Paces For The Mrcp With 250 Clinical Cases

[Elfreda Barrick]

Fullyrevised for the new Station 5 and completely updated throughout. Promotes understanding and deeper learning of modern medicine applicable to PACES and the specialist registrar. Emphasis on clinical assessment - history-taking, examination and communication skills - equipping candidates with appropriate differential diagnoses from which to develop the right diagnosis. Encourages candidates to question why a diagnosis has arisen and consider its consequences. For example, 'Heat failure' is a not a diagnosis until a candidate has considered the differential diagnoses of breathlessness and decided why heart failure is most likely, and then considered its cause (not always ischaemic heart disease), its presentation (acute, chronic, left or right ventricular or both) and, most importantly, the effects of it and its treatments on a patient's life. This 3rd edition of PACES for the MRCP continues to provide fully revised, up-to-date, evidence-based coverage of investigations and treatments. Whilst the emphasis of PACES is on clinical skills, candidates who understand when, for example, a patient with rheumatoid arthritis might benefit from a biologic agent and how this will influence inflammatory disease, is better equipped for success.

'Hall's PACES for the MRCP is excellent. It is easy to follow, carefully laid out and covers all conditions likely to appear in each station of the exam. The author not only explains examination techniques and clinical signs, but also goes that step further to ensure the reader really understands each topic, using clinical examples, question and answer/discussion sections as well as detailed illustrations. Where this text also outshines the others is with the inclusion of chapters covering the History Taking and Communication/Ethics stations of the exam. The scenarios are "spot on" and give the reader plenty of examples to work through. The Neurology section is brilliant.' Overall: An excellent and up-to-date text, this is the new MRCP "Bible" - don't sit your exam without it.

Really good book. The clinical stations are well covered - in particular this book is worth buying just for the neuro section alone which is really easy to read and understand and gives you a great framework for approaching clinical cases (this is also what countless colleagues of mine have cited as the book's main selling point!)

'This is an excellent book. It is very well-written, clear, factually correct and actually means that you know enough to hold a conversation with the examiners. Apparently most people assume they will pass the Hx and comm stations but commonly fail them and this book is excellent for those with lots of information and cases to practice. I really feel that this book has transformed the paces market as it is so much better than the others.'

Luckily, there are countless MRCP PACES resources available at your fingertips to maximise your chances of passing the exam. On the other hand, with so many resources out there, it may be daunting to correctly select the ones that suit you!

Where possible, I will try to give my own recommendations based on my personal experiences, but I do recognize that everyone learns differently, so be sure to choose resources you feel are best suited for you!

The MRCP PACES exam, as candidates should already be aware, is a different exam from the MRCP Part 1 and MRCP Part 2 exams they would have already passed. It is a practical exam, and thus practice on real patients with pathology is essential.

PACES courses provide an excellent opportunity to see and examine many patients with excellent clinical signs usually over a two to four-day span. There are many MRCP PACES courses available all around the UK that run multiple times a year and they are often oversubscribed. The structure and duration of each course may slightly differ so be sure to read the relevant information about your desired PACES course before signing up.

Fortunately, many hospital trusts can cover most or even all of the cost of an MRCP PACES course as part of their study budget, so make sure you enquire about this! Better yet, local hospitals sometimes run their own PACES courses free of charge for their trainees. Do your research and check out the MRCP Course search page on MedCourse for all the available courses out there.

Online MRCP PACES revision courses are becoming an increasingly more popular and affordable alternative to traditional in-person PACES courses. These usually consist of exemplary on-demand videos delivered by consultant physicians. Patients are examined according to exam standards and clinical signs, diagnosis and correct management are explained in the video.

I can personally attest to the benefit of this online resource. All 125 videos are of superior quality, physical signs are clear and there is a notes section to jot down your own notes under each video.

These professionally-filmed video courses are similar to Pastest in structure and pricing, but also include some nifty features like a virtual notebook and end-of-section practice questions you can use to practise with a colleague.

PACES Mock exams provide a good opportunity to test your readiness for the PACES exam by simulating the PACES carousel in exam-like conditions. They can reveal your weak areas and can increase your confidence for the real exam.

From personal experience, regarding where to find mock exams, they are not usually advertised as occurring on their own. Often PACES mock exams run as part of a PACES course, with the mock exam occurring on the final day of the course.

MRCP PACES books are a brilliant way to consolidate the knowledge gained from practising PACES cases with real patients. They are therefore not a replacement for continuous clinical examination practice, but a complement.

Most of the MRCP PACES books can be found wherever books are sold such as Amazon. One good tip is to find a used copy at a cheaper price such as on eBay or go to your local hospital library to borrow the books for free.

Note that, while the author of this article has no affiliation to the books, and no competing interests to declare, the links included here are affiliate links to help MedCourse in producing and publishing more content.

The chapters I particularly loved are the Examiner Speaks chapter written by a long-term examiner of the PACES exam, and the Hawks and Doves Afterword, which really put my exam prep into a new perspective. I will say that the negatives (which are few) of the book are the lack of colour and pictures.

Pastest remains a household name in medical education, especially high high-stakes medical exams. The PACES manual has been discontinued, and replaced by their online products, so you can only find this textbook second-hand.

That being said, I think this book is more suited as a reference text due to its sheer size, detail and breadth of information pertaining to PACES. A very comprehensive book, with a large number of history-taking cases to practice with.

The 5th edition of this book has improved the format of old editions as well as added new chapters in addition to the great 250 clinical cases it boasts. These new chapters include emergency presentations and some core procedures relevant for the core medical curriculum. It has since been improved further in a 6th edition published June 2023, making it one of the most up-to-date resources available for PACES.

The obvious downfall of this book is that it is arguably too concise and some finer details I think are important for the PACES exam have been omitted. Therefore, this book needs to be supplemented by a larger reference textbook.

As the book title suggests, this book is like Cases for PACES book in that it is best used a few weeks running up to the exam as a quick reference guide. I used this book in my final two weeks of exam prep as a good refresher of what I had practiced for months. There are several summary lists and mnemonics for easy recall during the exam. There are some typographical errors occasionally within the book.

This book is probably the most comprehensive book in this list. There is very thorough coverage of all aspects of the exam, from correct clinical examination technique to many common cases for each station.

In keeping with its comprehensiveness, the book also has a gargantuan 100 tips for Passing PACES section at the end which is well worth the read. It is a book that is not only a great PACES reference, but another valuable medical textbook even after PACES is done and dusted.

The books cover all stations and is unique in its structure in that the clinical cases for each station are ordered according to the frequency with which they come up in the PACES exam. This frequency is based on a survey done by junior doctors who have taken the exam. The book seems to be a passion project by the author as there are even sections on the emotions and experiences of candidates who have already taken the PACES exam.

This is a free open-access podcast series hosted by Dr Sam Williams, a Cardiology Registrar. The podcast provides the necessary clinical knowledge, exam hacks and PACES tips from medical consultants (some of whom are actual examiners) and experienced junior doctors who have passed the exam.

The host manages to keep the episodes interesting throughout with minigames and challenges for his expert guests toward the end of each episode. I highly recommend listening in, especially during a long commute.

This podcast series covers several common cases that are likely to show up in the PACES exam for each station. The podcasts are well structured, well-rehearsed, and are written by successful candidates and experienced consultant physicians. They contain exemplary model answers to many common questions asked by examiners.

The main drawback of these podcast series is the price tag attached to them. Podcasts for each station can be bought individually on their Dr Podcast website, or the entire MRCP bundle can be purchased and downloaded for 74.25.

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