After a 10-year hiatus, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals enjoyed a successful initiation of the MRCP(UK) (Membership of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom) – PACES (Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills) international higher medical examinations for physicians in February, at the Chorley and South Ribble Hospital outpatient facility.
Over the course of two days, 20 doctors took part in the Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES) - a bedside examination where doctors in training are evaluated as they examine and counsel real patients. This rigorous assessment is conducted by 10 specialist examiners from across the country at five different stations.
Passing this prestigious exam allows candidates to enter higher specialist training in the UK and is highly sought-after offering plenty of opportunities for career progression.
Examinations had not been held at the Trust for a decade, so it was a huge achievement to resume hosting, under the mentorship and guidance of Professor Satyan Rajbhandari, the RCPE regional advisor and Diabetes Consultant with LTH, and Dr Harish Shetty, the senior international PACES examiner of RCP London, and Renal Consultant with the Trust.
LTH is unique in having more than 20 PACES examiners among its staff, including Diabates Consultant Pappachan Joseph, Professor at Manchester Metropolitan University and Manipal University India, who said: “It’s a shame we haven’t held the examinations for 10 years, because this is a huge hospital, and it's an important part of the postgrad training.
“The determination of Professor Raj (Rajbhandari) led to the exams returning - he was asked by the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh on several occasions to try to restart it, but things such as COVID got in the way. I wanted to support him, so we started last year and finally we were able to launch it.”
Several centres around the UK host the examinations, with candidates from across the British Isles. The exam is strict, as Prof. Pappachan explained: “The aim is to ensure that as and when these candidates become consultants in the future, they have good quality clinical acumen to ensure they deliver safe and effective clinical decisions.
“We keep patients at the heart of whatever we do, and it is important for the postgrad examination and training to improve the quality of future consultants to serve the local population. Our primary commitment is to the public who expect very good quality care.”
At the conclusion of the exam, Dr Imran Aziz, head of the examination from the Federation of Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK, praised the event, feeling it was conducted exceptionally well, with excellent hospitality from the local team.
Prof. Pappachan Joseph, who led the local team, expressed gratitude to all staff and volunteers for their efforts in conducting the exam: “I have a wonderful team here, including nine junior doctors, who supported me as volunteers. They got a good flavour of the examination and what they need to achieve during their examinations in their future.
“Thanks also to Prof. Raj and Dr. Harish - both are senior examiners, not only nationally but also internationally.”
Thanks also go to Dr. Gerry Skailes, Chief Medical Officer at the Trust, for her support and motivation in restoring the examinations, as well as Dr Mark Brady, Professor Mohammed Munavvar and Dr. Sayed Mehdi, Dr. Munish Batra, Dr. Sharmila Bandyopadhyay, Dr. Chandini Rao, Dr. Salem Madi, Dr. Cosmos Anazodo, and Dr. Paladugu Madhavi.
Professor Pappachan is currently looking at taking the examination to India: “The Federation of Royal Colleges have a lot of centres, and Manipal is one of the very good Indian universities with a very good global ranking. I have several research collaborators there, so they wanted to start it there as well. Maybe some of the very good candidates from there can have some part-time training plus mentorship and fellowships, where we can send some candidates overseas and vice versa.”
