FRCS application

Here I’ll share my personal experience and tips for FRCS (Tr & Orth) application and preparation:

Application

Evolution of Orthopaedic training examination in UK

  • The old-style FRCS: Until late 1970s.

  • MCh(Orth) from the University of Liverpool: Now obsolete

  • OPTIONAL Specialty Fellowship exam in orthopaedics in 1979.

  • A new intercollegiate exam was introduced in 1990, which was accepted by all four Royal Colleges.

  • In 1991 FRCS became a requirement for accreditation.

  • The four Surgical Royal Colleges (Edinburgh, England, Glasgow & Ireland) in 2015 introduced a new suite of Intercollegiate Fellowship Examinations for the international surgical community.

  • The JSCFE has parity of standard with the existing UK/Ireland Intercollegiate Fellowship. Examinations and is recognised by GMC for Speciality registration.

Examination Pattern

The current International FRCS (Tr & Orth) exam encompasses two sections: Part I is a written exam and Part II the clinical and oral exam. For further information, and to make sure that your information is up to date, I suggest that you carefully review the Intercollegiate Speciality Board website.This is the link.

Part I

This section consists of two separate papers ( a Computer Based Testing-CBT); essentially, a multiple-choice question (MCQ) paper (2 Hours) and an extended matching question (EMQ) paper (2 hours 30 minutes). Part I is generally regarded as the easier section of exam to pass. A number of candidates may be OK learning for an MCQ/EMI paper but be a long way off the standard for a clinical and viva exam.

Format of Section 1 examination changes from 2021

The GMC has approved an alteration to the format of the Section 1 examination. The following format is applicable to all Section 1 examinations from January 2021:

Paper 1 – 120 Single Best [SBA] (2 hours 15 mins)

Paper 2 – 120 Single Best [SBA] (2 hours 15 mins)

How to apply

https://www.jscfe.co.uk is the official website for registering and applying for the examination. It costs £520.00 for Part I application and £1,785.00 for Part II. To apply,

  • Applicants must be six years medically qualified

  • Applicants would normally have passed the MRCS examination of one ofthe four Surgical Royal Colleges but this is currently not mandatory

  • Applicants must have successfully completed a locally recognised surgical training programme and are required to provide evidence of having achieved the required standard of a recognised specialist (day one NHS UK/Ireland consultant standard) in the generality of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery

  • This evidence must consist of three structured references as follows:

  • The principal referee must be the applicant’s current of Head of Department or Head of the Recognised Training Committee/Programme in which the applicant has participated.

  • The second referee must be a senior clinician who has worked with the applicant and has knowledge of the applicant’s work in his/her specialty within the last two years

  • The third referee must be a senior clinician who has worked with the applicant and has knowledge of the applicant’s work in his/her specialty within the last two years

  • The final decision on eligibility for admission to the examination will lie with the Joint Surgical Colleges Fellowship Examination Specialty Board in Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery

  • Examination Attempts:
    Candidates will have up to a maximum of 7 years to complete the examination process as follows:
    Section 1:Candidates will have a maximum of 4 attempts with no re-entry
    Section 2:Candidates will have a maximum of 4 attempts with no re-entry

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