Joint statement on October 2021 diet of MRCS Part B and DO-HNS Part 2

The four Surgical Royal Colleges of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland can confirm the format and method of delivery of the MRCS Part B and DO-HNS Part 2 exams in October 2021.

MRCS Part B

The exam will be delivered in-person and will return to the full format of the exam. It will therefore feature 17 assessed stations, with candidates required to pass both knowledge and skills, as described in the guide to the intercollegiate MRCS examination.

This is the format of the exam that had originally been due to be introduced in October 2020 prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and which was announced in December 2019.

Candidates should note that, as such, they will be required to carry out physical examination of patients as part of the examination in October 2021.

Candidates will be contacted by the College to which they applied with information on the exact date they will be sitting the exam.

DO-HNS Part 2

• The ‘written’ stations will be delivered as an online exam on 18 October 2021
• The ‘clinical’ stations will be delivered in-person in a socially-distanced fashion between 20 and 21 October 2021 across three sites in London, Glasgow and Dublin.

The format of the ‘written’ and ‘clinical’ components will be the same as the DO-HNS Part 2 delivered in October 2020, as previously announced to candidates.

Candidates will be contacted by the College at which they will sit the exam with information on the exact date they will be sitting the ‘clinical’ station component of the exam. As previously noted, this may be different to the College to which a candidate originally applied, so that candidates can sit at the centre nearest to them with sufficient capacity.

The cancellation of one exam centre will not cause the cancellation of the exam at other venues and other Colleges.

Candidates should check and follow government advice about travel and accommodation when attending an examination.