Preface:
Studying medicine thoroughly is not an easy job, especially if time is running and you are thinking about the pass/fail mark of the examination instead. Many candidates depend heavily on BOFs and MCQs books, as these are easy to read and review; yet, the information they give is usually compacted and bypasses many detailed and important aspects. The two main questions asked by almost all candidates are:
1- What books to read?
2- And how much time do I need to be ready for the examination?
The MRCP UK part I does not differ from that of Ireland, except that the Irish paper I has 50 questions in a true/false question format; paper II is similar in both and covers medicine in short best of five scenarios. The Irish BOF paper may, at times, include scanned pictures, hematology slides, photos …etc, ranging from 7-10 in number; this is not true in the UK counterpart. Many candidates find the Irish part more difficult as they should solve two papers within a 3-hour time window. The examination syllabus and "themes" are the same. The pass mark for the Irish part is between 70-72% (according to examination diet), while that of UK is between 58-62%! The results are published (online) after 28 days in both. The Irish part is more expensive (in all parts) and has a limited number of overseas centers (the bulk of the candidates and centers are in Ireland, but it is expanding gradually outside Ireland).
Use a pencil and a rubber; leave difficult questions at the end to be solved, be careful when filling in (mark) the answer sheet.
At the end of each volume of this book, you will find a sample "answer sheet"; these PDFs can be downloaded from the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland website www.rcpi.ie, I put them here for an easier navigation and for you to be familiar with them; please visit its website for more useful PDFs, examination procedures, steps, fees, dates, centers, and FAQs. The MRCP UK central office website (www.mrcpuk.org) contains many useful documents and web pages to answer any query about the examination.
The 3rd edition of this book covers the most important themes to read and has many questions from past examinations; many questions were updated, added, and re-edited. The neurology chapter has been removed to be in a separate downloadable PDF. The book is divided in 2 volumes.
After publishing "One Year of Hard Work" (670 Neurology questions for MRCP UK and Ireland part I&II, with BOF, MCQs, and pictures at http://mrcp-neurology.ueuo.com/index.htm), this is our second high quality FREE MRCP book.
I would like to sincerely thank and acknowledge Free WebHostingArea.Com (Orgfree.Com and Ueuo.Com); without their excellent server and free services, this book would not have been possible. In addition, special thanks go to our visitors for their kind feedback and support.
Dr. Osama Amin MBChB MRCP(Ireland)
Neurologist and Head of Team Neurology4MRCP
April 2007
Download the 3rd edition of the book (the name of the 2nd edition was "720 Teaching Best of Fives for MRCP UK and Ireland Part I").
