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The new format examination, now known as PACES23 will be introduced from the 3rd Diet of 2023
What are being removed from the MRCP (UK) PACES carousel?
❌ Station 2
The history-taking station was considered to be artificial with structured history-taking skills being tested in isolation and not representative of modern practice.
❌ Station 4
20 minutes for a single communication and ethics encounter was felt to be rather long and in particular, the five-minute examiner/candidate interaction added little value to the overall assessment.
❌ Station 5
Testing all seven skills in an integrated manner was very like real life but was very pressured in 10 minutes.
What are being introduced?
✅ Communication
Two 10-minute communication encounters. These will no longer include a question-and-answer section with the examiners. Instead, the encounter will be judged on observation alone.
✅ Consultations
Two 20-minute clinical consultations will assess candidates across all seven skills in a realistic and integrated manner:
- 15 minutes: Take a structured history, examine the patient, explain the likely diagnosis and management and address any questions or concerns raised
- 5 minutes: Question-and-answer section with the examiners
✅ Encounter sequencing across the carousel
The new carousel will alter the sequencing of the encounters through the carousel. Some stations will include a physical examination and communication encounters. This will ensure that examiners at each station contribute more judgements in each of the skills for each candidate, improving the reliability of the exam.