All you need to know about FRCEM MRCEM – Top updates 2024

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The FRCEM Critical Appraisal and FRCEM QIP have been withdrawn.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

2024 MRCEM Primary exam schedule

ExaminationExam DatesCentresApplication DatesResults Date
MRCEM Primary21 May 2024Pearson VUE21 Feb – 28 Feb 202403 Jul 2024
MRCEM Primary29 Oct 2024Pearson VUE24 Jul – 31 Jul 2023 TBC
Updated 21 May 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 21 May 2023, the RCEM page lists the MRCEM Primary fee as – £369

2024 MRCEM Intermediate exam schedule

ExaminationExam DatesCentresApplication DatesResults Date
MRCEM SBA12 Sep 2024Pearson VUE12 – 19 Jun 202423 Mar 2024
Updated 21 May 2024 – 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 21 May 2024, the RCEM page lists the MRCEM Intermediate SBA fee as – £369

2024 MRCEM OSCE exam schedule

ExaminationExam DatesCentresApplication DatesResults Date
MRCEM OSCE03 – 14 Jun 2024London18 – 25 Mar 202424 Jul 2024
MRCEM OSCE8-12 Jul 2024Hyderabad15-19 Apr 202421 Aug 2024
MRCEM OSCE9-13 Sep 2024Malaysia28 May – 4 Jun 202422 Oct 2024
MRCEM OSCE02 – 13 Dec 2024London28 Aug – 04 Sep 202429 Jan 2025
Updated 21 May 2024 – 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 21 May 2024, the RCEM page lists the MRCEM OSCE fee as…

  • £488 at UK / £735 India / £850 (Malaysia)

Overseas (Out of UK) examination centres used to charge a local fee but now it’s part of total fee you are paying.


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