Examinations
The three written parts of the examination take place on the first day which consist of a multiple choice question (MCQ) paper, a short answer question paper and an essay question paper. The oral examination takes place on the second day. In 2010, the examination will be held on 14-15 October at the Royal College of Physicians, London.
The Diploma examination is open to doctors who have entered pharmaceutical medicine and received structured training in the discipline.
In terms of career progression, passing the examination indicates that the individual has reached a certain level of achievement and has completed a period of training. For those pursuing a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) or Certificate confirming Eligibility for Specialist Registration (CESR) in the specialty of Pharmaceutical Medicine in the UK, success in the examination also indicates completion of the Pharmaceutical Medicine Specialty Training (PMST) knowledge base.
Please be informed of a planned change to the format of the examination for the Diploma in Pharmaceutical Medicine. With effect from the examination to be conducted in October 2010, it is intended to test critiquing a scientific paper using a written examination paper in place of the current oral examination. The examination will continue to take place over two days as before.
It is emphasised that the same skills, the ability to summarise and critique the important components of work published in a scientific paper, will be tested in the written format as are currently tested in the oral examination.
In 2005, the Faculty introduced a Certificate of Good Clinical Practice examination, which is held once a year in London. The examination consists of one multiple choice paper. The next examination will be held on 8 June 2010 at the Royal College of Physicians, London.