Stage 2 or Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment is the second of three steps for entering GP training. This article contains my experience of Stage 2. You can read more about the overview of the application process here.
Success After Multiple Failures
I passed this exam in April 2019 after having failed it three times before. I failed three times because I did not take the exam seriously. The first time that I took it seriously, I passed it easily.
First Attempt: August 2017 - Failed ❌ I took the exam after going through 300 clinical questions and 50 SJTs from Pass Medicine. I took the exam without preparing much as this was my first month in the NHS. Second Attempt: January 2018 - Failed ❌ I took the exam after going through roughly the same questions from Pass Medicine. I again did not study much. Third Attempt: January 2019 - Failed ❌ I took the exam after going through 2,252 clinical questions and 200+ SJTs from Pass Medicine and 400 clinical questions from Emedica. I studied mostly two months before the exam. I was unable to study much for two months before the exam. I also found it difficult to manage time during the clinical questions as I had not practiced any timed-mocks at home. Fourth Attempt: April 2019 - Passed ✅ I took the exam after going through all of MCQ bank questions thrice and 70% of Emedica questions once. I studied seriously for the first time. I revised properly. Attempts Hours Sources Results 10 Pass Med (15%) 10 Pass Med (15%) Third 50 Pass Med (100%) + Emedica (25%) Fourth 100 MCQ Bank (100% x3) + Emedica (70%) I had been studying on an off in October 2018. But I stopped studying after that and restarted preparation for the exam in February 2019. I found these questions easy as I felt their answers were based on doing the ethically right thing at work. I passed this part of the exam in all four attempts without studying much. In my fourth attempt, I finished MCQ Bank questions three times, followed by Emedica once. I was only able to complete 70% of Emedica questions. You can check my review of all three question banks here. I practiced all the mocks provided by Emedica. This helped my preparation the most. My score in the exam was the same as my scores in the mocks. I did not take any courses for the exam. I did not have time to take a course; I felt they were very expensive; and I felt they were not needed. I only used the online question banks. I was not sure at all if I would pass or not. But I did pass with the following scores: Clinical Problem Solving (CPS) CPS Band Professional Dilemma (PD) PD Band MSRA Total
Result: Passed SJTs ✅; Failed clinical questions ❌.
Result: Passed SJTs ✅; Failed clinical questions ❌.
Result: Passed SJTs; Failed clinical questions ❌.
Result: Passed SJTs ✅; Passed clinical questions ✅..
Summary of Four Attempts
First
SJT✅. Clinical❌
Second
SJT✅. Clinical❌
SJT✅. Clinical❌
SJT✅. Clinical✅
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Starting Preparation
Professional Dilemma Questions
Clinical Questions
Mocks
Courses
Results
203
2
241
3
444
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Top Tips
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Useful Links
