POCKET MSRA: High-yield concepts for the clinical knowledge paper (Book 1)

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Tips:Frommyexperienceitwasjustquestions,questions,questionsandlearningtheappropriateassociations-theseexamsareverystereotypicalincertainwordingmeansacertaindiagnosis.Tookmaybeabout4to6weeksorsoofstudyingquestionafterquestionandlearningthecorrectanswers.

Your MSRA score will be used for the purpose of shortlisting for interview, and in most cases – with the exception of Community Sexual and Reproductive Medicine – it will be combined with your interview score for ‘ranking and offering’. Therefore, achieving a ‘good’ score will impact not only your chance of receiving an interview but also your ranking following this. You can find more information about shortlisting, interviews, offers and ranking for each specialty here. Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) – Test Blueprint & Information [Internet]. The General Practice (GP) National Recruitment Office. 2019 [cited 26 August 2021]. Available from: https://gprecruitment.hee.nhs.uk/Resource-Bank/Recruitment-Documents-Forms C is the best option as you are speaking directly with the registrar, and not undermining them in front of the patient or team. The question states that the ward round was busy so waiting until the end may be more appropriate, especially as the operation is still in 2 days’ time. GMC Good Medical Practice states that you should make sure ‘arrangements are made, wherever possible, to meet patient’s language and communication needs’ and be satisfied that consent is taken before providing treatment. As the nurse is reluctant to speak it is important to ensure the concerns do not go unnoticed, especially since you are aware his daughter usually translates. There are two rounds of recruitment a year, one to begin your job in February, the other to begin the job in August. Passing the MSRA is valid for one year so you could, in theory, apply for both rounds of that year without having to re-sit it.

Diagnosis– Evaluating the symptoms presented by a patient to identify a possible condition, disease or injury. Timing: Practise practise practise how to have time on your side, especially for the professional dilemmas: whether that is slowing down and re-reading as it was for me or practising on getting your reading speed up! That being said, the MSRA is competitive, and as discussed previously, outperforming your peers can have significant advantages for your ST recruitment; therefore, the importance of preparing well for the MSRA should not be underestimated. Effective preparation will develop your understanding of the types of questions you’ll be asked and the exam expectations, allowing you to build experience and confidence when answering the questions. The ‘how to revise’ section below will provide guidance and tips on preparing successfully for the MSRA. What is a good score on the MSRA? The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA – also known as SRA) is a computer-based assessment and forms part of application for UK postgraduate training in the following specialities:

Within the 86 questions, there are two types of questions, making up roughly half of the questions each. The question types are: Extended Matching Questions You are a FY2 Doctor on an orthopaedic ward. Your team have just seen an elderly Spanish man on the busy ward round who understands limited English. Your registrar has gained written consent from him for a hip operation scheduled for 2 days’ time. One of the nurses quietly says to you that she suspects the patient was just nodding politely and understood very little. She says she does not want to undermine the registrar. You know his daughter visits daily and always translates if she is present. Do you:Half of the questions in the PD paper are ranking questions and half are multiple-choice questions. Typically, the answer options are actions that can be taken in response to the circumstances in the scenario. Good, acceptable, and poor actions are included as options, as is the best action. Unrealistic actions are not included. Another very common question that I get asked is ‘which question bank should I use?’ I have not had experience of all banks on the market but all I would say is try and have some variety. Often doctors rely on only one question bank and get very used to a certain style of question-writing – doing the same style of question 2-3000 times is bound to trigger your brain to think in a certain way and it can be very confusing when another ‘style’ is suddenly encountered in the exam. There is an optional five-minute break between the two papers. If candidates take a longer break, this extra time will be subtracted from the time available in which to complete the CPS paper. 2

Therealexamwasalsohardandprettytiring(sixhoursofexamswitha75minutebreak),somewhereinbetweenOnExaminationandPassMedicineintermsofdifficulty.Theyabsolutelyaskaboutrare,footnote-ystuffwhichyou'veprobablyneverseeninreallife.Definitelydon'tavoidyourweakareas-theywillcomeup. For the multiple-choice questions, candidates must choose three out of eight answer options provided. These should be the three most appropriate actions that, when taken in conjunction, will be a complete resolution of the circumstances. Multiple-choice questions are also marked by comparing candidates’ answers to pre-determined keys. I found the scoring scale for MSRA slightly confusing as there is no maximum score achievable. Instead, they used a system called ‘normalisation’ which takes into account the score of everyone who takes the exam and normalises them around a mean score of 250 with a standard deviation of 40. The scores are then placed into bands 1-4. Band 1 are the lowest scores and are unsuccessful in progressing further, and 4 includes the highest scorers. ClinicalcasesforMRCPCHTAS–usefulcases.Igotalibrarycopyanddidstudythebookcovertocover.Probablywouldn’thavebeenworthbuyingbutdefinitelyagoodbook. Stay calm: I vividly remember seeing fellow candidates in the queue at the exam centre busy cramming with their paper/electronic notes and telling me that they’d only slept for 2-3 hours the night before. Unsurprisingly, these were the candidates who struggled to complete the exam (you need to remain focused for 3 hours!) and score as well. Calmness is truly key! Avoid last-minute studying if you can.ThereisagoodamountofoverlapwiththeconceptsintroducedinPart1soI'dsuggestbookingthisexamassoonaspossiblefollowingPart1.Part2questionsaremoreclinicallyorientedandhavemorelinksto"reallife"medicinethanPart1,soyourdayjobmightalsobehelpfulforpreparation. WouldalsorecommendtheUCDneurologychannel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHdemSStztKaB0A_iqfdiepvRwljoI1dF As mentioned for Obstetrics and Gynaecology ST1, in some cases, a high score can allow you to skip the interview section of the application and be ranked above fellow applicants, therefore increasing your chances of receiving a training offer in your preferred programme/location. While General Practice ST1 and Core Psychiatry Training CT1 don’t include an interview; instead, they assess and rank applicants solely on their MSRA score. So it’s worth investing the time preparing for the MSRA exam.

Familiarising yourself with the exam content is a useful starting point for your MSRA preparations. This will ensure that you’re aware of the demands of the exam and allow you to identify any subject areas which you may need to revisit as part of your MSRA revision. For a breakdown of the MSRA exam structure and different test papers, visit our MSRA complete guide and practice questions blogs. Over half of all junior doctors applying for Specialty Training posts each year will need to undertake The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA); our complete guide will provide you with information for the MSRA 2024. Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment / MSRA Exam Half of the questions in the CPS paper are extended matching questions (EMQs) and half are single best answers (SBA). EMQs feature sets of 7-10 answer options, each with multiple associated questions. For each question, candidates must choose the most appropriate answer option from the set. For example, candidates may be asked to select the most appropriate drugs, from a list, to prescribe to several different patients.As well as exploring the exam topics, incorporating practice questions is essential for your MSRA preparations. This allows you to become familiar with the different types of questions and scenarios you’ll encounter during the exam, and provides opportunities to practise applying your knowledge and problem solving skills, which are important elements that will be assessed within the MSRA exam. I decided to invest in Emedica and Passmedicine, then vigorously work my way through them both. I spent at least 3 hours each night doing questions and making an effort to read through the explanations thoroughly, browsing through key NICE guidelines and combining the new information learnt with my previous notes. Focus on one speciality at a time: you will probably initially feel overwhelmed at the thought of having to go through all of your medicine/surgery/paediatrics/psychiatry notes again – but you will surprise yourself with how much you remember when doing the questions first. This will highlight your stronger and weaker areas. Then, spend time focused on your weakest specialties one at a time – this will help you consolidate your knowledge by regular repetition and your scores will soon improve. An erythematous facial rash (one or both cheeks) is a key defining feature, but usually other prodromal features are common e.g. low-grade fever, myalgia, nausea, runny nose