Resources for FRCPath Part 2
drsuryabrata@gmail.comby Dr Katherine Watson (2016)
This article was written in 2016. However, the suggested documents are still very much relevant. Some subjects and links have been updated and new links to replace broken links.
Here are some of the resources that I used in preparation for FRCPath part 2, April 2016 Bristol. One of the most useful things to do is speak to anyone you know who has already sat the exam and ask for all their past questions and tips.
Bacteriology
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/standards-for-microbiology-investigations-smi
Quite time-consuming, but I suggest reading all of the SMIs. I printed the flow charts from the identification section to put in my practical folder. I would suggest learning by heart the 2 SMIs under the protocol section, which covers the identification of ESBLs and CPEs as there were lots of questions and spotters on these topics.
Also, don’t forget to read the quality-related guidance; you can pick up useful information to include the essay question if it is anything about a laboratory service. In my exam, one of the groups of 4 short notes was all about laboratory quality assurance.
Look out for new SMIs; for example, in the autumn 2015 exam, there were questions relating to the new ectoparasite SMI.
http://jac.oxfordjournals.org/content/67/2/269.full.pdf+html
I would suggest printing out the BSAC endocarditis guidelines for the lab folder. If one of the cases is about endocarditis, you will have the guidelines to refer to for treatment advice.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zNsUFJLNH7DrgTTQg7O6VUYa3qZrSslX/preview
https://www.ilexmedical.com/files/ETEST_RG.pdf
Useful picture guide to interpreting etests for bacteria.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yG1GKQlIueqAliWz3tAHS3bIEhL-zZdG/preview
Virology
Suggest reading this a few times. The virology paper is only an hour-long, but the questions were all very specific questions that you either knew or didn’t; for example, we had to give dosing schedules for Hepatitis B and rabies and specific regimen for HIV post-exposure prophylaxis. Thankfully, we didn’t get any questions about the new Hepatitis C drugs.
https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/…/hev-flowchart-for-laboratory-final_v11.ppt
Screening for Hepatitis E in blood products is a topical issue that we got asked about in the virology paper.
This document is not available any more but you should read this instead -
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/blood-tissue-and-organ-donors-surveillance-schemes
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/zika-virus-zikv-clinical-and-travel-guidance
Make sure to read all the latest guidance on the PHE website about the Zika virus; this is very topical, so likely to come up in the next exam. We had to write a short note on the laboratory diagnosis of the Zika virus.
Zika is less relevant now, but you should read topics those are relevant now -
COVID-19, monkeypox, Avian influenza etc.
Mycology
http://thunderhouse4-yuri.blogspot.co.uk/
A Canadian microbiologist’s blog. It has some really great photos of fungi, very useful for familiarising yourself with organisms for spotters and practical. I printed quite a few out and stuck them around the house; after seeing them every day, I felt confident at quickly recognising organisms.
He has retired now, and sadly not updating the website anymore. However, the impressive list of fungus, parasites and bacteria, with the pictures are worth a look. Do not miss it.
Website set up by the University of Adelaide - lots of useful mycology information; the mould virtual assessment section is particularly good for testing yourself.
http://www.mycology.adelaide.edu.au/virtual/
Suggest reading the EORTC/MSG definitions of invasive fungal disease.
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/71/6/1367/5645434
You can also see this.
A recent review article published in the Lancet update topical issues surrounding diagnosis and investigation of invasive fungal infection can come up in many sections of the exam
You may also check this website
Useful pictures and guidance on how to interpret etests for fungi, useful to have in the lab folder
https://www.mdpi.com/2309-608X/5/4/108/htm
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YgaJ-Ek2Cpk_hALgrMUvNk4mnNr2UW7a/preview
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VUqfnPvDytyKFYbN07ScFwZ_ehXGaHOr/preview
Parasitology
https://www.cdc.gov/dpdx/monthlyCaseStudies/2015/index.html
CDC website has 18 years’ worth of monthly case study quizzes and A-Z of parasites; excellent practise for spotters; this is the resource I used for most of my parasitology revision.
Infection control and Public Health
UKHSA website has some really good training slides for healthcare professionals with updates on specific vaccines, would definitely recommend reading since the vaccination programme seems to have changed quite a bit in recent years.
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rotavirus-training-slideset
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/meningococcal-b-training-slideset
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/shingles-vaccination-training-slideset-for-healthcare-professionals
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/meningococcal-c-conjugate-vaccine-schedule-2013-training-slideset
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/menb-and-menacwy-programmes-advanced-training-slides
- https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carbapenemase-producing-enterobacteriaceae-early-detection-management-and-control-toolkit-for-acute-trusts
- http://www.journalofhospitalinfection.com/article/S0195-6701(15)00314-X/pdf
Some of these documents have been archived. The idea behind these documents is that you must know the recent updates on vaccines, multiresistant bacteria and other relevant topics from the UKHSA website. You can subscribe using your email/RSS feed. Find it here.
Must read documents for infection control of CPE.
If you have time before the exam I would suggest completing Dundee University’s 6-week online course on antimicrobial stewardship, which is such a topical issue that can come up in the exam. You can sign up for free:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/antimicrobial-stewardship/1/
General
https://www.fidssa.co.za/news-events/case-of-the-month
Federation of Infectious Diseases Societies of Southern Africa website has a case of the month section where you can guess the diagnosis, quite a lot of rare tropical infections.
Another great website for practising spotters, clinical cases with high-quality pictures of clinical conditions, radiology, histology and organisms, then multiple-choice questions on the diagnosis. You have to sign up on the website, but it’s free to do so.
https://www.aad.org/member-education-continuing-jaad-quizzes
American Academy of Dermatology has a number of quizzes, including some on infectious causes of rashes.
A well-written article advising how to write an abstract, which is something that you always have to do for each of the critical appraisals. I suggest reading journal articles with the abstract covered and practise writing abstracts; pay careful attention to word counts, you are normally given a 250-word limit.
This is probably not relevant now as literature review has been taken out. I am not certain if abstract writing can be given in any other form. You may still read it - if you are interested.
iTunes U – If you search microbiology or virology you can find some series of lectures from American universities, some good basic parasitology and mycology lecturers that you can listen to when walking or driving to work
The Doctor’s Guide to Critical Appraisal Paperback by N. Gosall, G. Gosall
I am terrible at critical appraisal and read a lot of books to try to improve, this was the one I thought was most useful with straightforward explanations of statistical tests and study designs. Other trainees told me that the written paper is where most people fail the exam, I have to agree and would definitely recommend doing a lot of preparation for critical appraisal. I read this book and also
Trisha Greenhalgh’s How to Read a Paper: The Basics of Evidence-Based Medicine several times.
Although the long critical appraisal questions are not in the exam anymore, you may still get questions on medical statistics.
