Each application is assessed according to three criteria:
Training, Registration and Sponsorship. Any application which does
not fully satisfy the Regulations in all of these areas will be
deemed ineligible.
Training Requirements
MRCPsych part I Examination
Applicants must have completed twelve months of
post-registration full-time training (or equivalent part-time,
flexible training) in posts approved by the Royal College of
Psychiatrists, by the date of the Written Paper Examination.
This must be made up as follows:
- twelve months of General Adult Psychiatry;
or
- six months of General Adult Psychiatry and six
months of Old Age Psychiatry.
Other psychiatric sub-specialities are not acceptable for the
basic training requirement. The duration of any one training post
must not be less than six months, and training must be supported by
a concurrent academic MRCPsych course.
For the purposes of the part I Examination, General Adult
Psychiatry is defined as:
(a) General Adult or (b) Social and
Community
Alternatively, a General Adult post may be a
split post consisting of:
(a) General Adult or (b) Social and
Community
PLUS
(a) Rehabilitation or (b) Substance Misuse
Further training for applicants who are
re-sitting:
Full-time and Flexible (part-time) trainees:
Candidates are required to re-enter or remain in approved
psychiatric training which is supported by an appropriate academic
course or programme of education and clinical instruction agreed by
the applicant’s College Tutor, between each attempt at the
Examination. This further training may be in any psychiatric
sub-speciality.
Flexible (part-time) Training in the UK and
Republic of Ireland
Trainees entering the Examination for the first
time:
The Royal College of Psychiatrists accepts part-time training,
known as Flexible Training, only where a programme has been given
prospective educational approval by the Examinations
Sub-Dean.
The total training period should be equivalent in duration and
quality to a normal full-time programme, and must not be less than
half-time. It must include all types of clinical experience and
responsibility, including residential, on-call, and emergency
duties. The duration of any one training post must not be less than
the equivalent of six months full-time.
Prospective candidates seeking further information and an
application form for approval of Flexible Training are advised to
contact the Assistant to the Head of Examination Services.
MRCPsych part II Examination
Candidates must have passed, or have been granted exemption
from, the MRCPsych part I Examination, and have completed
thirty months of full-time post-registration
training (or equivalent part-time flexible training) in posts
approved by the Royal College of Psychiatrists, by the date of the
written papers. This must be made up as follows, and includes
training undertaken towards MRCPsych part I:
- twelve months (minimum) in General Adult Psychiatry;
and
- eighteen months in any psychiatric sub-speciality (including
General Adult) but no more than twelve months in any one such
sub-speciality (apart from General Adult).
The duration of any one training post must not be less
than six months, and training must be supported by a
concurrent academic course. (This will normally be an MRCPsych
course, though the Sub-Dean for Examinations has discretion to
accept other postgraduate courses she considers to be
appropriate.)
All trainees who fail the MRCPsych part II Examination at
the first attempt may apply for a second attempt
without undergoing further training, but they must still fulfil the
requirements in terms of Registration and Sponsorship.
Full-time trainees and Flexible (part-time) trainees
entering for their third or subsequent attempts:
Candidates are required to re-enter or remain in approved
psychiatric training, which is supported by an appropriate academic
course or programme of education and clinical instruction approved
by the applicant’s College Tutor, between the second and third and
each subsequent attempt at the Examination. This further training
may be in any psychiatric sub-speciality.
Registration Requirements
MRCPsych part I and part II
Trainees in the United Kingdom must normally be registered
under the Medical Acts on the Full or Limited Register of Medical
Practitioners with the General Medical Council during the full
period of their training.
Applicants with Limited Registration applying to re-sit the
Examination, and whose Registration expires during the required
period of further approved training, will be permitted to sit the
Examination provided they have completed at least four months'
further training before their Registration expires.
Sponsorship Requirements
MRCPsych part I and part II
Each application for the Examination must be supported by
statements from two Consultant Psychiatrists. In all cases the
first sponsor must be the applicant’s current College Tutor. The
second sponsor must be a College approved educational supervisor
who has supervised the applicant’s training for at least
four months in the year prior to the closing date
for receipt of application.
In rare cases, the College Tutor may also be an appropriate
Consultant Supervisor, and it is acceptable for this one Consultant
to sponsor an applicant in both capacities. In all other cases,
however, applicants must be supported by both sponsors in order to
be eligible.