MRCP Part 1 Exam format
- MRCP Part 1 exam is designed to assess a candidate’s knowledge and understanding of the clinical sciences relevant to medical practice and of common or important disorders to a level appropriate for entry to specialist training.
- Knowledge is an essential base for the practice of clinical reasoning and vital as a basis for learning during postgraduate training to develop understanding of disease and their treatment.
- MRCP Part 1 exam has a two-paper format.
- Each paper is 3 hours in duration and contains
- 100 multiple choice questions in the ‘best of five‘ format.
- This format, in addition to testing core knowledge and comprehension, also assesses the ability to interpret information and to solve clinical problems.
- There will be five options – one correct answer and four alternatives to the correct answer. The four distractors will be closely related to the preferred option but less correct, therefore acting as plausible alternatives.
- The candidate chooses the best answer from the five possible answers.
- Each correct answer is awarded one mark; there is no negative marking.
The content of MRCP Part 1 Exam format
- The content of the examination is based on a blueprint.
- This outlines the composition of the papers, including the likely number of questions under each broad clinical topic heading.
- This has been updated to reflect the new terminology used in the new UK Internal Medicine curriculum, and it will be used from the 2020/1 diet of the examination.
| Specialty | Number of questions |
|---|---|
| Cardiology | 14 |
| Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics | 15 |
| Clinical sciences (Pre-para clinicals)** | 25 |
| Dermatology | 8 |
| Endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic medicine | 14 |
| Gastroenterology and Hepatology | 14 |
| Geriatric medicine | 8 |
| Haematology | 10 |
| Infectious diseases | 14 |
| Neurology | 14 |
| Oncology | 5 |
| Medical ophthalmology | 4 |
| Palliative medicine and end of life care | 4 |
| Psychiatry | 9 |
| Renal medicine | 14 |
| Respiratory medicine | 14 |
| Rheumatology | 14 |
| 200 |
- NB: This should be taken as an indication of the likely number of questions – the actual number may vary slightly.
- *Clinical sciences comprise (Pre-para clinicals):
| Cell, molecular and membrane biology | 2 |
| Clinical anatomy | 3 |
| Clinical biochemistry and metabolism | 4 |
| Clinical physiology | 4 |
| Genetics | 3 |
| Immunology | 4 |
| Statistics, epidemiology and evidence-based medicine | 5 |
- NB: A detailed explanation of the marking system adopted for the MRCP(UK) Part 1 Examination can be viewed in the MRCP(UK) Regulations.
Sample MRCP Part 1 Questions
1. A 65-year-old woman presented with a 12-hour history of sudden-onset gait unsteadiness, vomiting and headache, followed by increasing drowsiness. What is the most likely diagnosis?
B: acute subdural haemorrhage
C: frontal subdural empyema
D: herpes simplex encephalitis
E: pituitary apoplexy
2. A post-marketing observational study of a new drug was conducted on 5000 patients following clinical trials. What best describes the data generated from this type of study?
B: cost–benefit
C: cost effectiveness
D: potency
E: profile of adverse effects
3. A 79-year-old woman was admitted for elective hip-replacement surgery. On examination, she was pale. There was 2-cm splenomegaly and there were small discrete axillary lymph nodes. Investigations:
| haemoglobin | 107 g/L (115–165) |
| white cell count | 34.5 × 109/L (4.0–11.0) |
| platelet count | 183 × 109/L (150–400) |
What is the most likely diagnosis?
B: chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
C: chronic myeloid leukaemia
D: myelodysplasia
E: myelofibrosis
4. A 17-year-old boy presented with a non-blanching rash over his legs, a swollen knee and painless, visible haematuria. Urinalysis showed blood 3+, protein 1+. Investigations:
| serum creatinine | 210 µmol/L (60–110) |
| urine culture | negative |
| ultrasound scan of kidneys | normal |
What glomerular abnormality is most likely to be present at renal biopsy?
B: foot process fusion
C: linear deposition of IgG on the basement membrane
D: mesangial deposition of IgA
E: thickening of basement membranes
5. A 28-year-old man presented with a 1-month history of weight loss, abdominal distension, flatulence and foul-smelling diarrhoea following a visit to India. Investigations:
| anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies | negative |
| stool cultures and microscopy | negative |
What is the most likely diagnosis?
B: coeliac disease
C: giardiasis
D: hookworm infection (ancylostomiasis)
E: viral gastroenteritis
