MRCP 2 --- EXPERIENCE MRCP Part 2 is more clinical than Part 1. It is easy for those who r doing training or have done 2-3 year training of medicine. Time Required: Minimum 5 to 6 month are required for preparation, and more for those who have not a strong background knowledge, not good score in part 1 and trainees of specialities having less interaction with internal medicine(derma/psychiatry etc). Don't delay to attempt part 2 after passing part 1. Knowledge of part 1 will help a lot in part 2. Books/material: 2 Q banks are compulsory. Pastest+ 1 other( passmedicine or on examination). Online subscription is much better than hard copies, as online version is in continuous process of updating.Even latest hard copies are also outdated. Hard copies are pirated, publishers change title only every year and through in market, inside material is same. Moreover online version is easy to study. U can study during rounds, meetings, or going outside. You can easily do daily 50 mcqs extra by using online version. I purchased online passmedicine and pastest at a time. Passmedicine 40£/6 months Pastest 79£/till upcoming exam. Passmedicine: i love passmedicine.i like its explanations and style. Ideally atleast 2 reads required but i could do only 1. I studied passmedicine deeply and memorized it. I completed passmedicine before starting pastest. Passmedicine was easy for me as i studied only passmedicine in part 1 and explanations are very similar to part 1. Stems of passmedicine are lengthy than actual exam. I think difficulty level is also higher than exam. But explanations r very good. Pastest: Pastest is compulsory because standard of questions in exam is very close to pastest. Ideally 2-3 reads r required. But i could hardly complete 1 read only but i studied deeply and memorized details of every option. After every question i used to open topic from passmedicine (textbook-online version) for a rapid review. Key points: I made notes (in form of sticky notes on my wall)of confusing, closely related and important topic. It is good way to memorize and revise important topics. At the end of preparation my wall was full of charts and stickers. If I compile all these notes, it will become a very useful book but i am lacking time to compile in book form.1 day before exam I revised all these notes. It helped me a lot in passing exam. Sanjay sharma: good book but lengthy. It is good to clear concepts if u have time but this book cannot be part of smart study to pass in short time. Data interpretation portion of this book is very good especially Pulmonary function tests, angiogram, echocardiography. Data interpretation by Steven Hughes: is good book and can be finished in 1 week. I recommend it if u have time. Radiology, pictures, ECGs: plz plz don't worry about pictures. I was worried about pictures before exam but after exam I realised Qbanks are enough for pictures. In exam after reading stem of question u can easily interpret a picture and choose correct answer. No need to study extra books for radiology and derma pictures. I suggest to make it habit to go Google immediately after a pictured question and see 10-15 pictures of that condition. For ECG u can use 150 cases of ECG. Past papers: pastest has about 16 past papers. Solve 2 paper daily with timer, with break of 1 hour as in real exam. If u r scoring above 70 percent, u will pass in exam InshaAllah. This strategy will train u in time management and will build ur confidence. Summary: 1)Passmedicine:2 reads (system wise) 2)Pastest: 2 reads(random) 3)Data interpretation from Sanjay sharma 4)ECG 150 cases Last 10 days: Day 1-8> past papers(2 papers daily) Day 9> key points; own notes/passmedicine key points/faraz pearls. Day 10>mock exam. It is better to stop study 24 hours before exam. Watch movie,gup shup with friends, travel for exam. Don't carry books during travelling. This free day will relax u, freshen ur mind after months of strict time table and tension. believe me this will increase ur chances of passing. During Exam: if ur speed is not good, don't leave any question unanswered for the end of paper. If u have wasted 1 or 2 min on reading a question,don't leave it for the end, answer it there and then. At the end u will never have time to read and think. If ur speed is very good then u can. During break or after exam don't discuss answers with ur friends this will increase ur tension only with no benefit. Pray to God for passing your exam. Best of luck! Regards Dr. Khawar Sultan Resident Nephrology Pakistan Institute of medical Sciences Islamabad Pakistan
