FRCPath Microbiology Part 2 and Part 1 have a fundamental difference. While part 1 tests your breadth of knowledge and you can pass the exam by reading, memorising and recalling information, part 2 demands a lot more from the trainees. 

How much do you need to know? Consider this - when I was preparing for part 2, I was told by my consultant that "before the exam, you should have more knowledge than any microbiology consultant". That much, you should know - you should be capable of working as a microbiologist on your own in a district general hospital.  You will be considered an "expert"

These are my suggestions -

How much time should I take to prepare?.

This is the most important aspect of this exam. Consider this as one of the most difficult exams of your life, if not the most difficult. If you are a UK candidate or HSST, speak to your supervisor. In my experience, at least 6 months is necessary. If you are an overseas candidate, I would recommend AT LEAST 1 year. You can discuss with me if you wish.

Make your study plan.

You must be extremely organised. The last thing you want is to find out a large area has not been prepared nearer the exam. Spend at least 2 weeks gathering and listing all the resources and topics once you decide to go for the examination. You should systematically go through the curriculum, the list of topics in the Oxford handbook, the list of antibiotics in the BNF, the list of guidelines from NICE and other relevant websites (BASHH, BHIVA, RCOG, UKHSA, BIA, HIS, BTS, SABTO, etc.), HTM, EUCAST, UK SMI, and the Greenbook.

Do a gap analysis.

Once you have made your list, assess how much you know about each topic. If you know it well, assign an amber colour. If you dont red. This is a traffic-light system, but I would ask you not to assign a green to anything at the beginning. You must read everything at least once, if not more than once. As you keep on revising, you go from red -> amber ->green. You should have everything in green 1 month before the exam.
Your system could be different - you could consider a number-based scale, 1 to 5, if that suits you better.

Study group.

It is always better to study in a group as you will be able to cover more topics, and your peers can question you or point out your blind spots. However, beware of being part of a group that is holding you back.

Prepare with the Clinical context.

This exam is about problem-solving, decision-making, and managing clinical scenarios. Your preparation should follow the route the patient is supposed to take via healthcare. You can read about a disease or a bacteria in the format of a book, but that is not how a patient presents.

Think how a patient with Listeria meningitis presents inthe ED - When are you going to suspect this infection? What are the differentials? What are the clinical findings expected? What will be the tests? How should the sample be sent to the lab? How would the lab process it? What result would you expect? How would you interpret? What sensitivities would you ask? What other reflex tests? When to send to the reference lab? When to inform the public health and IPC? What IPC measures to take and so on..

Make notes.

You must make your own notes. Before the exam, you have to revise quickly, and there will be no time to go through multiple sources. Your own notes will be your main revision document in the last month before the exam. Even if you are a member of microregistrar.moodlecloud.com and have the notes made, I would recommend making your own notes.

Practice writing by hand.

We are losing this skill. You must practice a lot of writing - to prevent cramps during the exam and deterioration of handwriting. Your notes should be this practice.

Read the guidelines.

Extremely important. Many questions are from guidelines. Read the guidelines using your patient pathoway. Similarly read UKHSA, HTM, EUCAST and UK SMI. They are also important. UK guidelines are priority of other countries guidelines.

Journal.

Read the major journal at least going back 1 year from your exam. Read any landmark trial or paper going back 2 - 3 years from your exam date.

Practice question:

RCPath has model questions in the website. Use these questions to practice answering. Check the model answers. If you are a member of the Microregistrar.moodlecloud.com. You should get >100 questions and a mock exam.

Know the exam well.

Make sure to plan well. Travel, Visa, Hotel, documents. Read the RCPath website for exam FAQ. If you are oversear candidate, reach London at least 2 days before the exam. Plan how you reach the RCPath building.

Do you have more questions? Contact me on LinkedIn, Facebook or email me.

Now some technical questions

What is the format of the exam?

Part 2 FRCPath Microbiology have 2 parts

Paper 1 (3 hours):

  • 5 complex scenarios on microbiology, infection prevention, and control – each having 5-7 sub-questions. The questions will be on infection control or clinical scenarios, which may have a laboratory result interpretation component.
  • 10 short answer type questions (SAQ), each with 4-5 sub-questions in it.  SAQs are based on the clinical scenario, lab practice, lab safety and infection control.

Paper 2 (3 hours):

  • Objective Structured Pathology Examination (OSPE) – 15 stations (each lasting 9 minutes) + some rest stations. The topics will be clinical scenarios, laboratory practice, infection prevention, data interpretation, and research methods. At least 2 stations would be face-to-face to assess communication ability.

It is most likely that both papers would be taken on a single day, but the sequence may change (i.e. paper 2 may come first). 
The marks of both papers would be combined; hence it is possible to compensate if you get low marks on one paper and high on the other.

You must read the RCPath FAQ for the most up-to-date information (very important) – https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/examinations/regulations-and-guidelines/frequently-asked-questions.html

I have passed part 1. How many years do I have to take part 2?

7 years. However, you can apply to RCPath for extension with valid reason and appropriate evidence.

See here

https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/examinations/regulations-and-guidelines/frequently-asked-questions.html

- Under elligibility.

I have passed part 1. Can I take part 2 immediately?

RCPath recommends you should give at leat an year gap between part 1 and 2.

Is the exam online? Do I have to travel to the UK?

Offline, and it is held in the UK. You have to take the Exam in the RCPath building in London.

See here (always check the most uptodate information from the RCPath website)

https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/examinations/regulations-and-guidelines/frequently-asked-questions.html

Is there a curriculum?

The curriculum for this exam is the RCPath curriculum.
The RCPath curriculum highlights what knowledge and skills a trainee needs to acquire to practice in the UK. I recommend treating this as a guide to ensure you have not left any areas mentioned in the curriculum unprepared. However, how much you must read on each topic is not defined. 
You can find the curriculum here –

https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/training/training-by-specialty/medical-microbiology-2021.html

Is there any sample papers?

Yes. RCPath provides us with some sample questions – check this link:

https://www.rcpath.org/trainees/examinations/examinations-by-specialty/medical-microbiology.html

Which books should I study?

You have to read more resources outside a standard book for this examination. This is what helps candidates in my experience.

However, you must read a lot of guidelines and documents from outside the books

Is there any course available?

Microregistrar.moodlecloud.com - This is not a typical course but a mentoring programme. In this platfor you can get all that is needed to prepare. Topics written keeping UK practice in mind, questions, study plan, mock exam and a forum to ask your questions.

Microquora course - This is planned for once a year. 2025 was done in December 2025. The next one is likely to happen in/around December 2026.

Leicester mock exam - The Leicester Microbiology team organises a mock exam, which is extremely popular and highly recommended. Contact Leicester Microbiology to find out more about it.

Give me a list of resources that I can use

1. UK SMI

These are the UK national standard operating procedures; as you can see from the survey, they are very important.
Link - UK Standards for Microbiology Investigations

2. NICE guidelines

Published guidance, NICE advice and quality standards | Guidance | NICE

3. Greenbook (vaccine)

Immunisation against infectious disease - GOV.UK

4. EUCAST

For antibiotic sensitivity, follow EUCAST (not CLSI). Important documents (must read) are -

5. Other UK guidelines

A large number of British organisations are involved in preparing guidelines. I have listed some. If there is no UK guideline on a subject, follow European (ESCMID) or IDSA/CDC/SHEA guidelines. Some of these are not specific for infection, such as RCOG. You may have to collect those relevant for you yourself.

6. UKHSA documents

UKHSA is a massive resource for microbiologists/infection specialists. It is also the most up-to-date resource. It is, however, so vast that it is not always easy to find what you are looking for. I suggest you start from the A to Z link I shared, but always when reading a subject - google "your subject name" + "UKHSA".

7. UK antibiotic guidelines

If you are from overseas, you can benefit from having UK antibiotic guidelines. I suggest looking at the NHS Trust guidelines using Microguide or EOLAS

8. BNF and Greenbook

BNF lists all the antibiotics being used in the UK. Reading antibiotics that are not in there is not needed unless they are new/novel antibiotics. BNF also has a comprehensive summary of antibiotics. Greenbook is the one-stop resource for vaccines used in the UK.

9. Infection control
10. Journals
11. Laboratory safety and quality

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