MRCPath Examinations in Haematology

Proposed changes to the MRCPath examinations with an implementation date of

autumn 2005 were approved in principle by College Council in January 2005.

The College has subsequently decided that implementation will be delayed to 2006 to
allow the development of infrastructure within the Examinations Department to
support these changes and changes to the examinations in other specialties within the
College.

Part 1 Examination

A written assessment of knowledge and clinical and laboratory judgement that will
comprise two 3 hour papers. Candidates will be eligible to sit Part 1 after 18 months
recognised specialty training.

Paper 1: four compulsory essays covering transfusion, coagulation, laboratory/general

haematology and haematological oncology. These essays will explore a candidate’s
ability to relate theory to clinical and laboratory practise and to critically evaluate
diagnostic or therapeutic options in the context of clinical examples.

Paper 2: 125-150 MCQs comprising a mixture of ‘best from five’ (BFF) format
questions and ‘extended matching’ questions (EMQ). Both formats will be based on
clinical vignettes where candidates will be required to choose the most appropriate or
likely option from a list of five in the BFF format and from a list of 20 in the EMQ
option.

Examples of each MCQ format will be available on the College website in June 2005.

Part 2 Examination

This examination will be the core assessment of clinical and laboratory skills and may
be taken 12 months after successful completion of the Part 1 examination.

The new Part 2 examination will consist of three papers, each of which will be a half-
day examination:

• an assessment of morphological skills and clinical judgement in

clinical cases covering general and oncological haematology
• an assessment of data interpretation and clinical judgement in
haemostasis & thrombosis
• an assessment of data interpretation and clinical judgement in blood
transfusion

It has been proposed that candidates may, if they wish, sit this examination in two
separate modules: morphology paper plus a viva on morphology, general
haematology and haematological oncology; coagulation paper and transfusion plus
vivas on coagulation and transfusion.
This examination will continue to be held simultaneously at a number of UK centres.
A proposal that all candidates would be examined at a single large centre has been
examined but is not feasible due to the infrastructure required to support the
morphology paper. However the marking process will be centralised (from spring
2005) and in the new examination, the orals will take a more structured format.

Trainees who have passed the existing Part 1 written and practical examination by
autumn 2005 will continue to sit the existing Part 2 oral examination to obtain
MRCPath. This oral examination will continue to take place biannually until all such
trainees have passed. Trainees who have passed only the written papers of the
existing Part 1 at the time of implementation of the new examination will be required
to sit the new Part 2 examination after an interval appropriate to their duration of
training.

Further information will be contained in the 2006 Examination Regulations and

Guidelines which will be available (on the website or from the Examinations
Department) in September 2005.

Charles Singer
9 March 2005