Preparing for the FFAEM examination

While the pass rate for this examination is relatively high compared to previous postgraduate examinations such as membership or fellowship (of whichever college) it should still not be underestimated. It is true that those who have been through a recognised training scheme should pass and failure reflects upon the scheme as well as the candidate, but the consequences of failure are high and fall directly only upon the candidate. Thorough preparation will immensely improve the chances of passing first time and finishing the critical topic reviews well in advance is thoroughly recommended (it would be ideal to do one each year during the first four years of training and then choose the best two for the examination). This will leave time to go through the management books and as many short clinical questions books as possible, those designed for MRCP are especially helpful. While the amount of reading for the critical appraisal section is relatively short it is essential to practice appraising papers and those previously used are most appropriate for this. Since the examination is new advice can be difficult to obtain. An FFAEM course is immensely helpful as it allows the opportunity to ask questions of those who have recently passed the examination.