The clinical stage: structured stations at intern level, assessed on whether you are safe to start work in an Irish hospital.
IrelandMedical Council of Ireland clinical / OSCE
| Questions or stations | 12 verified 2026-08-10 Source says: “This consists of 12 'active' stations, rest stations and preparatory stations” check it yourself |
|---|---|
| Time | 7 minutes verified 2026-08-10 Source says: “Each station is seven minutes in duration” check it yourself |
| Format | OSCE of 12 active stations (7 minutes each) plus a one-hour data-interpretation exam |
| Adaptive delivery | No |
| Pass mark | A minimum standard is required in each of the three skill domains and overall; marks are published per station. verified 2026-08-10 check it yourself |
| Blueprint | Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES) handbook and information, Medical Council of Ireland |
Communication and practical skills are an OSCE of 12 active stations at 7 minutes each (with rest and preparatory stations), about 2h40m; a separate one-hour data-interpretation exam adds 6 questions marked out of 20. Total around 3h40m (PRES handbook, May 2023).
Every question in this bank is tagged to one of the sections below, and the tag traces to Pre-Registration Examination System (PRES) handbook and information. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| History taking | 25% | none yet |
| Clinical examination | 25% | 1 |
| Communication and breaking bad news | 25% | 1 |
| Practical procedures and prescribing | 15% | 1 |
| Professionalism and Irish practice context | 10% | none yet |
Coverage today: 3 of 5 sections. We publish the gap rather than hiding it.
PRES Level 3 is a clinical examination, so the material is structured as stations rather than multiple choice: a candidate brief, a simulated patient brief, and the mark scheme as separate scorable criteria you can tick against your own performance.
Ireland registration (PRES) runs PRES Level 2 → PRES Level 3. One DocPasser account covers all of them, so moving to the next stage does not mean a new subscription and a progress history you can no longer see.
Station by station against structured criteria, at the standard of a doctor ready to begin internship. Each station in this bank carries its criteria as separate scorable items rather than a paragraph of advice.
PRES Level 3 is a flat £20 for 12 months of access — one price, one purchase, no tiers. The first 1 station is free, with the full explanation for every option, so you can judge the quality of the explanations before paying for anything.