Questions for FRCPath Microbiology
drsuryabrata@gmail.comWhere to find questions for FRCPath Microbiology?
Part 1:
A. The first question that comes to mind is - Are there any past papers? RCPath does not allow storing past papers; hence only place you can find them is RCPath's website. Find sample questions on the following pages.
- https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/examinations/examinations-by-specialty/medical-microbiology.html
- https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/examinations/examinations-by-specialty/infection.html
B. LearnInfection website: This is a BIA initiative. You can get a free membership. It has a large number of questions, which are similar to part 1/CICE.
C. Books: Two books have questions that you can use to prepare for part 1.
D. The Green Book multiple-choice questions: This has been withdrawn for review, but you can still find the MCQs here. This is for vaccines
E. Microregistrar.moodlecloud.com
This is a website being built. It currently has 150 questions, but the plan is to include more than 300 questions by the end of this year.
F. Other examination questions - MRCP, USMLE
This is often asked if we can do these questions. You can certainly do, but remember that USMLE questions are based on problems common in the USA, and answers are expected to be based on practice in the USA. Hence, you must know the difference between the UK and USA medical systems.
- https://www.lecturio.com/practice-questions/free-usmle-step-1-microbiology-questions/
- https://www.hepatitisb.uw.edu/page/challenges/expert-opinions/cases/7
- https://www.hepatitisc.uw.edu/page/challenges/expert-opinions
- https://www.hiv.uw.edu/page/qb/home
Part 2
Part 2 is a much more difficult exam. At present, the questions are becoming more problem-based. A case is given as stem, and then questions are asked on diagnosis, investigation, management, infection control and public health. So, in my opinion, you could benefit from solving case-based problems and reading the guideline related to these cases.
You should check the sample papers
https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/examinations/examinations-by-specialty/medical-microbiology.html
Additional case-based discussion resources (I would recommend you always cross-check the answer with the most recent UK guidelines)
- Mass General Brigham: https://www.idimages.org/Default.aspx
- DrFungus: https://drfungus.org/category/clinical-cases/
- DPDx: https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/monthlycasestudies/2020/index.html
- https://frcpmmv.blogspot.com/
- There are plenty of case discussions on Twitter. It is difficult to list all, but I try to share them on my Twitter feed.
Microregistrar.moodlecloud.com
This website will have multiple questions to prepare when complete.
Additional resources
- https://www.hepatitisb.uw.edu/page/challenges/expert-opinions/cases/7
- https://www.hepatitisc.uw.edu/page/challenges/expert-opinions
- https://www.hiv.uw.edu/page/qb/home
