History of Examinations

The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh has been carrying out examinations of medical practitioners since 1682. These have gone through many forms, from the early written examinations entirely in Latin and the development, in the nineteenth century, of the clinical study of patients, right through to the present day.

The twentieth century saw a move to greater standardisation of medical examinations and collaboration with our sister colleges in London and Glasgow in the creation of the MRCP(UK). This guarantees that the high standard of the examinations in the three colleges is identical.

We have gathered historical documents, interviews and exam papers to uncover the rich history of the College’s examinations on these webpages.