Dr Rubab Khalid: MRCOG Part Two: 3 Ws & General Advice

This blog post is aimed to explore the 3 Ws of the MRCOG part 2 exam. It may ease your journey to get through this tedious and nerve-wracking exam. The first thing before embarking upon this journey is to know your 3 Ws.

Why do you want to take it?

What is the right way to prepare for it & What to study?

When is the right time to take it?

I hope if you keep reading this blog till the end you might clarify these Ws.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO TAKE IT?

This is the answer which has to come from YOU. You need to decide and know your WHY. Here I can help you decide by quoting just one sentence from RCOG website “MRCOG: A global exam. The Gold Standard Qualification in O&G”

WHAT IS THE RIGHT WAY TO PREPARE FOR IT & WHAT TO STUDY?

This is a long answer and I will try to explore this step by step.

Understand the exam:

The first step is to understand what is this exam all about and what is expected from you in MRCOG part 2 exam. It is to demonstrate that your knowledge is of a level of “Competent ST5 according to RCOG curriculum”. Visit the RCOG website and go through the MRCOG part 2 section in detail. It clearly mentioned the format of the exam, syllabus, modules tested and details of all topics in each module. Most of the candidates keep asking What to study? So RCOG website is the best and most authentic source to answer this. Do not forget it's a UK-based exam and you need to prepare according to that standard, regardless of your job status in practical life. For example, you might be working as a senior consultant in your workplace, but you need to think & act like ST5 for this exam. It is essential to understand how things work in the UK system being an overseas candidate is not an acceptable excuse.

Plan the exam:

Once you decide to sit for the exam, you need to plan well ahead of time with adequate preparation. It is generally recommended that if you are sitting for the first time, at least 6 months of dedicated study time are required and if it is your second attempt onwards, then 3-4 months are adequate. In my opinion, it all depends on your personal & professional circumstances. So there is no hard and fast rule. All you need to keep in mind is that MRCOG part 2 requires sheer hard work, serious commitment and an in-depth understanding of Ob/Gynae. This has to come from self-motivation and persistence to achieve your goal. You can seek guidance from others but all the hard work has to be ultimately done by you.

The approach of the preparation:

You must decide your approach towards the exam. This is a fast-paced world of internet & technology. First, you need to decide whether you prefer to study in hard form or soft form, how well-versed you are with the latest technology and how much are you willing to invest in the latest gadgets. I suggest that for this exam it is a MUST to be updated in the required knowledge which is only possible if you are familiar with the proper and positive use of your smartphones & tablets (as almost all of us have it these days). Look at those gadgets with a new vision and as a potential source of your success. You do not need flagship devices but you must analyse what's best for you and how you can take maximum benefit from whatever device you have. This is the single most important change you will need to adapt in your approach towards the exam. Late Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple) played a very important role in my MRCOG journey :)

Gather the reading material:

Now comes the real work. You need to gather the updated essential reading material. I will not go into detail about what to collect as all this is given on the college website. Subscribing to StratOG is highly recommended as it not only provides you with the tutorials covering the whole syllabus but also access to valuable SBAs & EMQs and many online journals including TOGs at a very reasonable price. The added benefit is that you get to know how things work in the UK. It is from RCOG so what could be more authentic.

Organize your reading material:

This is a very important step which will define the outcome of your efforts. It is your own choice whether to use hard copies or soft copies. The main point is that the reading material should be available to you readily so that you can refer to it whenever needed without wasting your time. This is important for time management.

Here I would like to share my personal experience.

I prefer to study in the soft form. It took me some time to adapt to reading on the tablets but it was very helpful for me. First I made a main folder for “reading material MRCOG” and made subfolders with different headings like for GTGs, NICE, TOGs, SIPs, Consent, Books, FSRH, Notes, Recalls, and Syllabus. Then I downloaded all of these and kept adding them to their respective folders.

I made another folder “Main Study” which had subfolders with each Module name. Those module subfolders again had subfolders in which I kept adding respective documents. I used an app which had good annotation options like highlighting and marking stamps with time which was helpful for me to track my reading.

This was very convenient for me, as it is very easy to just click a module folder and you will find all the required reading material. It gives you a mental road map to the modules also. No doubt, in the beginning, it takes time, but in the long run its time saving.

Another thing I did was that I managed my folders utilising cloud services so that the same thing was available to me on my phone, tab or laptop. If I modified a file on one device, it would be automatically updated on all.

All these are very basic uses of technology. It's all there to help us use our time more productively which is the most important factor for this exam preparation.

Make a timetable :

Now focus on which exam are you going to take. Make a timetable for 2-3 months which is practical and doable. Your timetable must cover all the modules. Decide how much time it will take for you to do a module. Say for example you plan to do a maternal medicine module in 10 days. Now decide what you are going to do each day. A very important thing to keep in mind is that, set realistic goals. Keep some extra time for unforeseen circumstances.

Make Notes:

Do make your own notes, especially for last-minute revision but keep them short and concise. The notes should be in a format, which is accessible to you anytime you need it. MRCOG syllabus is so vast that sometimes we can study a topic only once and might not get time to revise it. It is helpful to make a notebook for important points and numbers which are repeatedly asked in exams. These are easy to forget. The only way to retain it in our memory is to go through it again & again. You can keep copies of notes on your mobile so you can go through them in your free time. Sometimes we tend to rely on readymade notes by others but remember your notes are most beneficial to YOU and no one else.

Time management:

It is very important to use your time smartly. Making a realistic timetable will help you. I do understand that we all have very busy lives with our professional and domestic responsibilities. It is hard to manage studies with these routines. But once you have decided to go for this exam, you must give it the time it needs. I would suggest using your free time as much as possible towards the preparation for this exam. I can give you a tip. If you study on devices, then some apps have the option to speak the written content. You can use wireless earphones and listen to the content while doing your house chores or driving. Some free online podcasts are also available to listen to.

Do not stress yourself too much for preparation of this exam. You must do the things which you enjoy. Keeping calm and learning to overcome anxiety is the key to success.

SBAs & EMQs

It is advised to practise as much as you can. Read the questions carefully. Every word is there for a reason. There are many books and online resources to practise SBAs & EMQs. My advice is to use the latest and authentic books & resources to be sure that you are up to date. Please keep in mind that some books do have errors and they become outdated if new guidance is available. In this case, follow the original source for the correct answers.

SBAs

SBAs are meant to test your basic theoretical knowledge. These are usually straightforward facts. The tip which I can suggest here is that whenever you are reading a topic just keep thinking about what and how can it be asked in SBA. In the questions sometimes we do not find the best option, then simply choose the 2nd best option.

EMQs

EMQs are the most tricky part of the exam as we have to choose from a long list of options. These usually test clinical and practical management. The tip to crack this part is to have Mental Flowcharts and a good grasp of the topic. Read each and every word carefully in the question. Focus on what is being asked and answer accordingly. A simple twist of words can change your answer. For example, there is a different answer if the question asks “What is the management” and “What is the immediate management”. Read the question first and make an answer in your head and then look for that answer in the options. Sometimes there is the same answer for two questions. Do not hesitate to mark the same answer (you have a 50% chance of getting it right).

Recalls:

It is important to go through the recalls to have an idea of how questions come in the exam. But recalls are almost always incomplete as it's humanly impossible to exactly recall the exam questions. Real exam scenarios have complete information which makes it easy to solve if you are well prepared with the topic. So do not worry, if you are unable to find an answer to a recall. It is very much possible that some information is missing. Do not depend too much on recalls, but do try to solve them on your own to check your thought process.

TOG:

This a very common query which all the candidates have in their minds. How many years of TOGs do we need to do? My opinion is that there is no strict rule about whether it should be 3 or 5 years. The most important thing is to find out if there is any TOG article available for a specific topic and needs to check how relevant it is at the time you plan to take the exam. For example, if there was a TOG for a topic and later on a guideline comes up, then the guideline is more authentic. There are some topics for which the best source is TOG e.g. asthma in pregnancy, spinal cord injury, headache in pregnancy, and analgesia in labour to name a few. So you can see that even if topics are older than 3 or 5 years still you need to go through that article. You need to decide and extract the relevant information from the TOGs.

Courses:

These days many courses are available which could be physical or online. No course can ever guarantee 100% success because it's all about YOU and how you prepare for the exam. Courses can provide guidance and direction. Some courses are for long-term preparation & some are revision courses. Choose according to your needs. This decision is entirely your own. Before taking any course consider your own circumstances including but not limited to personal, professional and financial.

WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO TAKE IT?

Again this has to be answered by YOU. I would suggest that go for the exam once you are fully committed and willing to give your 100%. If you are able to revise the syllabus at least 2-3 times to make facts stick deep inside your brain. Take your time to prepare well. Just don’t take this exam for the sake of experience. MRCOG requires strict self-discipline and keeping yourself motivated throughout the journey.

During the exam:

Keep calm and just be yourself. Try not to panic if you do not know an answer. In that case, try to make a smart guess. For your guess to be smart, you need to go through the syllabus and not miss any topic before going for the exam. Keep updated with the RCOG website to know about the latest happenings. There are a few questions in each exam for which no one knows the exact answers except RCOG.

So Relax :)

I hope this blog was helpful even if it was only one point that you picked.

Thank you for sparing your valuable time to read this.

Best Wishes for All

Dr Rubab Khalid

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