Alhamdulillah.. I have done with my MRCP
(UK)
This note is for you if you are going to prepare
yourself for PACES
First thing what you need is a strong motivation
towards PACES.You have to believe youself that
yes I WILL PASS. You need to believe yourself
that if only one will pass in the exam that will be me.
Next, find out a serious PACES partner with
equal preparation of yourself. If you are trying
to study and practice yourself alone then you
may need multiple attempt to pass the exam.
You may take upto 2/3 partners but not more
than that.
Practice with your partner/s regularly. Try to
visit neurology, cardiology, respiratory, gastro
ward every week.
Keep a fixed day for Station 2 and station 4 in a
week.
Station 5 bears the highest mark in Paces exam.
It has 56 mark out of total 172 marks. Its not
hard to acquire 56/56. Remember that if you
have 56/56 in the St 5 you are likely to pass the
Paces exam.
It is recommended to find out an experienced
guide who will make your Paces journey
smooth. He knows better tips and tricks to pass
the exam easily.
Paces has 7 skills. 130 is passing mark out of 172
But you have to pass every 7 skill individually.
Its not an easy task. I know many candidate who
got more than 150 but failed in exam due to 1 or
2 mark less in one skill. So you have to to pass
every 7 skills gain at least 130 marks.
Now come to the required resources.
You don’t need large books to pass the Paces
Remember that PACES exam is to show your
skill not your knowledge. You already proved
your knowledge by Passing MRCP Part 1 and 2
written. Its time to show your clinical skills.
Resources:
– Cases for Paces book for all station.
-OST vol 1, 2 by Gautam Mehta for st 1,3,5
-Ryder Vol 2 for 2,4
– Pace maker of Paces by Dr.Sadek Al Rokh for
2,4,5
– Dr. Ayesha Raees Audio for st 4
– Dr. Sonam Tshering High yield notes for st 2,5
– Scar and devices PDF file for st 1,3,5
– Differential Diagnosis Pdf file for 2,5
– Oxford handbook of clinical medicine
– Great Golden Guide pdf for previous diet
experience
– www.patient.co.uk for st 2,4
– DVLA guideline for 2,4,5
You will find all the PDF to the Paces Network
facebook group. My sincere gratitude to the
whole Paces Network team who work hard to
make these pdf files and audios
For station 1,3 learn how to present a case, D/D
what are the causes, how to investigate and how to manage. If you can answer these questions smoothly surely you are going to have 20/20. Examiner may ask some other questions after that. If you can answer them all this will impress the examiner.
Try to see the all cases in the ward which are in
Cases for Paces book.
For station 2,4,5 you may start with Pacemaker
of Paces book.
You will find how to talk, what to talk and examine in these stations. This is a very good book for new doctors of PACES.
Dr.Ayesha Raees Audio files for station 4 is very
much helpful to improve your communication
skill. She speaks in a very simple way that you
can catch her every words. Whenever I travelled by bus before my PACES exam i put headphone to my ears to hear ber lectures. Her other station lectures are also very good.
Now come to the biggest station, that is st 5.
You can read this from OST, Ryder, Cases for
Paces, Paces maker of paces. But you know what 1 pdf file is enough for the station 5.That is Dr. Sonam Tshering High yield notes for Paces
station 2,5 pdf file. This file is for your revision
before the exam. Read all the cases from there.
For station 1,3 Practise as much as you can
Whenever you examine a patient examine fully
within time frame and present the case to your
partner. Do it to every case. This will help you to
get 20 out of 20 in the exam. Don’t just
auscultate the heart, lung during examination.Do every steps. Otherwise you will
suffer in the real exam.You can miss important
1,2 steps of examination
So Practise Practise and Practise.
This is the only secret to pass the exam.
PACES is a hard exam. But it is a passable exam.
Hundred of doctors are passing this exam
throughout the world every year.
No matter what happens in the past, it is a new
start from today. No matter how many times you have failed MRCP PACES before, today is a new beginning, you will not make the same mistakes again!
If you have any query regarding any topic of
PACES don’t hesitate to knock me. I am not so
expert but will try my level best to help you
Best wishes to all of you.
Dr Ashiqur Rahman
MBBS, MRCP (UK)
