What would you like help with? Resources and revision strategies, or help with logistics of a seventh attempt?
Sorry youβre in this situation. Iβve been close to where you are - I passed my paeds part 1B on the 6th (last) allowed attempt. And so Iβd spent a lot of time looking at logistics of subsequent allowed attempts etc and what might happen.
The significance of 7+ attempts will depend somewhat on if youβre hoping to CCT on a UK training programme. If youβre overseas and not planning to work towards CCT in the UK, then itβs less of a problem (except if your local training scheme has any opinion on the matter). If you want to CCT in the UK and need MRCP as part of that, it becomes trickier. CCT requires trainees to have passed membership within the allowed attempts, and therefore inclusion in the specialist register would need to happen via alternate means (CESR etc).
Logistically, if youβre training in the UK, you will need an educational supervisor to sign a form to confirm that youβve done additional study / preparation that in their eyes makes you more likely to pass if an additional attempt is awarded. In paeds for MRCPCH it also needs signing by head of school. If youβre entirely overseas and not training I believe requesting a further attempt is more straightforward.
Logistics aside, if you havenβt done so already, now is the time to sit down and have a big honest reflection to yourself.
- Have you honestly studied hard?
- Have you used the right resources?
- Has anything got in the way? Family commitments, personal illness, other life commitments?
- Have you studied smart? At this stage itβs likely that you know what your learning techniques are as youβve passed med school and part 1. Have you played to your strengths? Have exams been a struggle in the past? If so, what strategies did you use then?
- Have you ever had an assessment for dyslexia? Several of my friends were diagnosed as adults when they were sent for assessments due to exam struggles.
One of the most useful things I did when I was approaching my sixth attempt and scared of not getting it, was to step back and take some time off the exam treadmill.exams are expensive, they make you weary, and I had got into a cycle of perpetually studying for exams with no break. I stepped back, had a good break, and didnβt do exams for 8 months. I then relioked at the way Iβd been studying, tried some additional book / computer resources, went to a revision course (wouldnβt normally recommend these for written exams, but it was useful for me). And generally made a big effort to eat well, sleep well, and study effectively rather than just hard. I was also slightly more selfish at work - Iβd been one of those people who would always work extremely hard to get everything done. I still did things well, but also took some quieter moments to study and do what I needed to do for myself rather than necessarily always finding myself jobs to do. And people understood that I was doing exams.
Afraid I donβt have any specific study tips about MRCP as I didnβt do it, but there are plenty of other people here whoβve done it and can hopefully help you.
Best of luck to you.