Statement from the resident doctor committees of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians

Statement from the resident doctor committees of the three Royal Colleges of Physicians 

The resident doctor committees of the three Royal College of Physicians have written to the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK, following the news that incorrect exam results were communicated to a group of candidates in the UK and internationally who took the Part 2 written examination in September 2023.

The resident doctor committees (RDCs) of the Royal College of Physicians of London, the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow have jointly written to the Federation of the Royal College of Physicians to express concern and dismay about the incorrect exam results for the MRCP(UK) Part 2 Written Examination issued in 2023.

As representatives of resident and trainee doctors across the UK, the letter from the RDCs sets out a number of minimum requirements that it believes the Federation must take, including:

1. Clear and unequivocal assurance that ongoing and imminent higher specialty training (HST) applications for affected individuals will not be negatively impacted.
2. That affected doctors working in medical specialties who have progressed to subsequent posts are permitted to finish the MRCP(UK) at any point prior to completion of training.
3. A robust compensation package for those who received incorrect ‘fail’ results, that reimburses subsequent exam fees as well as associated costs for revision courses, question banks, and any other demonstrable financial losses incurred as a direct result of the error.
4. Expedited required resit examinations for affected candidates and access to revision courses and question banks.
5. Pastoral support via Federation and college structures, including a webinar to facilitate a Q&A with relevant office holders, and a mechanism for those affected and the relevant resident, trainees and members committees to share their experiences.
6. Confirmation that results from recent years have been audited and the system issue that gave rise to this error has been corrected.
7. A thorough and transparent investigation, including both internal and external reviews, to determine the root cause of this error and the reasons for the delay in its detection, with the findings and any recommendations made publicly available to all postgraduate doctors in training.

The letter asks that the Federation Board takes full accountability for this failure. The RDC signatories acknowledge that while implementing these measures will involve significant expense, that ‘the cost of inaction, particularly in terms of further eroding the trust of doctors in the medical establishment, is far greater’. 

The resident doctor signatories to the letter said:

Resident and trainee doctors invest considerable time, effort and financial resources in preparing for and taking these exams – often alongside demanding work schedules. They have a right to expect a fair and accurately administered assessment. 

We have written this morning to the Federation of the Royal College of Physicians to make clear our view that this error is unacceptable and undermines the integrity of the examination process. The incident, compounded by the apparent failure of quality assurance mechanisms leading to an inexplicable delay in its discovery, represents a serious breach of that trust. The consequences for affected doctors, who may have made critical career decisions based on incorrect results, are considerable and deeply troubling.

We welcome that there is now confirmation of an independent review. It is vital that this investigation determines what went wrong and why there was a delay in discovering the error. Its findings and recommendations must be made available to all postgraduate doctors in training.