Establishing the predictive validity of the intercollegiate membership of the Royal Colleges of surgeons written examination: MRCS Part A

Ricky Ellis; Jennifer Cleland; Duncan Sg Scrimgeour; Amanda J Lee; John Hines; Peter A Brennan

doi:10.1016/j.surge.2023.07.004

Establishing the predictive validity of the intercollegiate membership of the Royal Colleges of surgeons written examination: MRCS Part A

Ricky Ellis^* (Corresponding Author), Jennifer Cleland, Duncan Sg Scrimgeour, Amanda J Lee, John Hines, Peter A Brennan

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Successful completion of the Intercollegiate Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (MRCS) examination is mandatory for surgical trainees entering higher specialist training in the United Kingdom. Despite its international reputation, and the value placed on the examination in surgical training, there has been little evidence of its predictive validity until recently. In this review, we present a summary of findings of four recent Intercollegiate studies assessing the predictive validity of the MRCS Part A (written) examination. Data from all four studies showed statistically significant positive correlations between the MRCS Part A and other written examinations taken by surgical trainees over the course of their education. The studies summarised in this review provide compelling evidence for the predictive validity of this gatekeeping examination. This review will be of interest to trainees, training institutions and the Royal Colleges given the value placed on the examination by surgical training programmes.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	323-330
Number of pages	8
Journal	The Surgeon
Volume	21
Issue number	6
Early online date	4 Aug 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surge.2023.07.004
Publication status	Published - Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Iain Targett at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Gregory Ayre from the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations for their support during this project.
Funding
Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Award/Grant number is not applicable).

Keywords

MRCS
Postgraduate
Validity
Training
Education

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10.1016/j.surge.2023.07.004Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Ellis_etal_TS_Establishing_the_Predictive_VOR
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Scottish charity number SC005317) and Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Final published version, 355 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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title = "Establishing the predictive validity of the intercollegiate membership of the Royal Colleges of surgeons written examination: MRCS Part A",

abstract = "Successful completion of the Intercollegiate Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (MRCS) examination is mandatory for surgical trainees entering higher specialist training in the United Kingdom. Despite its international reputation, and the value placed on the examination in surgical training, there has been little evidence of its predictive validity until recently. In this review, we present a summary of findings of four recent Intercollegiate studies assessing the predictive validity of the MRCS Part A (written) examination. Data from all four studies showed statistically significant positive correlations between the MRCS Part A and other written examinations taken by surgical trainees over the course of their education. The studies summarised in this review provide compelling evidence for the predictive validity of this gatekeeping examination. This review will be of interest to trainees, training institutions and the Royal Colleges given the value placed on the examination by surgical training programmes.",

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author = "Ricky Ellis and Jennifer Cleland and Scrimgeour, {Duncan Sg} and Lee, {Amanda J} and John Hines and Brennan, {Peter A}",

note = "Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge Iain Targett at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Gregory Ayre from the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations for their support during this project. Funding Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Award/Grant number is not applicable).",

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AU - Lee, Amanda J

AU - Hines, John

AU - Brennan, Peter A

N1 - Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge Iain Targett at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, and Gregory Ayre from the Intercollegiate Committee for Basic Surgical Examinations for their support during this project. Funding Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Royal College of Surgeons of England and Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (Award/Grant number is not applicable).

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N2 - Successful completion of the Intercollegiate Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (MRCS) examination is mandatory for surgical trainees entering higher specialist training in the United Kingdom. Despite its international reputation, and the value placed on the examination in surgical training, there has been little evidence of its predictive validity until recently. In this review, we present a summary of findings of four recent Intercollegiate studies assessing the predictive validity of the MRCS Part A (written) examination. Data from all four studies showed statistically significant positive correlations between the MRCS Part A and other written examinations taken by surgical trainees over the course of their education. The studies summarised in this review provide compelling evidence for the predictive validity of this gatekeeping examination. This review will be of interest to trainees, training institutions and the Royal Colleges given the value placed on the examination by surgical training programmes.

AB - Successful completion of the Intercollegiate Membership of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (MRCS) examination is mandatory for surgical trainees entering higher specialist training in the United Kingdom. Despite its international reputation, and the value placed on the examination in surgical training, there has been little evidence of its predictive validity until recently. In this review, we present a summary of findings of four recent Intercollegiate studies assessing the predictive validity of the MRCS Part A (written) examination. Data from all four studies showed statistically significant positive correlations between the MRCS Part A and other written examinations taken by surgical trainees over the course of their education. The studies summarised in this review provide compelling evidence for the predictive validity of this gatekeeping examination. This review will be of interest to trainees, training institutions and the Royal Colleges given the value placed on the examination by surgical training programmes.

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Establishing the predictive validity of the intercollegiate membership of the Royal Colleges of surgeons written examination: MRCS Part A

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Access to Document

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Cite this