Breadth Versus Depth

In order to pass the Part 2 written exam you need both breadth and depth for each module. The clinical skills are clearly defined in the curriculum. It is tempting to view the Part 3 exam as being purely about communication, but hopefully the practice resources contained in this book will have shown you that without sound clinical knowledge you won’t be able to pass the exam. The starting point for revision is the core curriculum on the RCOG website.

In order to start working through each module in more depth, you should consider using the e-learning resources in StratOG.¹ There are resources covering core modules of the curriculum which are available free to trainees registered with the RCOG or for other doctors for a small fee. There are some topics which require in-depth understanding and for which detail is essential. This includes the guidelines relating to common problems such as labour, delivery, hypertension in pregnancy, heavy menstrual bleeding and other common clinical problems that an ST5 could reasonably be expected to deal with on a daily basis. The standard to achieve a pass in these topics can be expected to be high, so you must have a good depth of knowledge for core clinical areas. Don’t forget that the practice of obstetrics and gynaecology is probably subject to more laws in the UK than most other specialties, as in addition to laws like the Mental Capacity Act which affects all specialties, we also need to understand and adhere to the Abortion Act, HFE Act and Lord Fraser competency, as well as being aware of the illegal practice of female genital mutilation (FGM).

The Part 3 clinical skills assessment template (Appendix 1) is a useful guide to the types of task that might be used to assess the core clinical skills domains in each of the 14 modules.