About us

There are 13 examining boards, which are split between the MRCP(UK) Part 1 and Part 2 Exams, and the Speciality Certificate Exams.

The boards review three exam papers of 100 questions each over two days. They then decide on the 100 questions to be included in the final exam and discuss the outcomes and data from the previous diet.

The two MRCP(UK) examining boards, split into a Part 1 Board and Part 2 Board, consist of both trainees and consultants, and also host representatives from our Hong Kong and Singapore partners.  They meet three times a year and produce papers for the three MRCP(UK) exam diets that run yearly. The members are all volunteers however, the Board Chair and Secretary are salaried roles.

The 11 speciality examining boards are structured the same as the Part 1 and Part 2 boards, with the exception that there are no salaried roles, and three of the 11 boards include representation from Europe.

There are 38 Specialist Advisory Committees (SACs) at the Federation. The SACs meet intermittently throughout the year to discuss the higher specialty training in their specialism for the four years of training it spans.

The SACs consist of Training Programme Directors (TPDs), speciality specific experts such as members of speciality societies, trainees, and lay representatives.

There are seven main workstreams for the SACs:

• Ensuring the quality of training including collecting data from trainers and trainees on curriculum implementation, and education and training.
• Ascertaining the scope of the workforce, role distribution across the UK, and incoming and outgoing trainee numbers.
• Curriculum and assessment work, which ensures the curriculum is up to date and relevant.
• The ePortfolio, its structure and usability/suitability for ARCPs and PYAs.
• Certification and training work, which includes singing off on CCTs, assessing Portfolio Pathway Applications, etc.
• Evaluating academic opportunities for trainees, such as research opportunities or academic posts.
• The recruitment of new trainees and their placement.

There are two groups of SACs.

1. Group 1 specialities dual accredit with their speciality and General Internal Medicine.
2. Group 2 specialities do not dual accredit with General Internal Medicine, and only provide a single CCT.

There are two question writing groups: The MRCP(UK) (Speciality Question Group) SQG, and the SCE (Question Writing Group) QWG.

The MRCP(UK) SQG produces questions for the MRCP(UK) Part 1 and Part 2 exams. It is made up of consultants from all specialties, who have a five-year tenure. They meet once a year, across two days and work to produce and calibrate the exam questions.

The SCE QWG is made up of consultants from all specialties with a Speciality Certificate Exam. Much like the MRCP SQG, the SCE question writing group meets once a year across two days. Tthe consultants split into their specialties and work to create a robust and quality Speciality Certificate Examination. Their tenure is also five years.

• Chairs of Specialty Question Groups (SQG)
• Chairs of Specialty Certificate Examination (SCE) Question Writing Groups

The Scenario Writing Group consists of both consultants and trainees, who meet twice a year to write scenarios for the PACES Clinical Examination.

The consultants and trainees come from all specialties and have a tenure of three years.