I first heard about the Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (United Kingdom) [MRCP(UK)] exam in 2015, but I didn’t understand what it is back then. It was in 2017 that I found out that the MRCP is a postgraduate exam for specialty training in Internal Medicine. I had the misconception that having the MRCP would automatically make one an Internal Medicine specialist. As I had no plans for specialisation at that time, I wasn’t interested in the MRCP.
In 2019, I kept hearing my friends talking about their plans to take MRCP after graduating, and my mentor too advised me to sit for the MRCP Part 1 exam as soon as possible. I also noticed many private general practitioners in Malaysia having the MRCP. Among all clinical specialties, I had the greatest interest in Internal Medicine. As a result, I got interested in taking the MRCP for the first time.
However, I soon found out that we must complete at least a year of housemanship training before we are eligible to take MRCP Part 1. At that time, I wasn’t confident that I could even survive a year of housemanship. Consequently, the MRCP became something which I coveted so much yet I thought was out of reach for me.
In May 2021, I made the firm decision to pursue Medical Education. With that, I set my mind on completing housemanship no matter how challenging it is, so that I could get my Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) Full Registration. I also decided to take the MRCP for real. Even though it might not be compulsory, it would certainly help me in pursuing Medical Education.
I didn’t immediately start preparing for MRCP Part 1, as I wanted to fully relax before starting housemanship. In August 2021, I began my housemanship at Kluang hospital. I had a rather difficult time adapting to my new role as a House Officer (HO), which was the case throughout much of my 1st posting in Internal Medicine and the first half of my 2nd posting in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (O&G). Feeling quite stressed and tired after work each day, I didn’t want to spend my free time studying for MRCP.
In May 2022, I could finally start functioning well as a HO in O&G. At that time, I began preparing for MRCP Part 1 for the first time. I subscribed to the MRCP Part 1 practice questions on PassMedicine. As my plan was to take MRCP Part 1 some time in 2023 which was still a long way to go, I only spent a rather short amount of time studying for MRCP each day. That was the case for the rest of my O&G posting, continuing into my Orthopaedics posting.
In November 2022, my PassMedicine subscription expired. At that time, I got extended by a month in the Orthopaedics posting amid some challenging circumstances. To make matters worse, there were a lot of patients and insufficient HOs throughout that month, making my work so busy. As a result, I put my MRCP preparation on hold, and I didn’t renew my PassMedicine subscription.
In December 2022, I started my Surgical posting. Well anticipating that the Surgical posting would be very difficult and challenging, I decided to focus on completing the tagging period. Therefore, I continued putting my MRCP preparation on hold. My plan was to resume studying for MRCP Part 1 in January 2023, once I get familiar with working as a HO in Surgical.
Unfortunately in January 2023, the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) announced that moving forward, only doctors on the National Specialist Register (NSR) would be allowed to practise as Medical Specialists or Medical Lecturers. Someone had told me that back in June 2021, but I never really believed it due to the lack of information on the Internet all this while. Yet, the harsh reality just hit me, crushing my dreams.
Following that, I decided there was no point for me to take the MRCP anymore. Even if I have the full MRCP(UK) qualification, I still won’t be able to get onto the NSR without completing the Parallel Pathway programme which would take years. Consequently, I didn’t resume studying for MRCP Part 1.
In October 2023, I got a pleasant surprise when the MMC announced they had decided to abolish the requirement that only doctors on the NSR can be Medical Lecturers. With that, I regained hopes on achieving my dreams. At that time, I had completed my 5th posting in housemanship and I had applied for my MMC Full Registration.
It had been a year since I last studied for MRCP Part 1 and I had forgotten most of it. I would have to restart my preparations from scratch which I knew would take a long time. Instead of doing that, I made an enquiry on whether I could pursue Medical Education without MRCP, but I didn’t get a clear answer on that. I decided to go ahead with applying for it anyway.
In January 2024, I successfully completed my housemanship training and began working as a Medical Officer (MO) in Internal Medicine. Later that month, I finally got the reply that my application was unsuccessful, as a postgraduate qualification such as MRCP is an essential requirement. Amid the disappointment, I began my preparations for MRCP Part 1. I renewed my PassMedicine subscription after so long.
Due to my very busy work as an MO, with regular 33-hour oncall shifts that are really exhausting, I didn’t have much time to study for MRCP. Despite trying my best to study consistently, I made little progress over the months. Later in May 2024, I got transferred to Klinik Kesihatan Sundar in Lawas, Sarawak.
Working at Klinik Kesihatan Sundar is much more relaxing, and I have a lot of free time to study for MRCP every day. In June 2024, I finally registered for the MRCP Part 1 exam in August 2024. I really put in my efforts to study for MRCP consistently, spending at least 3 hours every day. Apart from doing practice questions on PassMedicine, I also read the relevant textbooks extensively.
The MRCP Part 1 exam is only available online. I didn’t have a stable internet connection in Lawas, and the nearest major city to me is Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. I received confirmation that I am allowed to take the exam in Brunei. I travelled to Bandar Seri Begawan and took the online MRCP Part 1 exam at Times Hotel on 14 August 2024.
I found the MRCP Part 1 exam moderately difficult and I was cautiously optimistic of passing it. On 13 September 2024, the results were released and I successfully passed it with a great score. I am so delighted about this. Finally, I have attained the much-coveted MRCP(UK) Part 1!
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