Updating

Dear readers,
I am updating my blog with all that i promised in the beginning. You might find it a bit out of order for a week or 10 days, kindly ignore the hapazard look and keep on visiting the blog as you might find very useful materials :)
Mehdi Hussain

DRTP- Dubai Residency Training Programme

DUBAI RESIDENCY TRAINING PROGRAMME(DRTP)

DRTP is a relatively new residency training programme, started in 2006. It is accertified by Arabian board, North American Board and Royal college(U.K). It accepts 50 intakes once in a year. Intakes are selected on the basis of a pre-evaluation test.

The specialities are:

1)Internal Medicine
2)General Surgery
3) General Pediatrics
4)Family Medicine
5)Obstetrics and Gynecology
6) Community Medicine
7)Emergency Medicine
8)Psychiatry
9)Dermatology

Eligibility:
1) Basic Medical Graduation from a WHO recognized institution
2) 1 year Internship
3) A residency visa of UAE or a resident of GCC countries.
* UAE nationals are given priority.

DURATION:
The residency duration is 4-6 years depending upon the speciality

PAY:
The pay during residency as of 2010 is dhs 7000/month.

The Pre-Evaluation Test:
It is made up of two Parts.
Written Examination
There is 120 question MCQ paper covering the broad topics of
undergraduate medical curriculum and set at a level of difficulty
approximating the MCCE but in the USMLE format.

GET SAMPLE QUESTIONS HERE

Oral Interview
Only candidates who achieve the passing score in the MCQ paper are
invited for the Oral Interview.

The problem is that it is not guaranteed that even if u pass the mcq and interview of the pre-evaluation test you will get the residency , as there are only 50 intakes once in a year, the admission is competetive. In the case that you do not get selected you may re apply for the residency next year carrying your previous mcq marks, but you will have to give the interview again.

The main criteria to get selected for DRTP are:

1. DHA Needs
2. Appraisal of Internship
3. Career Choice
4. Success at Pre entry Evaluation Examination.

GETTING STARTED:

If u have done your graduation, internship, meet all the requirements and made your choice for the programme then visit the following site and fill the online application form.

http://www.dha.gov.ae/

CV- How to write a CV

Writing a C.V, Curriculum Vitae or Resume could sometimes be a very difficult task specially for medical persons as medical CV is quite different from that of other professions. Keeping this in mind I've tried to solve this problem for my readers, i won't go in with tips and tricks and details of writing CV, i have just uploaded a professional CV of a doctor as a format. Just replace the terms (XXXXXX) with your details and you will have your professional CV ready in a minute

Download it here

USMLE-- Licensing Exam for U.S.A

USMLE

Total cost as of 2010-Rs 800,000-10,00000

Study material: Kaplan notes and BRS.

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a multi-part professional exam sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Medical doctors are required to pass this examination before being permitted to practice medicine in the United States of AmericaThe USMLE assesses a physician's ability to apply knowledge, concepts, and principles, and to determine fundamental patient-centered skills that are important in health and disease and that constitute the basis of safe and effective patient care.Examination committees composed of medical educators and clinicians from across the United States and its territories prepare the examination materials each year.Students and graduates of medical schools outside the United States or Canada register for Step 1 and Step 2 with the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)

To find out if your desired center has available seats for the upcoming step 1 please visit www.prometric.com

The EXAM Format: The USMLE first started out as a paper examination, converting in 2004 to a computer based multiple choice examination. The test can be taken at Thomson Prometric test centers worldwide. However, the Step 2 CS and the Step 3 can only be taken in the USA.The Exam consists of three parts or the famous "STEPS" . Step 1, step 2 and step 3.

USMLE Step 1: Assesses whether medical school students or graduates understand and can apply important concepts of the sciences basic to the practice of medicine. As of 2007 it covers the following subjects, in both systemic (general and individual anatomical characteristics) and procedural (functional, therapeutic, environmental, and abnormality) themes:
Anatomy,
Physiology,
Biochemistry,
Pharmacology,
Pathology,
Microbiology,
Behavioral sciences,
Interdisciplinary topics, such as nutrition, genetics, and aging Step 1 is an eight-hour computer-based exam consisting of 336 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) divided into seven blocks each consisting of 48 questions. As of summer 2008, some questions include audio and video. Each block must be finished within an hour. The remaining hour is break time. An optional tutorial about how to use the computer program of the exam is offered at the beginning of the exam and takes 15 minutes. This time is deducted from the hour of allotted break time. A quality assurance survey is presented at the end, provided some of the original eight hours is left over.The scores are reported with a three digit score and a two digit score. As of January 1, 2010, the passing score has been raised to 188 from a previous score of 185.The average score is approximately 221 and the standard deviation is 23. If the student passes the exam, he or she may not repeat the exam to achieve a higher score.The Step 1 score is frequently used in medical residency applications as a measure of a candidate's likelihood to succeed in that particular residency (and on that specialty's board exams). More competitive residency programs such as Radiology, Ophthalmology, Plastic Surgery, and Dermatology usually only accept applicants with high Step 1 scores The USMLE score is just one of many factors considered by residency programs in selecting applicants.Overall pass rates for first time USMLE Step 1 test takers is 73% for international medical graduates.

USMLE Step 2: Is designed to assess whether medical school students or graduates can apply medical knowledge, skills and understanding of clinical science essential for provision of patient care under supervision. Step 2 is further divided into two separate exams.
USMLE Step 2 CK

is designed to assess clinical knowledge through a traditional, multiple-choice examination. It is a 9 hour exam consisting of 8 blocks of 44 questions each. One hour is given for each block of questions. The subjects included in this exam are clinical sciences like
Medicine
Surgery
Pediatrics
Psychiatry
Obstetrics & Gynecology.

USMLE Step 2 CS: is designed to assess clinical skills through simulated patient interactions, in which the examinee interacts with standardized patients portrayed by actors. Each examinee faces 12 Standardized Patients (SPs) and has 15 minutes to complete history taking and clinical examination for each patient, and then 10 more minutes to write a patient note describing the findings, initial differential diagnosis list and a list of initial tests. Administration of the Step 2-CS began in 2004. The cost for this test is approx. $1200, plus added expenses related to travel, lodging, and food to and in the one of only five cities in which the test is offered. The examination is offered in five cities across the country:
Philadelphia
Chicago
Atlanta
Houston
Los Angeles

Before 2004, a similar exam, the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) was used to assess the clinical skills of foreign medical graduates.USMLE Step 3: Is the final exam in the USMLE series designed to assess whether a medical school graduate can apply medical knowledge and understanding of biomedical and clinical science essential for the unsupervised practice of medicine. Foreign medical graduates can take Step 3 before starting residency in about ten U.S. states.Step 3 is 16 hour examination divided over two-days. Each day of testing must be completed within eight hours. The first day of testing includes 336 multiple-choice items divided into 7 blocks, each consisting of 48 items. Examinees must complete each block within sixty minutes.The second day of testing includes 144 multiple-choice items, divided into 4 blocks of 36 items. Examinees are required to complete each block within forty-five minutes. Approximately 3 hours are allowed for these multiple-choice item blocks. Also on the second day are nine Clinical Case Simulations, where the examinees are required to 'manage' patients in real-time case simulations. Examinees enter orders for medications and/or investigations into the simulation software, and the condition of the patient changes accordingly. Each case must be managed in a maximum of 25 minutes of actual time.Approximately forty-five minutes to one hour is available for break time on each of the two days of testing.

For more details and other Post Graduation programmes please visit my Post Graduation page

MRCP- Postgraduation in U.K

• A Brief detail of MRCP:
  
  
  
  The membership exams of the Royal Colleges have multiple parts that are given over a space of a few years. Every Royal College responsible for its specialty publishes a Regulation and Information Manual every year that contains details on the different parts of the Membership exam, their formats, the centers where they can be taken, application forms, fees, rules of exemption from different parts of the exam - and a lot more.
  Currently the first part of the MRCP(UK) exam can only be given when 18 months have elapsed from the date of graduation. This prerequisite may or may not change. As we shall see, the NHS is overseeing extensive reforms in the SHO grade and it is quite possible that the membership exam details may be affected by these reforms. One must use only the most current Exam manual from the relevant Royal College to keep abreast of the changing situation.
  The MRCP(UK) Part 1 exam consists of two papers in an MCQ format containing 100 questions each. The composition of the different subjects tested in this exam is as follows; the number refers to the number of questions in both papers that will come from that subject.

• Cardiology 15
  
• Clinical hematology and oncology 15
  
• Clinical pharmacology, therapeutics and toxicology 20
  
• Clinical Sciences 25
  
• Dermatology 8
  
• Endocrinology 15
  
• Gastroenterology 15
  
• Infectious diseases and tropical medicine and sexually transmitted diseases 15
  
• Nephrology 15
  
• Neurology 15
  
• Ophthalmology 4
  
• Psychiatry 8
  
• Respiratory medicine 15
  
• Rheumatology 15
  

Clinical sciences comprise:

• Cell, molecular and membrane biology 2
  
• Clinical anatomy 3
  
• Clinical biochemistry and metabolism 4
  
• Clinical physiology 4
  
• Genetics 3
  
• Immunology 4
  
• Statistics, epidemiology and evidence-based medicine 5
  

After passing the Part I exam (the result is mailed 4 weeks after the exam). The candidate is eligible to sit for the MRCP(UK) Part 2 exam. The Part 2 exam can be given 6 months after the Part I exam if the candidate feels he is ready.

The MRCP(UK) Part 2 exam also consists of 2 MCQ papers of 100 questions each. The composition of the exam is as follows:

• Cardiology 20
  
• Dermatology 8
  
• Endocrinology and metabolic medicine 20
  
• Gastroenterology 20
  
• Hematology/ Immunology 10
  
• Infectious diseases and GUM 18
  
• Neurology/ Ophthalmology/ Psychiatry 22
  
• Oncology and palliative medicine 10
  
• Renal medicine 20
  
• Respiratory medicine 20
  
• Rheumatology 12
  
• Therapeutics and toxicology 20
  

If the candidate fails the Part 2 exam, he is free to try again. The only restriction to the number of attempts he can make is that he must pass this exam within 7 years of passing the Part I exam.

The pass result of the Part 2 exam is valid for only two and a half years. The candidate must sit for the 3rd and last part of the membership exam before these two and a half years expire. He is eligible to sit for the third part of the exam 6 months after passing his Part 2. Therefore, the window of time available to him to pass the third part of the exam is 2 years. This 2 year period is called the Period of Eligibility and begins 6 months after the part 2 is passed. To illustrate: if a candidate passed his Part 2 in April 2005, then his period of eligibility for the third part will start from October 2005 and last till October 2007. If he has not taken the last part within the Period of Eligibility, he will be compelled to retake the Part 2 exam.

The last part of the membership exam is called PACES, the Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills. To quote from the 2004 Regulations and Information to Candidates Manual:

“The MRCP(UK) Part 2 Clinical Examination (PACES) is composed of five stations (three ‘clinical’ and two ‘talking’), each assessed by two independent examiners. Candidates will start at any one of the five stations and then move round the carousel of stations at 20-minute intervals until the cycle has been completed. The stations are:

Station 1

• Respiratory System Examination (10 minutes)
  
• Abdominal System Examination(10 minutes)
  

Station 2

• History Taking Skills (20 minutes)
  

Station 3

• Cardiovascular System Examination (10 minutes)
  
• Central Nervous System Examination (10 minutes)
  

Station 4

• Communication Skills and Ethics (20 minutes)
  

Station 5

• Skin / Locomotor / Endocrine / Eye Examination (20 minutes)
  

The MRCP(UK) Part 2 Clinical Examination (PACES) lasts a total of 120 minutes (including four 5-minute breaks between stations).”

If the candidate passes, he will be awarded the MRCP(UK) diploma.

It should be mentioned here that the MRC diploma, particularly the MRCP(UK) diploma has become internationalized. Training in the UK is not an essential prerequisite to taking any of the 3 parts of the exam. There are MRC exam centers established in 14 countries around the world (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Singapore, Kuwait, and Sri Lanka, to name a few). Pakistan has no such centers, and if Pakistani doctors are training and studying for the MRCP in Pakistan, they must travel to the UK to give them (they cannot go to a non-UK center – those centers are established only for those doctors training there).

There are thousands of MRCs across the world who only go to the UK to take the exam and after passing, return to work in their home countries or seek jobs elsewhere. Obtaining the MRCP(UK) demonstrates a competitive level of competence and can help to further the careers of overseas doctors in their own home countries as well as creating opportunities for them to find jobs in other countries. Many MRCP(UK) doctors, for example, use this qualification to seek jobs in the Gulf states, where this degree is highly valued.

PLAB- U.K Licensing Exam

PLAB

The Professional Linguistic Assessment Board exam, or PLAB. The plab does not have a linguistic component, for this they use IELTS. IELTS is a pre requisite to plab.

IELTS:

The IELTS is a test of the candidate’s English skills. It stands for International English Language Testing System. People are required to take this exam to prove they have the minimum acceptable level of proficiency in the English language needed to engage in their academic or work pursuits in the UK, so its not just for doctors. This exam can be taken in many countries, including Pakistan. Currently, it costs around 80 Pounds Sterling and is held twice a month every month throughout the year.

The exam has four sections: Speaking, Listening, Writing and Reading. The result of the test is given as a number on a scale (called band) from 1 to 9. Each band, or scale represents a certain level of competency in English. A score of 1 means that the candidate has only a rudimentary grasp of the language. A score of 9 means the candidate is as proficient as a native English speaker.

Each of the four sections are scored separately on the band of 1 to 9. The individual band scores in the different sections are then added up to give an average. For example, if a candidate gets 8 in Speaking, 8 in Listening, 7 in Writing and 7 in Reading it will give him an overall band score of 7.5.

In order to be eligible to take the PLAB exam, the candidate must have an overall score of at least 7. However, an imposition is made on the individual scores as well. The candidate must have at least 7 in the Speaking section and at least 6 in the other sections. So if a candidate gets 6.5 in speaking, he will not be eligible to take the PLAB exam - even if his overall score is 7 or above.

The IELTS can be taken even while the candidate is still a medical student, although it should be keep in mind that the IELTS result is valid for two years. The candidate must go on to take his PLAB exam within this two year validity period.

THE PLAB EXAMINATION:

The Professional Linguistic Assessment Board exam, or PLAB doesn’t actually have a linguistic component, otherwise the IELTS would not be required. Nevertheless, the ‘misnomer’ remains to describe an exam of a difficulty level between that of final year and post-graduate (i.e., MRC) examinations. It has two parts -

PLAB Part 1 & PLAB Part 2.

The PLAB is basically a registration examination that allows you to practice medicine in the UK. In that sense it is similar to the USMLE Steps of the US system. However, there are three important differences between the PLAB and USMLE exams:

• The PLAB exam is considered to be far easier, and less costly than the USMLE exams.
  
  
• There are only 2 parts to the PLAB exam, not 3 like in the USMLE Steps (or 4 if you count USMLE Step 3).
  
  
• The PLAB is a pass/fail exam. It makes absolutely no difference to your credentials if you pass the PLAB by an extremely wide margin or just manage to get through by a single mark. This is in contrast to the USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK exams, in which a candidate’s scores affects the strength of his CV.
  

PLAB Part I
The first part of the PLAB exam, the Part 1 is administered in a number of countries, including Pakistan where it is held three times a year: in March, July, and November. Currently, the exam cost 145 Pounds Sterling.

In order to be eligible to take the exam, the candidate must be a medical graduate (he cannot give it before graduation) from a WHO-recognized medical college and also have the minimum required IELTS score in hand during the time of application.

The exam consists of a 3 hour paper containing 200 questions. The questions are called “Extended Matching Questions” or EMQs - which simply means they are multiple choice questions with a variable number of possible answers to the questions posed of which the best one is selected. The exam concentrates on the clinical subjects, not on basic sciences. There are also a few questions regarding medical ethics, evidence based medicine, epidemiology, and public health.

PLAB Part II

This part can only be taken in the UK. Recently, the capacity of the PLAB 2 center in London has been expanded enormously, and now the exam will be held several times a month every month, throughout the year. Currently, the exam costs 430 Pounds Sterling.

The Part 2 is a examination of clinical skills - not a paper-based EMQ exam. The system devised for testing the candidate’s clinical skills is called the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, or OSCE.

When you start the examination, you will go to your first “station” in which you will be given some instructions. It could be taking history from a patient there, performing an clinical examination, or a number of other things. You will have 5 minutes to accomplish your task and 1 minute of pause to think before each station. There are 14 stations in all, with two “rest” stations – so the exam lasts a total of 96 minutes. The primarily skills tested for are:

• History taking and diagnosis based on history alone.
  
• Proficiency at physical examination.
  
• Communication skills with patients.
• Management of emergency cases.
  
  
  These days it is very difficult for people to get a job in UK. Almost impossible. Therefore PLAB is only used to be eligible to get a job in middle east.
  
  
  Note that this is a licensing type exam NOT a postgraduate degree of UK. Those are FRCS FRCP and diploma's are MRCP etc.

MCPS- Post Graduation in Pakistan

For more details and other Post Graduation programmes please visit my Post Graduation page

MCPS

Its is Member of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. It is basically a two year training programme, it's value is respectable but certainly lower than that of FCPS

The specialization fields of MCPS

	Anaesthesiology		Clinical Pathology
	Community Medicine		Dermatology
	Diagnostic Radiology		Family Dentistry
	Family Medicine		Obstetrics & Gynaecology
	Operative Dentistry		Ophthalmology
	Oral Surgery		Orthodontics
	Otorhinolaryngology(ENT)		Paediatrics
	Periodontology		Prosthodontics
	Psychiatry		Pulmonology (Including

Format of examination

The MCPS examination comprises of

Theory (two essay type papers)
Clinical and viva voce

Only those candidates who qualify in theory will be called for clinical and viva examination. THE COLLEGE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ALTER/AMEND ANY RULES/REGULATIONS. Any decision taken by the College on the interpretation of these regulations will be binding on the applicant.

Examination schedule

The MCPS theory examination is held twice a year in months of MARCH and SEPTEMBER.

For more info contact CPSP

FCPS- Postgraduation in Pakistan

For more details and other Post Graduation programmes please visit my Post Graduation page

FCPS

Fellowship of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (FCPS). College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan is a firm responsible for the registration of Postgraduate Doctors of Pakistan. It makes rules, enrolls doctors and conducts exams for the Post graduation in Pakistan. Currently, CPSP is registering for FCPSI, II and MCPS. CPSP also enrolls foreign qualified doctors. USA medical board, uk medical board, postgraduate medical degree, undergraduate medical degree.

The CPSP currently allows FCPS in the following fields:

	Anatomy		Anesthesiology
	Biochemistry		Cardiac Surgery
	Cardio-thoracic Anesthesiology		Cardiology
	Chemical pathology		Community Medicine
	Critical Care Medicine		Dermatology
	Diagnostic Radiology		Endocrinology
	Family Medicine		Forensic Medicine
	Gastroenterology		General Surgery
	Haematology		Histopathology
	Immunology		Infectious Diseases
	Medical Oncology		Medicine
	Microbiology		Neonatal Paediatrics
	Nephrology		Neurology
	Neurosurgery		Nuclear Medicine
	Obstetrics and Gynaecology		Operative Dentistry
	Ophthalmology		Oral Surgery
	Orthodontics		Orthopedic Surgery
	Otorhinolaryngology (ENT)		Paediatric Cardiology
	Paediatric Surgery		Paediatrics
	Pharmacology		Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
	Physiology		Plastic Surgery
	Prosthodontics		Psychiatry
	Pulmonology		Radiotherapy
	Rheumatology		Thoracic Surgery
	Urology		Virology
	Vitreo Retinal Ophthalmology

Regardless of the specialty, the FCPS exams consist of two parts: the FCPS-I and the FCPS-II.

The FCPS-I exam, in all the specialties tests knowledge in the basic sciences. It consists of 2 papers, each of 3 hrs. duration which take place same day simultaneously. The exam focuses on those sections of basic sciences that are relevant to its specialty. For example the FCPS-I exam for Gynecology and Obstetrics will focus more on the Pelvis and Perineum in its questions of gross anatomy while the FCPS-I exam for ENT will focus on Head and Neck in its anatomy questions. Similarly, the FCPS-I contains questions from the other basic sciences (besides anatomy) that are relevant to its own field besides containing general questions relevant to all specialties.

There is no negative marking in this exam of 100 questions - however the pass rate is low, ranging from 8-30%. This is because the passing margin is set quite high at approximately 80%, which means a candidate cannot afford to get more than 15-20 questions wrong.

The subjects tested in the FCPS-I exam are:

• Anatomy (Gross, Histology, Embryology, Neuro-anatomy).
  
• Physiology.
  
• Pharmacology.
  
• General and Special Pathology (Part of special pathology).
  
• Microbiology.
  
• Community Medicine (not a major subject, unless the specialty itself is Community Medicine).
  

Specialty Related subject: Although clinical sciences are not included in the FCPS-I exam, reading a specialty related book would help integrate the relevant basic sciences information. For example, reading an ENT book for FCPS-I ENT exam would most definitely be of some benefit.

The FCPS-I exam is held 3 times a year. The dates for the exams are not the same every year, but approximately in the time-periods mentioned below.

• February/March.
  
• June/July.
  
• October/November.
  

In order to take the FCPS exam, the application form must reach CPSP two months before the exam date itself. So if a candidate wants to give the exam in February/March, the exam application must be in the CPSP offices in November / December. With the application form candidate must submit his House Job Experience Certificate and PMDC full registration. Those who have not finished theirs house job and do not have elevated their provisional registration to a full registration are not eligible to sit in the examination, so you may lose a chance to avail FCPS Part I attempt, if your house job session is delayed.

This means that the candidate cannot appear in the February/March FCPS-I exam and he has to wait for 5 months till the June/July attempt. CPSP has made another provision that if you have passed your FCPS in later time and you were working in a teaching hospital in a capacity of a PG student, that training will be counted towards your FCPS requirement up to maximum of one year, provided you are working under Registered CPSP Supervisor.

It is suggested that to save time, candidates must plan their FCPS part I according to their house job completion & eligibility to appear in the exam, and they must apply for some PG / MO post under CPSP supervisor, so that the time before the examination is utilized in the best possible way.

After passing: you will apply for a Post Graduate Trainee post in CPSP recognized hospital. It must be mentioned here that not all PGs are awarded the post. Every province in Pakistan has a fixed number of PG posts which it can give and if the number of applicants exceeds the number of PG positions available then some will be left out. Such applicants thereafter can either join the PG training as Honorary (i.e. without pay) or can apply for non-training jobs in private or government hospitals as Medical Officers

Components of FCPS training :

After you have secured an FCPS training post, you will begin your duties. It is generally acknowledged that the workload for PGs is very demanding, more so perhaps than for junior doctors in the US and UK. In many hospitals, PGs are given a lot responsibility for patient care and management – with these responsibilities increasing as the PG moves forward in his training.

During the course of training, the medical PGs must take 3 mandatory workshops while the surgical ones must take 4. These workshops have to be taken within the first 18 months of PG-ship:

• Computer and Internet Skills. Lasts for 5 days and imparts basic knowledge of how to use computers and the internet. For those who feel they already have such skills, there is an equivalence test one can pass to attain a certificate attesting to the fact.
  
  
• Research Methodology, Biostatistics, Dissertation Writing. Lasts for 5 days and gives an intensive course on how to conduct research, how to interpret the data from such research and how to incorporate these skills in a Dissertation (see below).
  
  
• Communication Skills. A 3 day course on effective communication techniques in presentations, workshops and seminars.
  

These three workshops are mandatory for all PGs regardless of their specialty and must be taken within the first 18 months of training.

For the PGs in surgery, an additional 3 day workshop on Basic Surgical Skills is also mandatory – also to be taken within the first 18 months of PG-ship.

These workshops cost Rs. 8,500 each except for the Computer and Internet Skills workshop which costs Rs. 7,500. They are held several times a year.

The Dissertation

To quote the FCPS Dissertation Instruction Manual, issued by the CPSP.

“Submission of Synopsis/Protocol on a chosen topic, its approval from Research and Training Monitoring Cell (RTMC), CPSP, and preparing a dissertation, acceptable to the College, is mandatory for all candidates aspiring to appear in the FCPS II theory, clinical and oral examinations. In doing so, the CPSP aims at:

• Cultivating an inquiring mind in its potential specialists.
  
• Encouraging in-depth studies related to common health problems afflicting our people.
  
• Generating scientific data in various medical and allied fields.”
  

Basically, the dissertation is an original work of research that is carefully preparing over the course of FCPS training and must be submitted at least 9 months before the date the trainee wishes to appear in the FCPS-II exam.

Before writing dissertation, candidate apply to the CPSP for formal approval of topic of his / her dissertation, this application with details that how that dissertation work will be carried out is called as synopsis. So approval of synopsis is first step towards dissertation writing.

The Intermediate Module (IM)

Recently, CPSP has decided that all candidates (fresh and repeaters) must have passed the Intermediate Module examination as one of the mandatory eligibility requirements for appearing in FCPS-II examination in September 2007 and onwards in the subjects listed below

SUBJECT OF FCPS-II	SUBJECT OF INTERMEIATE MODULE EXAMINATION
Anaesthesiology	Anaesthesiology
Diagnostic Radiology	Diagnostic Radiology
Obstetrics & Gynaecology	Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Ophthalmology	Ophthalmology
Paediatrics	Paediatrics
Psychiatry	Psychiatry
Internal Medicine	Medicine
General Surgery	Surgery

The condition of passing the Intermediate Module examination one year before appearing in FCPS-II examination has been withdrawn. Thus, if all other requirements have been completed, candidates can appear in FCPS-II examination any time after passing the Intermediate Module examination.

The Intermediate Module Examinations in Medicine & Surgery are already being held and they will continue. For all other subjects listed above, the first Intermediated Module Examination will be held in March 2006. Those FCPS – II candidates who have passed MCPS examination in the relevant subject earlier, will be exempted from Intermediate Module Examination.

The candidates who pass this examination will be issued a certificate of passing Intermediate Module examination. Such candidates will also be issued MCPS Diploma after they have completed all requirements for appearing in final FCPS-II examination and have appeared in this examination once.

FCPS PART II:

This exam has two components, a paper exam and a clinical/oral exam. The FCPS-II paper exam consists of 100 MCQ questions while the clinical/oral exam is held with the cooperation of real patients. When presented with a patient, the candidate will have to take history, conduct the clinical examination, and propose a management plan. In the oral component of this part of the exam, the candidate will be thoroughly tested for in-depth knowledge of his specialty.

The oral exam is divided into 2 parts, the Long Case and the TOACS (Task Oriented Assessment of Clinical Skills). Candidates must pass TOACS so that they can move to long case portion.

The FCPS-II is not considered to be an easy exam. The pass rate is low and it is not uncommon for doctors to take it more than once before they pass. After passing however, the FCPS period of training is officially over and the doctor is awarded the highly regarded FCPS degree, and qualified as a specialist in that field.

THE COST FOR FCPS

By far, entering the FCPS program is the most cost-effective of all the options mentioned in this manual. The major costs involved are:

FCPS-I Exam Fee	Rs. 9,000
Registration Fee as a FCPS Trainee	Rs. 6,500
Workshops	Rs. 25,000 - 35000
Dissertation	Rs. 1,000 - 1500*
FCPS-II Exam Fee	Rs. 9,000

The dissertation costs range from 1,000 to 15,000 depending mostly on whether or not you employ the services of a computer professional who will type and arrange the format of your document. If you are skilled at using a word processor and can prepare the document yourself, the cost of preparing the dissertation will be correspondingly lower.

Assuming that the exams are passed in the first attempt (which is not the case for the majority of candidates), the costs range from Rs. 49,500 to Rs. 72,000. This is hardly 10% of the costs entailed in the entire USMLE and UK pathways.

For Further details please visit the official CPSP Site www.cpsp.edu.pk.

Post Graduation After Mbbs

I have made a page of POST GRADUATION after mbbs, Contains information about USMLE, FCPS, MCPS, PLAB, MRCP. Details of MOH and M phils will be updated soon. I will also update the article with links to books and study material for different exams. Hope you find the article helpful. Click here to go to Post Graduation Page

Final Year MBBS

Hey all,
This blog is designed to help students get all tools to help them through their Final MBBS exam. It contains pictures of all medical instruments, X-rays, Specimens, important and past viva questions. We will also be uploading links of other software's, e-books and useful links related to all subjects of MBBS.

Also if you have any questions, need any short notes or any help at all, you are more than welcome for it. Please post in comments section or email me at dr.mehdihussain@gmail.com