possibility of strikes/train delays to travel to your exam destination
Reach night before: You can claim money back for accommodation from the trust if you’re a trainee, so think about staying the night to negate the stress of traveling the morning of
Choose your outfit: Look and feel the part – first impressions do matter!
Pack bag: You need a stethoscope, photo ID & admissions document. Papers and a pen are provided for note taking Do what you normally do before an exam
During the exam
Although this should be standardized across the country, people do have had varying experiences – this was mine:
Overall the examiners were fair. They want you to pass but they’re not there to validate you, so don’t expect any feedback of any form from them.
Centers do provide you with a pen, paper and water, but you do have to ask for it before the circuit.
All stations have a prompt/something to read beforehand, except the 4 clinical stations, in which we were given the system to examine only after walking into the station.
Expect the unexpected. While this isn’t the norm, 3 of my 4 clinical stations were general examinations. Don’t let anything paralyse you, and create structure when none is given to you.
Treat each station as a new beginning. Exude confidence, clarity and safe decision making
After the exam:
If you feel like you were disadvantaged in any way during the circuit, think about raising it to the chief examiner immediately after the exam. Follow this up by putting it down in an email to the college.
Give yourself time to de-brief/self-evaluate, then put it to rest. I noted down my stations and self-assessment on a blank marksheet (available on the RCPCH website), so I could reference it if I had to re-sit.
CELEBRATE finishing the exam – you have 6 weeks of bliss until results are out. And of course…thank your family and friends for dealing with you.
When to start studying?
3 months is a good amount of time to cover the material and get sufficient practice whilst on a full-time on-call Rota.
Re-framing your mindset.
Going through the revision process twice was exhausting at the time. What got me through was having the mindset that I wanted to be better for my patients and more confident in my skills ahead of my registrar years. You do this everyday at work – it’s just refinement!
Creating a revision schedule
Map out your on-calls, and factor in consistent study time around this. Ask for study leave in the form of courses/personal study time. Don’t forget the occasional social event too! Ask ahead of time for study days/ on-call swaps in the week leading up to your exam, so you have some time for relaxation/last minute revision.
I did:
System-wise prep for a couple of months Then 3-4 weeks before, mixed cases with my study buddies
Courses
I did the virtual Evelina course for the ‘no-patients’ 2022 sitting and the
Royal London course for the ‘with patients’ 2023 sitting. Both were excellent.
The Free ‘Ripple’ programme in London was excellent. These were after-work virtual practice sessions with senior peers. Valuable time to learn from those sitting the exam with you.
In general, I definitely recommend a course to ‘get in the zone’. Make sure you do all your studying beforehand – the course is to consolidate learning, not to learn from scratch.
There is no greater motivator to study/improve than watching your peers handle a situation better than you!
You can claim your course fees back if you’re a trainee, so this is essentially FREE and a good excuse to take study leave
Books (Must haves)
Communication: Communication Scenarios for the MRCPCH and DCH Clinical Exams (MasterPass) – Rebecca Casen’s
Clinical station: Short Cases for the MRCPCH – Angela Thomson & Circuits for the MRCPCH (MRCPCH Study Guides) – Damian Roald
Overall:Posttest MRCPCH Clinical Short Cases, History Taking and Communication Skills: Short Cases, History Taking & Communication Skills – Simon Bedwani
Pediatric podcasts (Spotify)
You’re Kidding Right: An excellent podcast covering the history, investigation and management of various paediatric topics in 20 mins. Also includes examples of how to explain these conditions in ‘lay-person’ terms to parents – great for comms practice.
Dragon-Bytes:Another popular podcast!
Study Buddies
Find a group of 3-4 reliable friends and/or colleagues.
Be critical but supportive of each other.
Prepare a couple of half-day mock exams for each other (with no break/feedback between stations) to simulate the real circuit.
Organize a teaching rota at your hospital, and get consultants to sign up to teach!Plan something fun for after.
During revision
Record yourself, and listen to these audios on your way to work. You’re your own biggest critic. You will find areas for improvement or be pleasantly surprised at your competence or both! This was the MOST USEFUL thing I did for myself.
Practice on patients. Ironically might seem less high-yield/inefficient, but the best practice for long-term competence.
Plan your journey:
Plan ahead for the possibility of strikes/train delays to travel to your exam destination
Reach night before: You can claim money back for accommodation from the trust if you’re a trainee, so think about staying the night to negate the stress of traveling the morning of
Choose your outfit: Look and feel the part – first impressions do matter!
Pack bag: You need a stethoscope, photo ID & admissions document. Papers and a pen are provided for note taking.
Do what you normally do before an exam.
During the exam
Although this should be standardized across the country, people do have had varying experiences – this was mine:
Overall the examiners were fair. They want you to pass but they’re not there to validate you, so don’t expect any feedback of any form from them.
Centers do provide you with a pen, paper and water, but you do have to ask for it before the circuit.
All stations have a prompt/something to read beforehand, except the 4 clinical stations, in which we were given the system to examine only after walking into the station.
Expect the unexpected. While this isn’t the norm, 3 of my 4 clinical stations were general examinations. Don’t let anything paralyse you, and create structure when none is given to you.
Treat each station as a new beginning. Exude confidence, clarity and safe decision making
After the exam:
If you feel like you were disadvantaged in any way during the circuit, think about raising it to the chief examiner immediately after the exam. Follow this up by putting it down in an email to the college.
Give yourself time to de-brief/self-evaluate, then put it to rest. I noted down my stations and self-assessment on a blank marksheet (available on the RCPCH website), so I could reference it if I had to re-sit.
CELEBRATE finishing the exam – you have 6 weeks of bliss until results are out. And of course…thank your family and friends for dealing with you.