MSRA MSRA Exam Strategy 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The MSRA is split into two papers. Which two papers make up the assessment?
- Professional Dilemmas (SJT) and Clinical Problem Solving (CPS) (Correct answer)
- Verbal Reasoning and Numerical Reasoning
- OSCE and a written essay
- Anatomy MCQ and a viva voce
Correct answer: Professional Dilemmas (SJT) and Clinical Problem Solving (CPS)
The MSRA consists of the Professional Dilemmas paper (a situational judgement test) and the Clinical Problem Solving paper.
Question 2: Roughly how long is the Professional Dilemmas paper of the MSRA?
- 95 minutes (Correct answer)
- 30 minutes
- 3 hours
- 20 minutes
Correct answer: 95 minutes
The Professional Dilemmas paper lasts about 95 minutes covering roughly 50 scenarios.
Question 3: Time management is critical in the MSRA. What is the best strategy when you are unsure of a CPS answer?
- Make your best educated guess and move on, since there is no negative marking (Correct answer)
- Leave it blank to be safe
- Spend several minutes until you are certain
- Skip all remaining questions
Correct answer: Make your best educated guess and move on, since there is no negative marking
There is no negative marking, so guessing on uncertain items maximises your score without penalty.
Question 4: For the Professional Dilemmas paper, what perspective should you adopt when answering scenarios?
- That of a junior doctor acting within GMC Good Medical Practice guidance (Correct answer)
- That of a hospital chief executive
- That of the patient's family
- That of a medical defence lawyer
Correct answer: That of a junior doctor acting within GMC Good Medical Practice guidance
Scenarios should be answered from the viewpoint of a foundation-level doctor following GMC professional standards.
Question 5: Which preparation approach is most effective for the Clinical Problem Solving paper?
- Timed practice across the listed clinical specialties to build speed and breadth (Correct answer)
- Memorising only cardiology in great depth
- Reading textbooks cover to cover without practice questions
- Focusing solely on the SJT paper
Correct answer: Timed practice across the listed clinical specialties to build speed and breadth
Broad, timed practice across the covered specialties builds both recall speed and coverage needed for CPS.
Question 6: A candidate consistently runs out of time on CPS. What is the most appropriate adjustment?
- Practice pacing so each question gets a fixed, brief time budget (Correct answer)
- Answer questions in strict numerical order regardless of difficulty
- Read each stem three times before answering
- Aim to finish only half the paper accurately
Correct answer: Practice pacing so each question gets a fixed, brief time budget
Allocating a consistent short time per question and flagging hard ones keeps the candidate on pace.
Question 7: How does the MSRA score contribute to specialty recruitment?
- It is used for shortlisting and may carry weight at interview for many specialties (Correct answer)
- It is purely formative and never counts
- It only matters for surgical training
- It replaces the medical degree
Correct answer: It is used for shortlisting and may carry weight at interview for many specialties
MSRA scores are used to shortlist applicants and contribute to ranking for many specialty training programmes.
MSRA MSRA Exam Strategy 2
The MSRA is split into two papers.
Which two papers make up the assessment?