Doctors in training in Bahrain will now be able to keep ‘pace’ with developments in the medical field and obtain desirable British qualifications treating patients in their home country.
The Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians (MRCP) Diploma and Specialty Certificate Examinations test their skills, knowledge and behaviour and the Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES) looks at the clinical knowledge of those who aim to enter higher specialist training.
For the first time Bahrain will host a PACES Examination Centre at Salmaniya Medical Complex next summer, at a date to be announced, in collaboration with the UK’s Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians.
“With the centre set to open in Bahrain, doctors will not have to travel to get specialist training. Instead, it will be made available to them here,” the federation’s international medical director for PACES, Dr Tanzeem Raza, told the GDN at a Press conference held at the Arabian Gulf University.
The clinical exams not only assess the knowledge of doctors but also enable them to apply their knowledge in real life scenarios.
Currently, doctors in the kingdom who wish to achieve the qualifications have to travel to the UK or apply for limited places available at centres in neighbouring countries, such as the UAE and Kuwait.
“Whenever we announce that the examination registration is open, within an hour, they are filled,” explained Dr Raza. “So, it’s currently very challenging for candidates in Bahrain.”
Dr Raza added the new centre will allow trainee doctors to achieve their career advancements working with Bahraini patients, meaning that the diagnosis will be relevant to the country.
Once legal approvals are finalised, the application form will be available on the MRCPUK website, where doctors will be able to register for the Bahrain Centre. Again, the registration will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. How many can apply has yet to be announced.
Evolving throughout the years the PACES exam contains two written parts and a third clinical section.
“The examinations are kept under regular review to ensure that they are always relevant,” said University of Glasgow professor Dr Jaqueline Taylor. “We want to ensure that doctors are able to apply their knowledge and give their best judgement and then effectively communicate with patients, therefore offering the best treatment.”
The federation features a collaboration between three UK royal colleges of physicians in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Representing more than 50,000 physicians worldwide, they provide an invaluable professional network to share best practices and to support education, training and assessment of doctors – for the benefit of all patients.
The federation develops and delivers services to support doctors at every stage of their careers including continuing professional development (CPD), examinations (Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK – MRCP (UK), and training (Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board – JRCPTB).
The MRCP Examination began in 1859 and later, in the 1960s, the three royal colleges recognised a single membership examination.
julia@gdnmedia.bh