MRCOG Part 1 International

Revision Courses
Present State and Future Developments
Dr Matthew McKernan MRCOG
International Convenor MRCOG Part 1
Revision Courses

© Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

 Strengths of the Courses

• Established and successful courses serving an

expanding number of international
examination centres
– Presently 23 centres, many already served by Part
1 revision courses
• Established International Course faculty
– Developed by RCOG and previous Convenors
– Comprised of NHS consultants
– Delivering science from a clinical perspective
 Strengths of the Courses
• Expansion of international centres providing
revision courses
– Demand for courses
– Ownership/ financial responsibility
• International courses running autonomously
– Model to be could followed in other regions
• Represent RCOG Global Strategy
– Disseminating resources to facilitate the provision
of high quality women’s health
 Effective Delivery of Courses

• UK Strategy
• International Strategy
• International Networks
• Provision of High Quality Courses
 UK strategy
• Continued recruitment and development of UK faculty
– Pool of UK faculty members
– Support for new faculty members with provision of resources to
facilitate delivering courses
– Expansion to include Non-UK trainers
• More integration between UK and International courses
– Uniformity of approach to common goal
– Regular meetings with faculty members of both courses
– New International faculty members to be invited to chair UK sessions
– UK speakers invited to International Courses
• Close liaison with Part 1 Committee
– To allow an unification of approach, cross-pollination of ideas, better
understanding and more responsiveness to challenges
 International Strategy
• Identifying needs of individual centres
– Identify those centres most likely to benefit from courses
– Acknowledge diversity amongst centres/ delegates, adjust content
according to local centre’s needs
• Aim to integrate course with local training structures and
practice
– Integrate with local training programmes
– Aim to support delegates to deliver high standard clinical practice in
home country as well as supporting those pursuing international
careers
– Standardisation of entry for delegates, appropriate stage of their
training to sit Part 1 exam
 International Strategy
• Support local trainers
– Provision of educational resources
– Support educational and career development as well as relying on
goodwill and altruism
– Ensure that local advocates are embedded in local centres, ICOG,
Ghanaian RCOG laiason committee
• Ensure course provision is continual and sustainable
– Access to funding where required
– Eg Sims Black fellowship fund
– Continuity of course support
 International Networks
• Creating and supporting networks
– Allows for affordable sustainable courses that are adaptive and specific
to local requirements
• Mumbai faculty supporting Nepal and potentially other regional
centres
– Mumbai: highly successful course delivered by established network of
local trainers with high pass rate
• East African College of Surgeons
– Kenya first centre
– MRCOG to be standard in structured training
• Potential Middle Eastern network
– Beirut, Dubai, Saudi
Provision of High Quality Courses
• Focus on maximising pass rate
– Delegate feedback; dissemination of results
– Ensure continuous improvement of courses
– Practical focus on how to pass exam
– Course tailored to local needs and previous local experience
• e.g. May require more focus on UK practice; may need to spend more time
on basic foundations and less on ‘distinction information’
• Small group workshops for those students encountering difficulties
• Continuing development of course
– Feedback: preference more emphasis on SBAs, SBAs for recorded
lectures, more mock exams, more interactive talks
– Embryology and anatomy, abridged overview with focus on clinical
relevance and SBA answering
– Video resources to explain complex concepts
 Provision of High Quality
Courses
• Uniformity and Consistency
– Production of template lectures and programmes
– Detailed bullet point lectures with key information
• Provision of Pre- and Post-Course resources and support
– Pre-course
• Reading list
• Identification of key texts e.g. MRCOG essential revision guide, SBA practice
texts
• Access to StratOG
– Post-course
• Detailed full powerpoint slides, recorded lectures, SBA papers
• Skype Q+A session in weeks leading to the exam
• Pre-exam refresher workshop with local trainers
 Summary
• Existing Course • Future Developments
– Well developed high – Support development of
quality course sustainable, locally
– Expanded and well delivered course
supported UK faculty – Evolution of courses
– Close integration with specific to local needs
UK course and Part 1 – Development of
Committee International Networks
– Delivery of RCOG Global
Health Strategy