All you need to know about FRCEM MRCEM – Top updates 2023

If your looking for information on how to become an FRCEM consultant in UK, here is all you need to know about FRCEM.

Table of Contents

If you want to get certified in FRCEM, here’s all you need to know about FRCEM

Components of FRCEM

FRCEM full form is Fellowship of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine and it has the following components.

The Membership exam: Awards you MRCEM
• MRCEM Primary examination
• MRCEM Intermediate SBA examination
• MRCEM OSCE

The Fellowship exam: Awards you FRCEM
• FRCEM SBA examination
• FRCEM OSCE2021 changes


The FRCEM Critical Appraisal and FRCEM QIP have been withdrawn.

From Aug 2021

Name changes from Aug 2021.

Current nameUpdated name
FRCEM primary SBAMRCEM Primary SBA
FRCEM Intermediate SAQ / MRCEM Part BMRCEM Intermediate SBA
FRCEM Intermediate SJPMRCEM OSCE
FRCEM Final SAQFRCEM SBA
FRCEM OSCEFRCEM OSCE
Name changes in upcoming RCEM 2021 examinations.

Max attempts allowed

The number maximum allowed attempts are going to remain the same as follows, and any attempts take at an exam after Aug 2016 will be counted towards the allowed attempts.

  • MRCEM Primary SBA- 6 attempts
  • MRCEM Intermediate – 6 attempts
  • MRCEM OSCE – 6 attempts
  • FRCEM Final SAQ and OSCE- 4 each

If you take the exam online for the first time, that first 1 attempt will not be counted in the max attempts.
This derogation is applicable to all written examinations, sat online or in a Pearson VUE test centre, the remote FRCEM Final OSCE and hybrid MRCEM OSCE.

Only the first online attempt, till Aug 31st 2021.
All you need to know about FRCEM

How to get MRCEM certification?

You need to clear the following examinations to receive an MRCEM degree

  1. Primary : Must’ve passed one of
    • MRCEM Primary or FRCEM Primary after 1 August 2016
    • MRCEM Part A after 1 August 2012
    • Or, been granted an exemption
  2. Intermediate : Must’ve passed one of
    • MRCEM Intermediate or FRCEM Intermediate SAQ after 1 August 2016
    • MRCEM Part B after 1 August 2012
  3. OSCE : MRCEM OSCE or MRCEM Part C, passed after 1 August 2012

MRCEM Primary

Assesses the RCEM Basic Sciences Curriculum.  The examination will consist of a 3 hour, multiple choice question (MCQ) paper of 180, single best answer questions (SBA). Please check the curriculum from RCEM linked below. (Version 1.4.4, current as of Aug 2020)


MRCEM Intermediate

The exam is mapped to the Specialty Learning Outcomes (SLO) of Year 1-3 of the Emergency Medicine 2021 Curriculum linked below.

Exam consists of a multiple-choice question (MCQ) paper of 180, single best answer questions (SBAQ). The examination is delivered as two, two-hour examination papers each containing 90 questions. The two papers are delivered on the same day with a one-hour break.

Delivered via PearsonVue (We advice you to take the exam from a centre, not from home, to avoid technical delays or cancellation of attempts).


MRCEM OSCE

The MRCEM Objective Structure Clinical Examination (OSCE) is mapped to the Specialty Learning Outcomes (SLO) of the Emergency Medicine 2021Curriculum linked below.

The MRCEM OSCE consists of an Objective Structure Clinical Examination of 18, seven minute stations. An additional one minute of reading time is provided for candidates between each OSCE station.


How to get FRCEM certificate

The FRCEM examinations are mapped to the Emergency Medicine 2021 Curriculum, in its entirety, which is available on the curriculum website linked below

Fellowship examination consists of the following components must be finished to get FRCEM awarded:

  • FRCEM SBA examination
  • FRCEM OSCE

FRCEM SBA Paper comprising of 180 MCQ questions, presented as two 90 question papers with two hours per paper

FRCEM OSCE consisting of 16, 8 minute stations. An additional one minute of reading time is provided for candidates between each OSCE station (1 minute reading time + 8 minutes in each station).



Locations

Where are the offline exams conducted? (As of Feb 2023)

  • UK, India and Malaysia
  • Many locations where PearsonVUe test centres are available

RCEM exam dates and Fees

MRCEM and FRCEM exam dates calendar from RCEM is available on RCEM website.

2023 exam schedule

ExaminationExam DatesCentresDietApplication DatesResults Date
MRCEM Primary17 May 23 Pearson VUEDiet 123 Jan – 06 Feb 2023Jun Last week
MRCEM Primary 22 Nov 23 Pearson VUEDiet 231 Jul – 14 Aug 2023TBC
MRCEM SBA25 Apr 23 Pearson VUEDiet 104 – 16 Jan 2023Jun 2nd week
MRCEM SBA 26 Oct 23Pearson VUEDiet 203 – 17 Jul 2023 TBC
MRCEM OSCE 12-23 Jun 23LondonDiet 220 – 31 Mar 2023TBC
MRCEM OSCE 13-24 Nov 23LondonDiet 307 – 18 Aug 2023TBC
MRCEM OSCE 24-28 Jul 23India – ChennaiDiet 103 – 14 Apr 2023TBC
MRCEM OSCE09-13 Oct 23India – HyderabadDiet 203 – 14 Jul 2023TBC
MRCEM OSCE13-17 Mar 23Malaysia – Kuala LumpurDiet 112 – 22 Dec 2022TBC
FRCEM SBA04 Oct 23Pearson VUEDiet 212 – 26 Jun 2023TBC
FRCEM OSCE15-26 May 23LondonDiet 113 – 24 Feb 23TBC
FRCEM OSCE16-27 Oct 23LondonDiet 217 – 28 Jul 23TBC
Updated 13 April 2023 – Please check official RCEM page for accurate info. If it says Pearson vue, it’ll be conducted in UK and internationally.

Exam fee

As on April 13th, 2023, the RCEM page lists the fee as…

  • MRCEM Primary – £330
  • MRCEM (OSCE) Objective Structured Clinical Examination – £450 / £650 India / £750 (Malaysia)
  • MRCEM SBA – £335
  • FRCEM SBA – £345
  • FRCEM OSCE – £465

Apart from the online fee you pay during your application, if you are attending the exam overseas (Out of UK), you will pay some fee to the local organization that’s conducting the exam. This fee differs between countries, talk to the local body to get an idea (In India, it’s close to 20,000 INR when the entire OSCE was offline/live).


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