MRCEM PART A

Trekking to be a member of Royal College Of Emergency Medicine

The pathway to MRCEM from the base to the top is quite steep, and it may look quite intimidating at the start, however, when trekked slowly and steadily, it is indeed quite rewarding.

I personally don't endorse any book, author, or a course. No hidden Agendas. 100% Vegetarian.

PART A

Exam Pattern: 

Till Aug 2016, the exam pattern was, 50 questions with 4 subquestions where you need to mark T/F, so in totality 200 questions of T/F, with no negative marking, all in 2 hours.
This changed to a single best answer question (SBAQ) paper of 180 questions in 3 hours. Previous passes in the MRCEM Part A examination remain valid.
The curriculum per se is same as the previous MRCEM  Part A

Books To Read:

In descending order (in terms of High Yield to Low Yield)
1. Mark Harrison
2. Get Through Part A
3. Jaydeep Chitinis
4. Online Revision MRCEM, on subscription
5 First Aid ( USMLE)
6. Anatomy Atlas/ Clinical Anatomy 

Mark Harrison ( Rate 3/5 stars)

This book is the primary book for part A and covers each subject fairly well. However, the language and content are sub-par, making it quite unsatisfactory. Never the less, the reason its 3/5 stars is because this is the book to go,  and at least it outlines what you must study before the test. You could mix and match the topics and read the contents from other books or notes.
















Get Through Part A ( Rate 4/5)

This book is fairly simple, and questions are fairly simple, the way you might find in the real exam. Explanations are quite adequate also. This book by no means is very well proofread, as you can see many mistakes in writing, and at few times gives total bogus answers. If you are scoring above 65% in each subject and the 3 mock papers in the back, you are in the right direction of your struggle.











Chitinis Jaydeep (4/5)

Highly competitive. Tthe questions and their answers are much harder than the real exam. Don't miss this book, if you don't want to take a chance of failing the exam.













Online Revision 3/5

I took a subscription from http://www.mcemrevision.com/ for 2 months. The answers and questions are quite a few in number, but at times they are very vast and vague. Sometimes answer  key is not appropriate also, but this was back in the day. I hope they have re-framed and improved their answer key by now. You could give it a miss if you are short of time, but never the less, its no brainer, more you study, more are the chances of you acing the exam.

First Aid USMLE 5/5

Probably the best book there is on the market for getting your basics right and more. As I had studied it during my USMLE step 1 preparation, I kept on going back to it for refining my basics. If you ever read First Aid during your MBBS days, this book is super handy, otherwise, it may seem daunting in your limited time.

Miscellaneous books, Atlas Anatomy, Clinical Anatomy are needed for references time to time

Preparation Time:

About 3-4 months

Tips for preparation

I asked my friends who passed and who did not pass in the first go, and tried to come to an average, amount of time for preparation for the exam. An average bloke who passed in the first go, took about 2-3 months of preparation, anything less is playing with fire. Strategy being, that first 2 months should have dedicated hours of studying, and last month with over zealous, full throttle studying for at least 6 hours. At-least. Without distractions. 

Note: Preparation time is quite subjective to an individual's experience, and how he/she has faired while studying for basic subjects in Med School. I had previously done USMLE step 1 & 2 exams, so for me, it became a tad easier.

Months before the exam, try to find a study partner, but if you can't find one, or find one which actually is slowing you down, going solo Rambo! is absolutely fine, though not desirable.

There are 2 ways to prepare for this exam, in a retrospective fashion, that is questions first, know what is being asked, then the text(theory) from Mark Harrison , or vice versa. Both are equally fine, I chose the former one.


Personal log:  ( My personal experience in preparation for Part A)

My exam was on June 5th, 2014, so I started preparing for the exam round about from Jan 23rd, preparing means, emptying myself of the luggage. Luggage is your personal family commitments, thesis (if you are a part of any residency) , any due pending work, which you have always procrastinated (such as fixing your car, etc), these will your unwelcome obstacles, in your final stride of preparation. So plan months in advance

So after the major haul of shedding my personal and professional luggage, I started dedicated studies from March 1st on-words, about 100 days before the exam.

The basic subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathophysiology take the front seat in your preparation, followed by smaller subjects such as Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Stats. Again this is subjected to your preparation done while in your Med School. For instance, one of my friends never studied microbiology well in school, so he had to put in lot more efforts and time into it. Address your weakness. You could gauge it by doing mock papers as early as possible.

So in short, start with anatomy, physio, -- the major subjects-superficially, then finish your smaller subjects in the subsequent months, such that, by the end of second last month you know exactly needs to be drilled into the brain. 

Your revision time should be for a wholesome month, which should include first 15 days for all the subjects other than anatomy and physiology, next 10 days for anatomy and physiology, and last 5 days summarizing your notes and quick rapid revision of all subjects.

Also to note, that you should be doing questions side by side, daily, and never to do in a bundle, as doing side by side fortifies your preparation.

I was quite nervous before giving the exam, and as the exam day approached, it felt as if I was reading it for the first time. Scratching my head on who on mother earth has marked with the highlighter. But don't worry, it happens to everyone, without exception. Stride on, it will all be fine on the exam day.

I felt the preparation was intimidating, and I did struggle a lot, especially as I had to balance my Emergency Duties such that I could study in a stretch. I had put a solid 8 hours or more, studying daily in last 1 and half month. 

All in all, I felt the real exam was quite a breeze. I later thought I over-prepared, but thinking of it, I could not take a chance of under preparing and go through the ordeal of repeating the exam after 6 months.

Mind you, time and time again, that the path is trodden and may seem quite an uphill task, however, the only way you will pass the exam is not through an IQ of 110, but through mere perseverance and sheer aching your bums sitting on the chair for long hours.


Take Home Points for ADHD's: 

Mark Harrison
Get Through Part A
Jaydeep Chitinis
Preparation Time: About 3-4 months
Cast aside Luggage, Anatomy, Physiology, and Pathophysiology takes the front seat
followed by smaller subjects such as Microbiology, Pharmacology, and Stats.
Revision time should be for a wholesome month
Doing questions side by side, daily
Put a solid 8 hours or more, studying daily in last 1 month. 

I hope you at least have an orientation on what it is like to prepare for the exam. There might be many questions you might like to ask, please feel free to ask in the comments section below.

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Part B preparation: http://drabidnisar.blogspot.com/2016/08/mrcem-part-b.html 

Part C preparation: http://drabidnisar.blogspot.com/2016/08/mrcem-part-c.html