Candidate 198

 

FRCS

Centre: Hyderabad

 

Date:   Feb 2016

 I appeared for FRCS Glasgow part 3 exam in Hyderabad in Feb 2016.

By Allah's grace I passed the exam and would like to share my experience. I would like to dedicate my success to my friends who helped me and guided me in every step while preparing for the exam. I would like to thank my wife and children for bearing with me and supporting me during the preparations.

 

As an exam centre, Hyderabad is an excellent centre as you would get standard cases. L V Prasad is  one of the best and busiest tertiary care Ophthalmology centre. So you can expect standard textbook cases in exam. You would not see weird cases that you see in some of the other centres for lack of good classical exam cases.

 

Regarding preparation, I did not study anything except Kanski (latest 8th edition). But then I know and remember almost every line from Kanski. I am a practising retinal surgeon and hence I have routinely read from additional sources and been in touch with retina, uvea and neurophthalmology (only optic nerve related) topics. For everything else I read kanski and added my own notes. I had also read a little bit of Massachusetts 4th edition. Also, I used to see a lot of videos on Youtube (especially Tim Root and also his website ophthobook.com) and read online and prepare my own notes. I could not study for long hours as I am into full time clinical practice and used to read things and see videos etc in between patients.

I tried reading Wong but couldn't as I cannot read textbooks especially objective type point-wise books. I cannot remember such monotonous books. Plus in FRCS Glasgow you dont remember in exam and lose track of very very simple things. Sometimes you cant remember things like I would like to investigate this patient and confirm the diagnosis and treat. Because there is definitely a mental block and time is a major factor. You just cant "try" to think and try to recollect the 3Ps or 7Ds or the other 100Cs that wong mentions. You have to tell the most common and most obvious causes and treatment and clinical features. You never have time to mention more than 3 or 5 signs/ symptoms, clinical features/associatons etc. So trying to remember the various things given in Wong for part 3 is difficult and then when u stumble or stutter in exam trying to remember unusual things you appear to be less confident and then ur chances of failing increases. It may be good for MCQs but for part 3 I think its excessive. Instead, for each topic remember the most important things.

 

For passing FRCS, confidence is most important. Do not try to think. Be very clear and fluent in answering. The more the examiner prompts you, the more you lose marks. There are standard topics and cases. At least prepare your own notes and a plan in the exam for those standard things. Go through the experiences of previous candidates. It is the most important things you will find in exam. You will feel as if you have already been through this.

 

Regarding Oral stations, the questions are given by the college. So, they are specific. Me and my previous candidate appeared for the same tables with different examiners and were shown same photos and pictures and asked exactly same questions. That's how I came to know that the questions are set by the college and they are changed for each batch as mentioned on their website. Each examiner examines you on 3 different topics. And then asks you questions related to those. The questions are generally simple and straightforward and they expect certain key words in the answers. Keeping your cool and answering in an organised manner is most important.

Regarding clinical cases, demonstrating signs is most important and ur approach. Diagnosis is not important. Differential Diagnosis is extremely important only relevant to YOUR case and not all the 25 differentials given in textbooks. remember you have only 6 minutes for the case. In that you have to listen to the examiners questions, examine and demonstrate signs, tell your diagnosis/differential diagnosis and treatment. You have to tell the most important signs and investigation and finding and never forget to rule out life threatening conditions. In my exam lot of students failed becoz they could not diagnose carotid-cavernous fistula. The point is you cannot miss it. This is one of the conditions seen by ophthalmologists wherein if we do not refer them they may die! You have to at least mention in differential of proptosis. Show it to the examiner that your are thinking about it and would like to rule out.

FRCS is an easy exam to pass but even easier to fail. Do not panic, stay calm and stay simple. Don't complicate things by giving weird answers. In our exam 16 out of 40 passed.

 

Anyway, these were my topics for Oral Stations:

Neurology and Medicine

1) DKA
2) 35yr female with headache and dilated pupil ( I gave DD of 3rd Nerve palsy due to aneurysm and Ophthalmoplegic Migraine)
3) Needle stick injury
4) CMV retinitis atypical photo. (was more like frosted bite angitis)
5) Ocular Lymphoma management
6) TIA

 

Ophthalmic Medicine
1) Glaucoma drugs with classification. Advantage of timolol over PG analogue. Disadvantage of Alphagan
2) Corneal ulcer with hypopyon. Same picture without corneal ulcer ie only hypopyon. Hypopyon in a patient with fever chills and sub ungual hemorrhages what is the diagnosis. ( I could not answer--answer is infective endocarditis causing endogenous endoph)
3) CNVM with drusens
4) Visual field reporting. Causes of inferior field defects.
5) FFA of peripheral neovascularisation. DD and management. (Diabetic retinopathy and sickle cell etc)
6) Acute congestive glaucoma DD and detailed management. Causes and site of glaucoma fleken

 

Ophthalmic Surgery
1) PXF and nucleus drop
2) Refractive surprise
3) Trachoma with entropion and surgeries
4) 4 yrs after trab comes with low iop causes and management
5) 2 weeks after trab shallow AC and high IOP
6) Corneal lattice dystrophy with management

And these were my clinical cases. I managed 3 cases in each station except Oculoplasty.

 

Anterior Segement:

1) Penetrting corneal transplant with clear graft with peaked pupil with PCIOL with PCO with iris pigment dispersion on graft
2) Stromal Corneal dystrophy probably granular
3)Trab with bleb

 

Oculoplasty

1) Proptosis with cork screw vessels with Carotid-cavernous fistula
2) Proptosis with elevation and abduction absent (i.e. inferior rectus and medial rectus restriction-- Thyroid eye disease). However, the eye was in general very quiet and there was no redness at all.

 

Posterior Segment

1) Right eye inferior branch retinal vein occlusion with vitritis/Vitreous hemorrhage with CME, left eye white subretinal patches near the fovea. DD BRVO or Vasculutis (Eales/Sarcoidosis etc)
2)Retinal detachment with PVR with norrow funnel
3)Diabetic retinopathy

 

Neuro and Squint

1) Esotropia with IO overaction asked to do Hirshberg cover uncover and prism bar test
2) 3rd nerve palsy with pupil sparing
3) Severe ptosis with restricted movement in all gazes- CPEO

 

If you have any queries you can email me on aneezzz@gmail.com

Best of Luck.

 

More candidates' experience