17.11.2024
The Ultimate MRCP Part 1 Online Revision Resources Guide
If you’re reading this blog post, you are probably trying to plan your revision strategy ahead of your upcoming MRCP Part 1 exam. We have already broken down the exam step-by-step for you in a previous blog post, but here we will provide a detailed overview of what online resources you can use to prepare for this exam and pass with confidence.
How do you revise best? Know your learning style!
As you plan your revision, it is useful to first ask yourself, ‘How do I learn best?’ Some people are visual and auditory learners, others like to read and write. Some are very logical, using patterns and systems to develop an approach to learning, or like to work alone, while others like to work with others in groups.
In reality, everyone learns differently, and most people are combination learners, moving between each learning style depending on their needs. You will find plenty of free materials online that can target each of your learning needs, where you need them. For example, there are videos available on YouTube or posts on social media such as Instagram, that will explain tricky concepts that you may have always struggled with. There are also many free applications that allow you to generate your own Anki flashcards, which can be useful to support your learning journey, as well as user experiences of the exam shared on Reddit or Twitter, to help you learn from their mistakes and plan your revision strategy going forwards.
However, preparation for the MRCP Part 1 exam needs to be systematic, complete, and well-planned. The exam is challenging, with a pass rate of only around 50%-60%. As such, we would recommend using a dedicated online platform that has been designed to specifically walk you through the exam’s blueprint and meets all of your learning needs, whatever they are.
The Best Online Resources
1. Quesmed.com
Quesmed.com offers an all-in-one platform with an online textbook, video library, and extensive, blueprint-matched question bank, online and in a handy offline-ready app. This suits every learning style through its multi-media approach and allows you to revise the entire exam syllabus anywhere, anytime.
Highlights:
✓ 6200+ Part 1 questions - covers the entire exam blueprint and allows you to practice the development of pattern recognition skills and logical learning styles
✓ Expanded question explanations - a detailed explanation works through why each question choice is right, or wrong, allowing you to develop the skills required to perfect single best-answer questions on the day
✓ Questions linked to relevant textbook chapter - after you finish each question, complete your revision on each topic as you go by reading the linked relevant chapter just below
✓ Customise and target your revision - online question builder can allow you to build your quizzes in any way you want, from a random selection to mimic the real exam, to targeting individual topics that you feel need more time and attention
✓ Extensive past paper library - based on previous themes that have emerged in the real exam
✓ Detailed online textbook - for the learner who likes to read and write, and to provide further detail to deepen your understanding of the exam blueprint
✓ Specialist-taught recorded lectures - recorded content covering tricky topic areas by specialty, ideal for everyone, and especially auditory and visual learners
✓ Handy app with both offline and online modes - you can take your revision with you anywhere now by simply carrying your device, so you can revise alone, or with others, and even when you’ve lost signal
✓ Doctor-driven content - by high-achieving doctors who have aced the exam themselves, for doctors
✓ Competitive and flexible pricing - pricing is £64.99 for a 3-month plan (compared with a minimum price point of £84.99 at Pastest.com, which is priced relative to a fixed exam date, and so is never cheaper than this - even if you are buying it with less than a month to go to the exam date.) There is also a monthly payment option of £39.99, which is not offered by most leading online platforms, including Pastest.com or Passmedicine.com. This can help you spread out the cost of an online revision resource, or allow you to only buy as much as you need.
✓ Money-back guarantee - if you use Quesmed.com to prepare for your MRCP Part 1 exam and you fail, you can get the full cost of your subscription refunded.
2. Pastest.com
Pastest.com provides an impressive number of 7400+ questions covering the range of topics you will encounter on the exam, with an offline-ready app that allows you to revise on the go and the ability to filter the bank and build quizzes to target your revision. They also have many past papers that allow you to revise themes that have come up in previous exam sittings. Completing the Pastest question bank will likely expose you to most of the themes you may come across on the day, therefore! Each question is accompanied by an expanded explanation, which can allow you to understand the key learning points better. Their product is bundled into a handy app that is off-line ready.
Drawbacks:
✖ No online textbook - Pastest.com do not offer an online textbook. If you want to use their textbook, you have to buy the physical version, which retails at £40. Their questions are furthermore not linked to any relevant textbook chapters. This may limit your ability to deepen your understanding of the relevant topics.
✖ No competitive and flexible pricing - Pastest.com has no option for a monthly subscription. Their fees are set relative to a fixed exam date, and the minimum price point is quite expensive at £84.99.
✖ No specialist-taught recorded lectures - Pastest.com do not offer recorded lectures delivered by high-achieving doctors.
✖ No money-back guarantee
3. Passmedicine.com
Passmedicine.com is well-loved by many doctors who have sat the MRCP Part 1 exam. It has a user-friendly, intuitive interface which makes it very straightforward to revise and get to grips with. They have a question builder that allows you to filter the questions you want to see to target your revision. Furthermore, Passmedicine.com is well known for its competitive pricing, with subscriptions starting at £35. Question explanations are provided in greater detail below the main question with key facts about the diagnosis often being summarised. They also offer an online textbook.
Drawbacks:
✖ Limited question bank size - Passmedicine.com has 4900 questions on their question bank, which may prevent your ability to cover the full blueprint and develop effective pattern recognition skills.
✖ No past papers - Though Passmedicine.com does offer 4 mock tests that try to replicate the real exam, they do not offer any past papers. Past papers are essential for you to get comfortable with the themes that have emerged in previous exam sittings.
✖ Suboptimal app - one of the biggest drawbacks of Passmedicine.com is its app. They have an app-like shortcut that can be added to your phone which provides off-line functionality. This experience is somewhat clunky, however, as its use is not as seamless as having a full app that is downloadable via the relevant application store on your phone.
✖ No specialist-taught recorded lectures - Passmedicine.com do not offer recorded lectures delivered by high-achieving doctors.
✖ No money-back guarantee
4. BMJ OnExamination
BMJ OnExamination offers 3190 questions including mock tests based on recent exam themes. Their handy app and group study feature allows making your revision flexible and social. You can buy the question bank flexibly on a monthly basis if required as well, which allows you to tailor your access to revision materials, as and when you need them.
Drawbacks:
✖ Limited question bank size - with only 3190 questions offered, you are less likely to cover the full blueprint and develop effective pattern recognition skills if you depend on BMJ OnExamination alone.
✖ Specialist-taught recorded lectures - BMJ OnExamination does not offer recorded lectures delivered by high-achieving doctors.
✖ No online textbook - BMJ OnExamination does not offer an online textbook. This means that if you want to read about a given topic in more detail, you will have to access additional learning materials to aid your revision. This can make it more difficult to revise using this platform as it does not offer an all-in-one learning experience.
✖ No money-back guarantee
5. StatPearls
A US-based platform that boasts 3900+ questions that have been developed closely to match the style of the exam. With a money-back guarantee in place, they are confident that preparing with them will allow you to pass the exam with flying colours. Actionable intelligence is built into their platform to produce reports to help you target your revision areas.
✖ Limited question bank size - with only 3900+ questions offered, you are less likely to cover the full blueprint using this platform alone.
✖ No past papers - no mock tests made up of past papers; this means you are less likely to see previous exam themes, which can be recycled each year.
✖ No specialist-taught recorded lectures - there are no additional recorded lectures offered for the audio-visual learner.
✖ No online textbook - no associated online textbook is offered. This can make it more difficult to revise using this platform as it does not offer an all-in-one learning experience.
✖ No app - this can limit your ability to revise on the go.
✖ No money-back guarantee
✖ Non-competitive price point - starting at $199 for one month, this is one of the most expensive subscriptions that exists for this exam.
6. Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) does offer a free sample paper of 100 questions on their website. Though this is an important revision material that allows you to sample past questions from previous papers and get used to the style of the exam, it is certainly not an exhaustive learning resource.
Summary
There we have it! The best online revision resources for MRCP Part 1 in a nutshell. If you’re looking for an all-in-one platform that really does have it all, for every learning style, that is matched to the exam syllabus and will support all your learning needs at a reasonable price, you don’t need to look further than Quesmed.com. Here is a summarising table to remind you of all the features of the various online learning resources.
| Online textbook | Past papers | Lectures | App with offline mode | Money-back guarantee | Prices from | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quesmed | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | £39.99 |
| Pastest | ✓ | ✓ | £84.99 | |||
| Passmedicine | ✓ | £35 | ||||
| BMJ OnExamination | ✓ | £37.99 | ||||
| StatPearls | ✓ | $199 | ||||
| Royal College of Physicians | Free |
Whatever strategy you choose, we wish you all the best in your exam preparation!
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