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Preparing for the FFAEM Examination
Dr Simon Bell MBBS BSc(hons) MRCP FFAEM
Consultant in Emergency Medicine
Poole Hospital
LAST UPDATED 11.12.04.
PLEASE NOTE THAT AS I NOW REGULARY EXAMINE AT MFAEM LEVEL AND SIT ON THE EXAM COMMITTEE I WILL NO LONGER BE UPDATING THIS SITE.
THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE THAT HAVE GIVEN POSITIVE FEEDBACK AND HELPED THIS SITE PROGRESS.
HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WILL TAKE OVER ????
I took this exam on the 18th April 2002 in Glasgow and I can honestly say it was the most stressful exam I have ever taken. I had done a fair bit of work but not as much as I thought I should have done (a common pre-exam feeling). On the day I felt sick, and a colleague of mine said she had already thrown-up several times (and she wasn't pregnant!). The following points might be of use:
It is a stressful day BUT
I thought it was a fair exam I felt over prepared The examiners were extremely friendly
I (and most of my colleagues) felt that most of the stress was because we didn't know what to expect. Not many people had done the exam but now the FFAEM is becoming more established. I have put together this website to try and help future candidates prepare successfully for the exam. Below are some links that I hope will be helpful for each part of the exam.
Guidelines for the exam can be found HERE (NOT yet updated!) Other FFAEM exam sites can be found HERE
It will be difficult working and studying at the same time, so try to take some annual leave (or study leave) before your exam. Many people have asked me about courses. I only did one course and that was the FFAEM exam course at the Chelsea & Westminster Hospital. A SUPERB 2-Day COURSE!!! (well worth the money). It used to be run by Julia Harris (A&E Consultant) but as Julia has now moved to Southampton, the course has moved to the West-Middlesex Hospital. It really is an excellent and essential course. I regularly teach on this course but obviously I am in no-way bias ! To get a place on this course, book early. Contact Denise Phillips on Denise@wmuhpgmc.demon.co.uk. Other courses that I know about include the Durham Critical Appraisal Workshop. This course runs twice a year but only has 8 places. Contact Richard Hardern on Richard.Hardern@cddah.nhs.uk. You may want to do a management course (the BARTS course is a good one I hear (contact Kate Graham on kate.graham@homerton.nhs.uk) and there are also management courses run at King's College Hospital). You should try to practise the different parts of the exam as often as possible. Try to get them incorporate into your regional training days.
On the day, you will be given your schedule for the day, detailing which examiners are taking you for each part of the exam. You will not get an examiner from your region. Just before each session you will be asked to be seated outside the hall in order and then you enter the room towards your examiners table when the bell goes. There are always 2 examiners. Always be polite, introduce yourself and shake their hand. You may have extra people at the desk.... these are usually trainee examiners.
Finally, make sure you look the part. Dress smart! Suit, smart shoes, Shirt and ties guys, its always easier for the girls! GOOD LUCK
The feedback I have had from the NOV 2003 exam in Birmingham was that the data interpretation section of the exam was very difficult!!! It appears a lot of tears were shed at the half-way mark. However the pass rate appears to have remained the same. Remember that if you find it hard, then so does everybody else. Feedback from the April 04 exam suggests not only is the exam harder with a higher medical content..... it seems the failure rate is increasing !!!
This is the way the FFAEM exam seems to be going. It is getting more clinical (like it or not), probably for a number of reasons. It really should be a clinical exam similar to A&E exams in Australasia and the States. This will make it slightly easier for those candidates with MRCP, but I would suggest all candidates from now on will have to really brush-up on the medical knowledge. I have suggested some good books in the "BOOKS" section
The interactive OSCE's should be relatively easy to predict...... think of what lends itself nicely to role-play: A/BLS (with manikin), appraisals, news-breaking, domestic-violence, psychiatry, interacting with colleagues (difficult ones and others), orthopaedic examinations, etc....
Good luck to all future candidates.........
Click on the links below to take you to the different pages of this site. You can return to this home page by either pressing the "back" button of your browser or by clicking on the "HOME" link at the bottom of each page.
WEBSITES BOOKS Documents Critical Appraisal VIVA
O.S.C.E. CTR VIVA Management VIVA
I really hope you find this website useful. I know it is what I would have liked. If you have any constructive comments or suggestions, please let me know by emailing me on xraybell@yahoo.com
Thanks