Starting Point for MRCOG Part 2

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This blog post is especially for those who are at the very beginning of their preparation for MRCOG part 2. If you have already decided to go 4 MRCOG and want to start off your journey towards your goal, then this post might be useful.

You will find many great pieces of advice about exam preparation on the internet. I have tried to provide an outline for the exam and an essential reading materials list so that you will have an idea of what to collect and how to start the preparation. Please keep in mind that the information given in this post is not ultimate & comprehensive. You must add more to it whenever you come across relevant stuff.

Starting Point 

The starting point for your preparation is to spend some time on the MRCOG part 2 section on the  RCOG website. Most of the information I am about to share is taken and summarised from the RCOG website.

MRCOG part 2 is a written exam that assesses basic clinical knowledge and its application at a level of UK ST5 trainee in obstetrics & gynaecology as defined in the RCOG curriculum.

You need to plan well ahead of time as you are required to fulfil some prerequisites before you can sit for the exam. There is a time limit and frame to take the exam after part 1. (Please visit the RCOG website for updated information)

Assessment of training

From August 2019, the Assessment of Training (AoT) will be a requirement for entry to the Part 3 MRCOG exam.

Candidates will no longer need to complete AoT before taking Part 2 MRCOG exam.

For latest updates, kindly visit the following links:

AoT RCOG 

AoT FAQ

Exam Calendar

MROCG Part 2 is conducted two times per year in the months of January & July at various locations across the globe.

Exam Format 

A computer-based written exam consisting of two papers covering different modules.

Two types of questions

Single Best Answers (SBAs):                  worth 40% of the total marks

Extended Matching Questions (EMQs): worth 60% of the total marks

Paper 1: 50% of marks

Duration 3 hours (180 min)

50 SBAs 50 EMQs

Modules: 5,6,7,13,14,15,16,17,18

Lunch break (approx 60 min)

Paper 2: 50% of marks

Duration 3 hours (180 min) 

50 SBAs 50 EMQs

Modules: 2,3,8,9,10,11,12

Syllabus

This is an important section to go through right in the beginning. 

Updated August 2019

The core curriculum has been updated. You must go through the following link for the latest information.

https://www.rcog.org.uk/en/careers-training/mrcog-exams/part-2-mrcog/syllabus/

Following is the list of modules to be examined in part 2 MRCOG. I have compiled them all for your ease. Please click on Reading Outline to know what to cover in each module.

Module 1: Clinical skills

Module 2: Teaching, Appraisal and Assessment 

Module 3: Information Technology, Clinical Governance and Research 

Module 5: Core Surgical Skills Reading Outline 

Module 6: Postoperative Care Reading Outline

Module 7: Surgical Procedures Reading Outline

Module 8: Antenatal Care Post#1 Post#2 

Module 9: Maternal Medicine Reading Outline

Module 10: Management of Labour Reading Outline

Module 11: Management of Delivery Reading Outline

Module 12: Postpartum Problems (the Puerperium) Reading Outline

Module 13: Gynaecological Problems Reading Outline

Module 14: Subfertility Reading Outline

Module 15: Sexual and Reproductive Health Reading Outline

Module 16: Early Pregnancy Care Reading Outline

Module 17: Gynaecological Oncology Reading Outline

Module 18: Urogynaecology and pelvic floor problems Reading Outline

What are you expected in each module?

Click here for a summary: Modules: Expectations

I am adding a pdf file which contains all modules' curricula in one file. 

Please click here: All Modules

Recommended reading list by RCOG: 

Please click here: recommended list

Resources for exam preparation

In this section, I am going to mention what is the minimum required to be studied. I have provided only the outline and lists of the topics. You can use this list to know at least what all is needed to be covered for MRCOG part 2. This can be used as a compiled checklist to make sure that you are aware of the study resources. Most of the documents are free to download from respective websites. You should download these and organise them according to your suitability.

Green Top Guidelines

These are the MOST IMPORTANT guidelines for the exam. All of these must be understood and studied well. You cannot pass the exam without GTGs, as a fair portion of the exam is based on these. 

They are free to download from: https://www.rcog.org.uk/guidelines

For a compiled list of GTGs please click here: GTG List

NICE Guidelines 

There are some topics which are to be covered by NICE guidelines. You can download the latest editions from NICE Clinical Guidelines

Following is a list of topics with links from NICE:

• Antenatal Care
• Caesarean Section
• Diabetes in pregnancy
• Domestic violence and abuse
• Ectopic pregnancy and miscarriage
• Endometriosis: diagnosis and management
• Fertility
• Heavy Menstrual Bleeding
• Hypertension in Pregnancy
• Induction of labour
• Intrapartum Care
• Intrapartum care for women with existing medical conditions
• Postnatal Care
• Antenatal and postnatal mental health
• Preterm labour and birth
• Long-acting reversible contraception
• Management of twin and triplet pregnancies in the antenatal period
• Pregnancy and complex social factors
• Prevention and treatment of surgical site infection
• Urinary incontinence and POP in women: management
• Menopause: diagnosis and management
• Ovarian cancer

TOG articles

The last 3 years' TOGs plus relevant older topics which are not given in guidelines should be covered. Kindly refer to my other blog post for a complete list of TOG articles for the last few years.  

Please click here: TOG Topics List

Scientific Impact Papers 

You need to go through scientific impact papers as few facts are tested in the exam from these. Some candidates find it difficult to find out which topics are covered in these papers. 

For a compiled list of SIPs in one file please click here: SIP List

To download from the website click here: Scientific Impact Papers

Consent Advice

This a very important section to go through as you should know the percentages at your fingertips before the exam. You need to memorise these numbers which is difficult but not impossible. You can note down numbers on a small notebook or sticky notes which enables you to keep revising it till you remember it by heart.

Following is the list of topics covered in consent advice:

CA 1 Diagnostic Hysteroscopy Under General Anaesthesia

CA 2 Diagnostic Laparoscopy

CA 4 Abdominal Hysterectomy for Benign Conditions

CA 5 Vaginal Surgery for Prolapse

CA 6 Amniocentesis

CA 7 Caesarean Section

CA 8 Laparoscopic Management of Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy

CA 9 Repair of Third- and Fourth- degree Perineal Tears Following Childbirth

CA 10 Surgical Management of Miscarriage

CA 11 Operative Vaginal Delivery

CA 12 Caesarean Section for Placenta Previa

CA 13 Morcellation for myomectomy or hysterectomy

CA 14 Planned Caesarean Birth

To download from the website click here: Consent Advice  Risk Figures Compilation

Clinical Governance Advice

CGA 2 Improving Patient Safety

CGA 5 Understanding Audit

CGA 6 Obtaining Valid Consent

CGA 6a Obtaining Valid Consent to Participate in Perinatal Research

CGA 6b Obtaining Valid Consent for Complex Gynaecological Surgery

CGA 7 Presenting Information on Risk

To download from the website click here: CGA

Good Practise Guidance

GP 3 Minimum Standards in Respect of Elective Work Performed During Consultant’s Absence

GP 4 Registration of Stillbirths and Certification for Pregnancy Loss before 24 weeks of Gestation

GP 6 The Role of Emergency and Elective Interventional Radiology in PPH

GP 7 Maternity Dashboard

GP 8 Responsibility of Consultant On-Call

GP 9 Gynaecology: Emergency Services Standards of Practice and Service Organisation

Gp 10 Labour Ward Solutions

GP 11 Classification of Urgency of Caesarean Section A Continuum of Risk

GP 12 Improving Patient Handover

GP 13 Cardiac Disease & Pregnancy

GP 14 Management of Women with Mental Health Issues during Pregnancy and the Postnatal Period

GP 15 Reconfiguration of Women’s Services in the UK

To download from the website click here: Good Practice

Best Practice Paper

BPP 1 Postpartum Family Planning

BPP 2 Comprehensive Abortion Care

BPP 3 Comprehensive Postabortion Care

To download from the website click here: BPP

FSRH Guidelines

FSRH stands for Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Health. Guidelines related to these modules are available from the website and free to download : https://www.fsrh.org/standards-and-guidance/

• UKMEC is important to know while covering the contraception module.
• There are around 15-20 guidelines which will cover these topics in details.

Other Guidelines

There are some other guidelines also to be covered. I’ll put links to the websites.

MBBRACE-UK: 

Stands for Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK. Now the reports are produced every year. At least the last two years reports are to be studied before the exam. 

https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk

BASHH guidelines:  

It stands for British Association for Sexual Health and HIV. Guidelines can be downloaded from https://www.bashh.org/guidelines

ESHRE guidelines: 

https://www.eshre.eu/Guidelines-and-Legal

Colposcopy Guidelines: 

It is a MUST to cover the guideline for NHS Cervical Screening Program before the exam. It is an extensive document but very frequently assessed in the part 2 exam. 

Please click here for the guideline:  NHSCSP  Cervical Cancer Screening 2020

Watch a Video Summary by RK4: https://youtu.be/fIkNDPqKQSU 

StratOG

It is highly recommended to subscribe to StratOG. It provides a complete resource for the exam with plenty of SBAs and EMQs to practice from. This is the most authentic source.

Books for SBAs & EMQs

There are a lot of books available to practice the exam questions. You can solve as many books as you can. The most important thing is that the books should be authentic, updated with correct references. 

Just to mention a few books which could be helpful:

• SBA questions for Part 2 MRCOG — Amanda Jones (Cambridge)
• Part 2 MRCOG SBAs — Andrew Sizer (Wiley Blackwell)
• SBAs for MRCOG Part 2 — Brian A. Magowan (Elsevier)
• Practice SBAs MRCOG Part II— Neelanjana Mukhopadhaya (Jaypee)
• Mastering SBA questions for Part 2 MRCOG examination — Adel Elkady (Cambridge)
• SBAs and EMQs for MRCOG Part 2 — Shreelatta Datta and Tahir Mahmood (OST Oxford Speciality Training)
• EMQs for the MRCOG Part 2 The Essential Guide — Andrea Pilkington (Cambridge)
• SBAs and EMQs for MRCOG II Addressing the New exam format— Janesh Gupta (Springer)
• Get Through MRCOG Part 2: EMQs Justin C Konje — (Royal Society of Medicine Press)
• EMQs— A Self-assessment Guide  Kalaivani Ramalingam — (Hodder Arnold)

So this is the end of a very long post. I have tried my best to compile essential reading resources in one place. But as the MRCOG syllabus is so vast, still this is not a complete list. I advise you to keep adding to this list whenever you come across relevant material. For further advice about exam preparation, it might be helpful to go through: MRCOG Part Two: 3 Ws & General Advice

Thanks for sparing your valuable time to read this post. 

I wish you all the best.

Dr Rubab Khalid

If you have any queries please leave them in comments or contact me using the contact form on the blog.

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