The knowledge gate into UK physicianly training. Heavy on clinical sciences, pharmacology and statistics — the parts most candidates try to skip and then resit.
United KingdomMRCP(UK) Federation written
| Questions or stations | 200 verified 2026-08-10 Source says: “a two-paper format... each paper... containing 100 multiple choice questions in 'best of five' format” check it yourself |
|---|---|
| Time | 180 minutes verified 2026-08-10 Source says: “each paper being three hours in duration” check it yourself |
| Format | Best of five, two papers |
| Adaptive delivery | No |
| Pass mark | A criterion-referenced standard rather than a fixed pass percentage; the pass mark is published with each diet's results. verified 2026-08-10 check it yourself |
| Blueprint | MRCP(UK) examination blueprints and regulations, MRCP(UK) Federation |
Timing above is per paper; two papers are sat on the same day, giving 200 questions in total.
Every question in this bank is tagged to one of the sections below, and the tag traces to MRCP(UK) examination blueprints and regulations. That is what makes a coverage claim checkable instead of a marketing line. The table shows exactly how many items exist in each section today, including the sections where the answer is none.
| Curriculum section | Share of the blueprint | Items in this bank |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical sciences | 12.5% | 555 |
| Clinical pharmacology and therapeutics | 7.5% | 337 |
| Cardiology | 7% | 311 |
| Respiratory medicine | 7% | 311 |
| Gastroenterology and hepatology | 7% | 312 |
| Neurology | 7% | 319 |
| Endocrinology, diabetes and metabolic medicine | 7% | 311 |
| Renal medicine | 7% | 312 |
| Infectious diseases | 7% | 313 |
| Rheumatology | 7% | 312 |
| Haematology | 5% | 254 |
| Psychiatry | 4.5% | 203 |
| Dermatology | 4% | 179 |
| Geriatric medicine | 4% | 179 |
| Oncology | 2.5% | 114 |
| Medical ophthalmology | 2% | 89 |
| Palliative medicine and end of life care | 2% | 89 |
Coverage today: 17 of 17 sections. We publish the gap rather than hiding it.
Full explanations for every option, including the ones you didn't pick. The option you nearly chose is usually the one you needed explained. Read these before paying for anything.
A 68-year-old man has 3 months of worsening exertional breathlessness, orthopnoea and ankle swelling. His jugular venous pressure is raised, he has bibasal crackles and pitting oedema, and echocardiography shows a dilated left ventricle with an ejection fraction of 30%. His NT-proBNP is markedly raised. What is the most likely diagnosis?
The point: Heart failure is a syndrome of breathlessness, tiredness and fluid build-up caused by a structural or functional problem with the heart. Doctors split it by the left ventricular ejection fraction (the percentage of blood the left ventricle pumps out each beat) into reduced (40% or less), mildly reduced and preserved categories. This split matters because only the reduced-fraction group has drugs proven to change the course of the disease. A raised natriuretic peptide (BNP or NT-proBNP) supports the diagnosis, and echocardiography confirms it: this heart ultrasound measures the ejection fraction and looks for a valve, ischaemic or infiltrative cause. In heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction, four types of drug each lower the risk of death on their own: an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor (or an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor), a beta blocker, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist and a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. These are the four pillars of therapy. Loop diuretics ease congestion and symptoms but do not change how long the patient lives. Device therapy, such as cardiac resynchronisation or an implantable defibrillator, is used in some patients with a low ejection fraction and a broad QRS or a high risk of dangerous heart rhythms. Acute pulmonary oedema (fluid suddenly flooding the lungs) is treated by sitting the patient up, giving high-flow oxygen, an intravenous loop diuretic and nitrates, with non-invasive ventilation if the patient is not improving.
Source: ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure European Society of Cardiology · tier 2, specialty society or college
A 68-year-old man has 3 months of worsening exertional breathlessness, orthopnoea and ankle swelling. His jugular venous pressure is raised, he has bibasal crackles and pitting oedema, and echocardiography shows a dilated left ventricle with an ejection fraction of 30%. His NT-proBNP is markedly raised. What is the most appropriate management?
The point: Heart failure is a syndrome of breathlessness, tiredness and fluid build-up caused by a structural or functional problem with the heart. Doctors split it by the left ventricular ejection fraction (the percentage of blood the left ventricle pumps out each beat) into reduced (40% or less), mildly reduced and preserved categories. This split matters because only the reduced-fraction group has drugs proven to change the course of the disease. A raised natriuretic peptide (BNP or NT-proBNP) supports the diagnosis, and echocardiography confirms it: this heart ultrasound measures the ejection fraction and looks for a valve, ischaemic or infiltrative cause. In heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction, four types of drug each lower the risk of death on their own: an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor (or an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor), a beta blocker, a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist and a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor. These are the four pillars of therapy. Loop diuretics ease congestion and symptoms but do not change how long the patient lives. Device therapy, such as cardiac resynchronisation or an implantable defibrillator, is used in some patients with a low ejection fraction and a broad QRS or a high risk of dangerous heart rhythms. Acute pulmonary oedema (fluid suddenly flooding the lungs) is treated by sitting the patient up, giving high-flow oxygen, an intravenous loop diuretic and nitrates, with non-invasive ventilation if the patient is not improving.
Source: ESC guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure European Society of Cardiology · tier 2, specialty society or college
UK physician training (MRCP) runs MRCP Part 1 → MRCP Part 2 → MRCP PACES. One DocPasser account covers all of them, so moving to the next stage does not mean a new account and a progress history you can no longer see.
Statistics and clinical pharmacology, reliably. They carry real weight in the blueprint and are the two areas candidates most often leave until the last fortnight.
Attempts are capped by the Federation's regulations, with the cap counted across the whole diploma. Check the current regulations before you book a resit.
MRCP Part 1 is a flat £20 for 12 months of access — one price, one purchase, no tiers. The first 10 questions are free, with the full explanation for every option, so you can judge the quality of the explanations before paying for anything.