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Examinations

European Specialty Examination in Nephrology

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From February 2020, the Specialty Certificate Examination (SCE) in Nephrology and the European Certificate in Nephrology that was originally developed between the UEMS Renal Section and Board and the European Renal Association (ERA) became a single examination called the European Specialty Examination in Nephrology (ESENeph). 

The examination is delivered jointly in partnership with the ERA, the European Section and Board of Nephrology, the UK Kidney Association and the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK.

In the UK, the ESENeph is the General Medical Council (GMC) approved mandatory summative assessment of knowledge for trainees in Renal Medicine as part of the requirement for the award of a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) and therefore entry onto the Specialist Register.

This combined, high quality exam will help to drive standards and promote the harmonisation of nephrology training across the European Union.

The ESENeph is delivered every nine months. See the table for key dates for the next examination below

DietsExam dateApplication periodReasonable Adjustment DeadlineResults releaseCertificates posted
2024/0122 May 202431 January -28 February 202406 March 202420 June 202429 August 2024
2025/0119 February 202530 October - 27 November 20245 December 20244 weeks after exam date8 weeks after results release
2025/0226 November 20256 August - 3 September 202511 September 20254 weeks after exam date8 weeks after results release

 

Please ensure you apply within the application period and have submitted your reasonable adjustment request by the deadline.

Eligibility requirements

There are no entry requirements for the ESENeph, although candidates in UK training posts would normally take the exam as part of their higher specialty training. The UEMS Renal Section and Board have reviewed the performance of candidates in the United Kingdom and now advise UK based trainees dual accrediting in General Internal Medicine and Nephrology to attempt the examination during ST5 in order to ensure that they have time for 3 attempts prior to CCT. Those in single accreditation programme may wish to consider a first sitting in their ST4 year.

EU candidates would normally take the examination towards the end of their specialisation.

If you have passed the SCE in Nephrology you are not permitted to apply for the ESENeph.

How to apply

Instructions on how to apply for the new examination are here.

Examination fees

Candidates sitting in the UK                                                                                 £700
Candidates sitting in ESENeph full member, associate member and observer countries*                                                                                                             €800
Candidates sitting the examination in all other countries and territories              £875
*A defined list of countries is available here 

Qualification

Trainees who hold MRCP(UK), have gained the ESENeph and who are recommended for a certificate of completion of training (CCT) are entitled to use the postnominal MRCP(UK) (Nephrology). One year of free ERA membership is offered to all the candidates who register and pass the examination.

Curricula and blueprints

The Specialty Training Curriculum for Renal Medicine is published by the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board (JRCPTB).

The examination is made up of questions covering the whole curriculum, selected by a predetermined blueprint:

SCE in Nephrology blueprint

Resources for trainees

Preparation for the SCE requires a wide breadth of knowledge around the curriculum and should involve reading of textbooks, journals and guidelines. Experience of the MRCP(UK) examination provides an excellent background to the format of the examination.

Suggested sources and reading are listed below:

Journals

Textbooks

  • American Journal of Kidney Disease – publishes the US core curriculum in nephrology which gives detailed notes across the entire renal curriculum
  • Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology (Eds Feehally, Floege, Johnson)
  • Handbook of Kidney Transplantation (Eds Danovitch et al)
  • Oxford Handbook of Dialysis (Eds Levy et al)
  • Oxford Textbook of Nephrology (Eds Davison et al)

Websites

Sample questions

The questions are in ‘best of five’ multiple choice format. This format, in addition to testing core knowledge and comprehension, also assesses the ability to interpret information and to solve clinical problems. There will be five options – one correct answer and four alternatives to the correct answer. The four distractors will be closely related to the preferred option but less correct, therefore acting as plausible alternatives.

These questions give an indication of the type of question you can expect in the exam. Please take part in our interactive sample question test.

Results report

Email updates