Royal Colleges of Physicians organises 4th MRCP Paces Course
Rawalpindi:February 9: A five-day Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP UK) Paces Course was organised by Rawalpindi Medical University here at New Teaching Block in Holy Family Hospital.
Rawalpindi Medical University organised the course, 4th of a series under the leadership of Vice Chancellor RMU and Chief Executive Allied Hospitals Professor Muhammad Umar. PACES (Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills) is designed to test the clinical knowledge and skills of trainee doctors who hope to enter higher specialist training in UK.
The RMU arranged the 4th MRCP (UK) Paces Crash Course in Pakistan from February 4 to 8 with the help of UK tutors trained by the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom. Previously the MRCP UK Paces courses were done in March 2016, September 2016 and April 2017. In the first MRCP UK Paces Crash Course arranged in March 2016, there were ten participants while in the second course, 26 participants took part and this time, a total of 20 participants from different parts of the country took part in the 4th course, which, according to organizers is a major achievement.
Like the past, the aim of organizing the course at RMU is to bring the MRCP UK examination centre in Pakistan at Rawalpindi Medical University. This will bring Pakistan at par with India and UAE which have examination centres for many years. This course has never been conducted in any other centre of Pakistan and students have to travel to UK or UAE to prepare for this Paces Course.
The course was conducted by UK tutors including Dr. Isma Kazmi, Dr. Ahmad Waleed, Dr. Mushtaq Afridi and Dr. Tamar Saeed. These consultants who work in UK hospitals as consultants and are tutors of Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom are involved in conducting the exam of MRCP in UK.
The course arranged at the HFH comprised of introduction about the exam format, detailed preparation for all the five stations of Paces Exam followed by MOCK examination with feedback to every candidate.
The UK tutors provided the participants insight into the real UK PACES Exam, PACES format, marking scheme, patient calibration, A to E clinical skills, PACES Carousel etc during the course. The participants were trained on how to approach a patient in clinical stations including Respiratory/Abdominal Station, Cardiology/Neurology Station and on history taking, clinical communications and ethical issues with practice sessions.
After the course, the tutors also gave personal feedback to all candidates and after a full mock examination, an extra session on job application and interview in UK was organized. The participants of the course were also educated on how to get clinical attachment in UK.
Professor Umar, while talking to the participants of the course appreciated the efforts of the team that organized the MRCP UK Paces Course at RMU saying that the RMU is committed to impart high quality education having international standards.
Talking to ‘The News’, Senior Registrar at HFH Dr. Zahid Mehmood Minhas who was a member of the organizing committee said the participants of the course who came from different parts of country have passed their MRCP Part – 1 & 2 examination and are intended to appear in MRCP Paces Exam in UK in coming months. He added that Dr. Saima Usman, Dr. Tayyab Saeed Akhter, Dr. Muhammad Faheem, Dr. Shahar Yar and Dr. Irum worked hard to conduct this course successfully.The news.
