FAQ
What is the Medical Masterclass?
Medical Masterclass comprises twelve paper-based modules, two CD-ROMs and this website.
Who is it for?
Its main aim is to help doctors prepare for their MRCP(UK)
examination (all parts). It will also be of interest to many others with
an interest in clinical medicine.
What do the different components do?
The twelve paper-based modules are divided as follows: two cover the scientific
background to medicine, one is devoted to general clinical issues, one to emergency
medicine and practical procedures, and eight cover the range of medical specialities.
In each clinical module the core content is defined by a series of cases that encompass
the range of presentations seen by that specialty. These are followed by concise,
structured short notes on specific diseases and their treatments. All modules contain
self-assessment exercises as an aid to learning.
The two CD-ROMs contain a total of 60 interactive cases requiring diagnosis and
treatment. The format is remarkably close to real life: you can see the patient
and are told their circumstances, and you then have to decide how to investigate
and treat - but you can't see all the results before you start to make decisions!
The Medical Masterclass website is an innovative web-learning resource. The self-assessment section contains mock exam questions written
by a team of expert consultants and academics. New questions are added every month.
You can choose to sit a sample MRCP(UK) Part 1 or Part 2 exam, or you can choose
to concentrate your revision in any of the specialty areas. You can see how your
score compares with your previous attempts, and also how your performance compares
with other Medical Masterclass users.
What will Medical Masterclass do for me that other products will not? Why is
Medical Masterclass better?
No other product offers the range and excitement of Medical Masterclass: comprehensive
written material ranging from basic science to clinical medicine; interactive CD-ROM
test cases; and a regularly updated website with mock MRCP(UK) style exams and self-assessment
questions where you really can see how you are improving, and how you compare with
others who are studying through the website.
Are the different components of Medical Masterclass available separately?
Yes, you can now tailor your purchase of Medical Masterclass to suit your specific
study needs. The paper-based modules are available individually, plus you can buy
the pair of CD-ROMs separately from the other components, and access to the website
for one year (renewable annually, should you so wish) can also be purchased separately.
See our products page for full pricing details and order
form.
What does it cost?
See our products page for pricing details and order
form.
Where is it available?
Medical Masterclass is available from the Jerwood Medical Education Resource Centre at the Royal College of Physicians of London. Orders can be placed:
- By telephone: 0044 (0)207 935 1174 ext 490/422 (GMT office hours only)
- By email: merc@rcplondon.ac.uk
- By post:
Jerwood Medical Education Resource,
Royal College of Physicians,
11 St Andrew's Place,
London NW1 4LE
See Ordering Details link to info above for price list
and order forms.
RCP Associateship
Individuals who purchase Medical Masterclass are invited to take one years' free
Associateship with the Royal College of Physicians of London. For full details visit
the Membership page.
Who has produced it?
Medical Masterclass is produced by the Education Department of the Royal College of
Physicians of London.
Is it a crammer for the MRCP?
No, and it is not written by those who set the exam. There is no doubt that someone
putting the effort into learning through Medical Masterclass would be in a strong
position to impress the examiners, but success - like much else in medicine and
in life - cannot be guaranteed.
What is the average users score?
This is worked out by taking an average from what every user of the Medical Masterclass
website has scored when answering a given question (only submitted answer are include
in this; questions that have been marked but have not had answer given do not affect
the average). Average percentage scores for a group of questions in a specialty
category will be calculated from the average user score for each question in that
group.
When selecting an online Practice Exam, why do I keep seeing repeated questions?
A user selecting a Specialty Selection exam of 50 questions of a specialty that contains, for example, 75 questions, will see 50 random questions first.
If you complete those 50 questions, then select another 50 questions, you will receive an exam with the 25 questions not yet taken and a random selection of 25 from the 50 you have already seen. This means they you have seen all the questions within that specialty category.
The Medical Masterclass Team and Dr John Firth, Medical Masterclass Editor-in-Chief, are working on editing and adding more self-assessment questions on a regular basis.
What has happened to my history?
In July 2007 this website was substantially redesigned to offer increased functionality,
stability and convenience to its users. The look of the website also changed considerably
at this point to give it a modern and more attractive feel. Unfortunately, one consequence
of these changes was that the individual records of each user of the old Medical
Masterclass website are no long compatible, and they do not appear in any form on
this new version of the website. All work done by users once they enter this version
of the website will be recorded in their �My History section�, but regrettably no
records for activity prior to 30 July 2007 can be displayed. We apologise for any
inconvenience this causes any of our users, and hope that this will not spoil their
enjoyment of the Medical Masterclass website.
When I try to log in I get an error “Your login attempt was not successful. Please try again”. What is wrong?
Check your password:
Are you using the correct password? If you wish to reset your password, you can do so by clicking the "Forgot Password" link on the login page. This will delete the old password and a new one will be sent by email.
(If your browser has been set up to store login details, please make sure you clear any previously remembered passwords - i.e. if the username/password is already filled in on the login page, please delete these details and re-type.)
NB If you incorrectly type your password too many times consecutively the account will be locked. See "This account is locked" below.
If you are using the correct password:
Authentication requires a ‘cookie’ to be sent to the user’s web browser (These are small text files temporarily stored by your web browser which enable us to identify you when you are logged in.) If cookies are disallowed then the screen will return to the login page immediately after entering the username and password.
Instructions for allowing these in Internet Explorer 6 are provided below:
- Click 'Tools', 'Internet Options', and click the 'Privacy' tab.
- Under 'Websites - to override cookie handling for individual websites...' click 'Edit',
- Under 'Add Address of website' type "medical-masterclass.com" and click 'Allow'
- Click 'OK' to close this window
- Click 'OK' to close the Internet Options window
If you are not using Internet Explorer 6.0 or are having difficulties, please check your browser's Help files or contact your IT department/vendor.
If you are using a product that could block cookies, e.g. Norton Internet Security, or Norton Firewall, please follow any instructions for allowing them for "medical-masterclass.com".
When I try to log in I get an error “This account may currently be in use”. What is wrong?
In order to prevent several people using the same account on the Medical Masterclass website each user ID can only be used once at any given time. In the event that a user closes their web browser without logging out the system will still consider that user to be logged in, and so will not allow them to log in again once the browser is reopened.
In the event that this occurs, users are advised to wait 15 minutes and then try logging in again.
To avoid seeing this error, always remember to click onto 'Logout'.
When I try to log in I get an error “This account is locked”. What is wrong?
You have incorrectly typed your password too many times consecutively and your account has been locked temporarily.
To unlock, visit the login page and click the link “Forgotten your password”. Type in your username and you will be sent a new valid password by email.
Additional questions?
If you have additional questions regarding Medical Masterclass please email these
to medicalmasterclass@rcplondon.ac.uk