Everything you need to know about the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) 

Preparing or thinking of taking the Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment? In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know on the topic:

• What is the MSRA?
• Which specialties is the MSRA for?
• What to expect from your MSRA exam
• Professional Dilemmas (PD)
• Clinical Problem Solving (CPS)
• Questions
• Assessment centre
• Cost
• Dates
• Eligibility criteria for the MSRA
• How to book an MSRA exam
• Preparation for the MSRA
• Our top tips for succeeding in your MSRA exam
• Your career opportunities with Pulse

What is the MSRA?

The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment (MSRA) is a computer-based assessment. In medical specialty training, you need to meet a person specification as part of the application process. The MSRA assesses the essential competencies in personal specification through clinical scenarios. Doctors who sit this exam are usually applying for specialty training at CT1/ST1, but there are a few instances where this assessment will be used at ST3 level.

Which specialties is the MSRA for?

The complete list of specialties that use MSRA as part of their application process are:

• Acute Care Common Stem (ACCS) Emergency Medicine ST1
• Clinical Radiology ST1
• Core Psychiatry ST1
• Core Surgical Training CT1
• General Practice ST1
• Nuclear Medicine ST3
• Obstetrics and Gynaecology ST1
• Anaesthetics CT1
• Community Sexual and Reproductive Health ST1
• Neurosurgery ST1-ST3
• Ophthalmology ST1
• NI – Core Surgical Training CT1
• NI – Clinical Radiology ST1
• NI – Core Psychiatry Training CT1
• NI – Emergency Medicine ST1
• BBT (Scotland) ST1

What to expect from your MSRA exam

The MSRA exam is in two parts which are based on the foundation programme curriculum. The exam is designed to assess how you apply your clinical knowledge to clinical decisions. The two parts of the exam are professional dilemmas (PD) and clinical problem solving (CPS).

Professional Dilemmas (PD)

The purpose of the Professional Dilemmas paper is to assess your professional attributes and behaviours during challenging professional dilemmas. The questions centre around your professional integrity, ability to cope with pressure, and empathy and sensitivity when interacting with patients and colleagues.

Clinical Problem Solving (CPS)

The Clinical Problem Solving paper assesses your investigation, diagnosis, emergency, prescribing and management skills in diagnosing and treating patients.

The paper will have a balance of scenarios covering 12 clinical topics:

• Cardiovascular
• Dermatology/ENT/eyes
• Endocrinology/Metabolic
• Gastroenterology/Nutrition
• Infectious Disease/Heamatology/Immunology/Allergies/Genetics
• Musculoskeletal
• Paediatrics
• Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Psychiatry/Neurology
• Renal/Urology
• Reproductive
• Respiratory

Questions

The professional dilemma paper is a situation judgment test which includes 50 scenarios to complete in 95 minutes. For the first half of the paper, you’ll need to rank the four answers provided from most to least appropriate.

For the second half you will be given eight answers to choose from and you will need to select the three you think are most appropriate.

The clinical problem-solving paper includes 86 questions to complete in 75 minutes. The first half of the paper will be extended matching format questions where you will be given between 7 and 10 responses, and you will need to select the most appropriate from that list. Several scenarios will be presented against the same list and the responses can be used multiple times or not at all.

The second half of the paper will be single best answer (SBA) format. In the CPS SBA questions, you will be given 5-8 responses and asked to select which is the most appropriate for a single scenario.

You can try the MSRA practice papers which include practice questions, answers, the correct answers and the rationale behind why the answer is correct.

Assessment centre

The MSRA exam is hosted at Pearson VUE Computer testing centres. If you are in the UK, you are expected to sit the exam at an MSRA centre in the UK. If you are out of the UK, there are assessment centres in over 180 countries. You can check which delivers the MSRA assessment during the MSRA assessment window.

Cost

The cost of the MSRA assessment is £0. The MSRA exam is free of charge, but travel and accommodation are not covered so keep this in mind when you are booking your test centre.

Dates

The next MSRA window is 6-13 September 2024 with results expected by 1 October 2024.

Eligibility criteria for the MSRA

As the exam is part of an application process into medical speciality training, only those who are in the process of completing their foundation training (FY2) or returning from a break in training (FY3), and applying to one of the specialties outlined above, would be invited to sit the MSRA exam.

How to book an MSRA exam

If you’re invited to sit the MSRA exam, you will need to book this yourself via a Pearson VUE account. You can choose any assessment centre, time and date which suits you. Once booked, you will receive an email confirming your assessment location, date and time.

Preparation for the MSRA

Your experience in foundation training will have prepared you for questions you’ll expect in MSRA, but you should still familiarise yourself with the format and topics covered. It’s best to dedicate enough time to cover the specialties in clinical problem solving (CPS), focusing on one speciality at a time. Practice in timed conditions and take the MSRA mock papers, so that you’re familiar with the format and the demand of taking the MSRA exams back-to-back.

The most common ways to revise the questions and scenarios are practice questions, question banks and full-timed mock exams. There are several popular resources including Medibuddy, Passmedicine, Pastest, MCQBank and eMedica. These are all third-party platforms, and we encourage you to do your own research to see which offers the best resources and price for you.

Our top tips for succeeding in your MSRA exam

1. Answer all the questions, even if you aren’t sure. There’s no negative marking so a wrong answer might score you more than a missed question.
2. Take your time reading the clinical problem-solving questions and responses to understand what the question says rather than what you think it says.
3. Remember when ranking your answers that the rationale behind the professional dilemma’s scoring relates to your behaviour around professional integrity, ability to cope with pressure, and empathy and sensitivity when interacting with patients and colleagues.

Your career opportunities with Pulse