Completing the SCE (Specialist Certificate Examination) in Respiratory Medicine is a requirement for gaining CCT, with most trainees taking the exam in ST5 or ST6.
Currently it takes place every 9 months, and is made up of 2 online MCQ assessments, which you take from your own device.
Information regarding the curriculum and blueprint of marks, together with a mock exam is available on the MRCP website
General advice is to familiarise yourself with latest guidelines from BTS, ERS and ATS. In general, where recommendations differ, the most local guideline takes preference (ie BTS over ERS).
There are multiple course available that have been recommended by previous trainees. Links and brief overviews of possible pros/cons of these are below, but remeber this is just the opinion of other trainees – what works best for you may differ.
Courses:
Wessex SCE preparation course (Organised by Wessex deanery, but open to anyone). Cost approx £100, 2 day intensive online course.
BTS “Preparing for the Respiratory SCE” – Good breadth of lectures and practice questions across the curriculum, £60 for BTS members.
RSM Respiratory SCE preparation course – Weekly 2hr sessions over a 10 week period (recorded to watch later if unable to attend online at the time). Longer time period facilitates using as framework to support revision. £220
Radiology specific:
BTS Radiology for Chest Physicians – 2 day online course, £350 for BTS members
Liverpool Thoracic Radiology course – Recorded lectures and resources, £180
Essential chest radiology – Online resources/videos explaining important signs/pathology, delivered by John Curtis who also co-created the Liverpool Radiology course, £80
Other resources:
Websites
Radiopedia – Good reference site for imaging of different pathologies
https://radiologyassistant.nl/chest/ – Excellent free site with clear explanations/teaching of chest radiology alongside example images, also includes detail around TNM staging for cancer.
Books
Oxford handbook provides a good overview and easily accessible reference for key aspects.
“MRCP SCE in Respiratory Medicine: SBAs” has good practice questions and is available in many medical libraries, however for all books check version/date of publication as they can quickly become out of date.
Question banks
As mentioned above, the MRCP website has a mock exam of 100 questions. Other question banks trainees have used are provided below, however as with books, bear in mind questions may sometimes be out of date.
BMJ OnExamination – Approx 200 questions, costs b£55 – £135 depending on length of access (1 month up to a year)
studyPRN: 682 questions (at time of writing), costs £21 – £200 depending on length of access (1 week up to a year)