+ MRCEM Exam Regulations
The Membership exams (MRCEM) comprise of three components.
Please see the MRCEM Exam Regulations for full details.
Delivered as a three-hour, multiple-choice question paper of 180, single best answer questions.
The MRCEM Primary is mapped to the RCEM Basic Sciences Curriculum and RCEM Curriculum.
180 single best answer questions delivered as two, two-hour papers with 90 single best answer questions per paper. There is a one-hour break between papers.
The MRCEM SBA is mapped to the RCEM Curriculum.
An Objective Structured Clinical Exam involving 16, eight-minute stations. An additional one minute of reading time is provided between each station so that candidates can read the information about the respective station’s scenario. In addition to the 16 eight-minute exam stations, there are two, eight-minute rest stations.
The MRCEM OSCE is mapped to the RCEM Curriculum.
Membership by Examination (MRCEM) will be awarded to candidates who pass all three exam components.
The Fellowship exams (FRCEM) comprise of two components.
Please see the FRCEM Exam Regulations for full details.
180 single best answer questions delivered as two, two-hour papers with 90 single best answer questions per paper. There is a one-hour break between papers.
The FRCEM SBA is mapped to the RCEM Curriculum.
An Objective Structured Clinical Exam involving 16, eight-minute stations. An additional one minute of reading time is provided between each station so that candidates can read the information about the respective station’s scenario. In addition to the 16 eight-minute exam stations, there are two, eight-minute rest stations.
The FRCEM OSCE is mapped to the RCEM Curriculum.
Fellowship by Examination (FRCEM) will be awarded to candidates who pass both exam components.
+ Cancellation Policy
No refunds will be issued for any of the above Theory exams after an application has been submitted. Under certain exceptional circumstances, supported by appropriate supporting evidence*, applications may be transferred to the next available exam at no extra cost.
Exceptional circumstances may include, but are not limited to; illness, bereavement, military deployment, unplanned surgery, or other reasons deemed exceptional by the Head of Exams. Any such requests for transfers to the next available exam will be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be made in writing by emailing exams@rcem.ac.uk at least five working days before an exam. Exceptional circumstances for which supporting evidence is not available, such as geopolitical events, will also be considered on a case-by-case basis. Transfers can only be made to the next available exam.
Once an application has been reviewed and approved, candidates will receive details of how to book a space at a Pearson VUE test centre, along with the respective deadline for test centre bookings. Any candidates facing difficulties finding a test centre should email exams@rcem.ac.uk before the respective booking deadline for support and guidance. Candidates must book a test centre space before this deadline, any candidates who do not book a test centre space may have their application transferred to the next available diet at the discretion of the College, depending on the reason for their not booking. Candidates who do not book a test centre and do not contact the College for support as outlined above will not be transferred but will instead have their application rejected. It is expected that candidates will engage fully with the test centre booking process, which includes seeking assistance from the College if local spaces cannot be booked by the candidate themself. Transfers will only be made once per application and exam fee.
Candidates who do not attend an exam or withdraw within five working days of their exam will forfeit their exam fee and will not be transferred to the next available exam, but this will not count towards the maximum number of attempts permitted for that exam.
In certain extraordinary circumstances, the Head of Exams will consider requests for transfers immediately before, on, or after an exam day subject to receipt of suitable written evidence (e.g. a detailed hospital admission report covering the exam date) up to two working days after the exam day.
Lack of preparation, change of mind, social plans (including birthday parties, weddings, holidays), clashes with other exams or courses, or other circumstances known about at the point of application will not be considered as acceptable grounds for a transfer.
There are a limited number of spaces available for each OSCE exam, so candidates will only be asked to pay for an OSCE exam if they have been allocated a space. As there are sometimes more applications than the number of spaces available, candidates will be allocated using our agreed Oversubscription Criteria. Allocated candidates will receive a confirmation email with details of how to make their payment to complete their booking, along with a payment deadline, and will then receive confirmation of their allocation once payment has been received. Applications are considered complete and final once payment has been received.
Any requests to withdraw from an OSCE exam within five working days of paying the exam fee to complete an application will be subject to an administrative fee (30% for UK OSCEs, 50% for International OSCEs) to help cover the costs associated with processing withdrawals and refunds. No supporting evidence will be required for withdrawals at this stage and the administrative fee will apply in all cases. Any spaces made available due to withdrawals at this stage will be offered to those on our waiting list.
Candidates requesting to withdraw from an OSCE exam more than five working days after paying the exam fee to complete an application will forfeit the exam fee. Requests for refunds at this stage will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and must be supported by appropriate supporting evidence*. Due to the difficulty of filling OSCE spaces at short notice, any requests to withdraw owing to exceptional circumstances at this point will incur a 50% administrative fee. Candidates who do not attend an OSCE exam for any reason will forfeit their exam fee.
The exam fee, less any respective administrative fee, will be refunded to the original payment method. Refunds will only be made to the original payment method, unless the payment card has expired, or the bank account has been closed. In such cases, refunds can only be made to accounts under the name of the candidate.
*Supporting evidence must be on official letterhead, signed or stamped, dated, clearly display your name and be submitted in English. Acceptable forms of supporting evidence include, but are not limited to; a doctor’s letter or a fitness to work assessment indicating that you are unable to attend the exam due to health reasons, proof of military service conflicting with the exam day, death certificates, court summons etc.
By virtue of entering an examination candidates are deemed to have understood and agreed to abide by all examination regulations and policies, including the code of conduct for candidates and applicants (applicable from 1 January 2020)
Any allegations of misconduct raised by an invigilator, examiner or fellow candidate will be investigated and acted upon in accordance with the Misconduct Policy for MRCEM and FRCEM Examinations (Updated November 2024).
Candidates who are dissatisfied with any aspects of the service we deliver have the right to complain in line with our Complaints Policy. All complaints will be investigated thoroughly, fairly and objectively in line with this policy. Candidates can submit written complaints by emailing Exams@rcem.ac.uk.
Places in OSCE examinations are limited and, as the number of applications sometimes exceeds the number of spaces available, we allocate candidates using Oversubscription Criteria. These oversubscription criteria have been reviewed and agreed by the Exams Committee, and will be in place for all OSCE exams with application windows from 15th August 2024 onward.
Candidates are allocated to spaces in the MRCEM OSCE examination in order of the following criteria:
When delivering MRCEM OSCEs internationally, we work closely with local hospital groups as our host partners. For MRCEM OSCE exams taking place in India and Malaysia in 2025, we will be offering a level of priority for trainees in our local hospital groups, in addition to these Oversubscription Criteria.
Candidates are allocated to spaces in the FRCEM OSCE examination in order of the following criteria:
A full list of exam and application dates
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Submitting an appeal against an exam experience or result
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Eligibility and reasonable adjustment criteria for all RCEM Exams
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