Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi Medical College arranged a four-day MRCP (UK) Practical Assessment & Clinical Examination Skills (Paces) crash course here at New Teaching Block of RMC at Holy Family Hospital (HFH) with an aim to bring the MRCP UK examination centre in Pakistan.
The course was conducted for the first time in Pakistan by UK tutors trained by the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. The establishment of MRCP UK examination centre here in the country will bring Pakistan at par with India and UAE which has examination centres for many years. This course has never been conducted in Pakistan and students have to travel to UK or UAE to prepare for this Paces Course.
Principal RMC and Chief Allied Hospitals Professor Dr. Muhammad Umar took the initiative for arranging MRCP (UK) Paces Crash Course.
During the welcome address, Professor Umar appreciated the efforts of UK tutors Dr. Isma Kazmi and Dr. Ahmad Waleed for their commitment and love for the country. Both the tutors work in UK and are tutors of Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom and are involved in conducting the exam of MRCP in UK.
Dr. Isma and Dr. Waleed during their speech thanked the organizers for providing them with the opportunity and promised to bring this examination centre to Pakistan in near future. The foreign tutors also informed to plan next course in September 2016.
The participants of the course who have passed their MRCP Part 1 & 2 examination and intend to appear in MRCP Paces Exam in UK in coming months came from different parts of the country. The four-day course comprised of introduction about the examination format, detailed preparation for all the five stations of Paces Examination followed by a mock examination with feedback to every candidate.
During the four-day course, the participants were given insight into the real UK Paces Exam, Paces format, marking scheme, concept of ‘Double Jeopardy’, patient calibration, A to E clinical skills, Paces Carousel etc. The participants were trained on how to approach a patient in clinical stations including Respiratory/Abdominal station, Cardiology/Neurology Station and on history taking, clinical communications and ethical issues with practice sessions.
After the course, personal feedback to all candidates was given by the UK tutors and after a full mock examination, an extra session on job application and interview in UK was organized. The participants of the course were also educated on how to get clinical attachment in UK.
In the closing ceremony, Dr. Isma and her team appraised the candidates about their performance in the mock examination and thanked Professor Umar, Professor Rai Muhammad Asghar, Dr. Zahid Mahmood Minhas, Dr. Tayyab Saeed Akhtar and Dr. Irum for such an organized arrangements for the said course, which really facilitated to have at par with international standard.