| Sample Video
MRCS Part A 3-day revision course

| MRCS Part A reviews
MRCS Part A 3-day revision course & Mock MCQ day

| MRCS Part A 3-Day Attendance Revision Courses
Course Details, Itinerary & Location details
Booking Status: OPEN

| Sheffield: Fri 2nd to Sun 4th Dec 22
| Belfast : Fri 9th to Sun 11th Dec 22

Course 1
| Location: Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, S1 1WB, England
| Dates: Fri 2nd to Sun 4th Dec 22

Course 2
| Location: Clayton Hotel, Belfast, BT2 8HS, Northern Ireland
| Dates: Fri 9th to Sun 11th Dec 22

The MRCS Part A 3-day revision course will be held currently, in Sheffield and in Belfast. 

We have restricted the number of attending delegates. This will ensure the quality of the course delivered is maintained and will allow delegates to interact during the Q&A sessions & MCQ quick session.
 
The structured lectures will cover the key areas of the MRCS Part A syllabus - Applied Basic Sciences (Anatomy, Pathology and Physiology) and Principles of Surgery in General (Management of trauma, clinical surgical specialities and perioperative and critical care).

Day 1:  Basic and Applied Anatomy - Mr Sanjeev Pathak

Day 2:  Basic and Applied Pathology and Physiology - Mr Sanjeev Pathak

Day 3:  Principles of Surgery in General  & Interactive MCQ session - Mr Sanjeev Pathak

* Attendance Course - Dependant on COVID restrictions

Refreshment and a light lunch will be provided. 
Please also refer to the recent feedback received from other candidates about the course. 
 

Course 1
| Dates: Fri 2nd to Sun 4th Dec 22
| Location: Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, S1 1WB, England
| Places available: 20
| Price: £375 

> Location: Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, S1 1WB 
> Discounted accommodation is also available: please click here for details
> Discounted parking is also available: The APCOA car park on Eyre Street. You will need to validate your token at the reception desk.

 Course 2
| Dates: Fri 9th to Sun 11th Dec 22
| Location: Clayton Hotel, 22-26 Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, BT2 8HS, Northern Ireland
| Places available: 20
| Price: £375 

> Location: Clayton Hotel, Belfast, BT2 8HS
> Discounted accommodation is also available: The discount code will be emailed with your booking confirmation
> Discounted parking is also available: The NCP car park on Dublin Road. You will need to validate your ticket at the reception desk (£12.50 all day)

| MRCS Part A Interactive Mock MCQ Day 
Course Details, Itinerary & Location details

| Dates: Sat 7th Jan 23
Booking Status: OPEN

| Dates: Saturday 7th Jan 23
| Location: Online Via Zoom 
| Price: £50

Due to the popular demand for this course, the MCQ day has been limited to delegates who have booked the 3 day revision course in Belfast or Sheffield. Payment instructions will be emailed after registering for the 3 day revision course. 

The interactive Mock MCQ day will cover a range of topics from the MRCS syllabus. This day complements the teaching from the revision course as we go through many questions and explain using the mnemonics from the course which will help you to memorise these for the exam.  

Unlike a question bank, you will be able to ask questions if you don't understand the answers.

We will show you how to break down the question to understand what the examiner is looking for and we will highlight the pitfalls of "distractors". 

Previous candidates have found this to be an excellent resource for final preparation and have also used it as a tool to identify any knowledge gaps. 

Please note, unlike the 3 day revision course there is no teaching on this day. If you have not attended the 3 day revision course, we highly recommend study in accordance with the MRCS syllabus prior to attending the Mock MCQ day.

| MRCS Part A strategy

Many candidates fail to understand how to prepare for the MRCS part A examination. We quite often hear from candidates that their strategy has been,  “ I will have a go”. Why would you want to waste money but more importantly, several months of your life “to have a go” at an exam with significant failure rate? 

There is limited guidance on how to pass this exam.  SMASHING Education has devised a successful strategy that will help you pass the exam.  Furthermore, this will provide an excellent foundation for the Part B examination too.  

SMASHING Education | MRCS Part A strategy:

1.    Familiarise yourself with the syllabus - Understand the exam format - which topics are examined and how many questions per topic. This will allow you to allocate the proportionate time for each topic.  

2.    Study - Using the syllabus, read around these topics and study to understand the concepts that are examined. Give yourself enough time to study and do not try and cram it all in just before the exam. 

Many candidates fail to understand the concept and assumptions of MCQ's - MCQs test your knowledge. The assumption is that candidates have studied and have the required knowledge to answer any question on any topic. You must be able to answer any question in the exam from syllabus - without study, this is not possible. 

3.    Revision course - Attend a revision course. SMASHING Education offers an interactive 3-day revision course which is taught by a FRCS MCQ writer so you will be given tips on tackling questions and the rationale of exam questions. The course is high yield and specific to the exam. We focus on the areas which are commonly tested in the exam. Topics are explained in a logical, bitesize chunks with mnemonics to make them easier to remember. (See feedback from previous candidates)

4.    MCQ mock day - Attend a MCQ mock day. SMASHING Education offers an interactive mock day which compliments the 3-day revision course. You will have the opportunity to go through hundreds of MCQ’s but unlike a question bank, you will have someone who will be able to provide explanations of the answers. (See feedback from previous candidates)

5.    Annual leave - We have seen so many candidates fail because they did not take enough time off prior to the exam. Make sure you book a week off before the exam to not only study but to also relax and mentally prepare yourself for the exam.

6.    Relax - It is important you relax, unwind and chill on the night before the exam. You have done all you can and trying to cram the study in the night before will be counterproductive. You should wake up fresh and ready to go.

| MRCS Part A Misconceptions

1. Not studying: Many candidates fail to understand the concept and assumptions of MCQ's - MCQs test your knowledge. The assumption is that candidates have studied and have the required knowledge to answer any question on any topic. You must be able to answer any question in the exam from syllabus - without study, this is not possible. 
This will give you a good foundation for Part B. 

2. Another misconception - completing question banks repeatedly will guarantee a pass. There are many risks with this strategy: 

> You memorise the question and answer but do not fully understand the concepts being examined. 

> You get used a certain format of questions - New questions have been recently added to the exam and candidates found these tough as they were lengthy, descriptive and were not familiar with this new style. 
> Some questions do not go into enough detail and provide generic answers eg. “Flaps” whereas the exam will list different types of flaps.
> You don’t understand why you got the answer wrong – the explanations don’t make sense due to lack of underlying knowledge.

> You don’t cover the whole syllabus and you can’t easily identify your weak topics.

We know candidates who score +90% with the online question banks but only scored average of 60% in the actual exam. The common response when asked why they failed - they didn’t supplement the question banks with other study or resources.