Books for Examination for Provisional Registration (Theory)

Books Recommended for Examination for Provisional Registration (Theory)

Understand the exam format

Format for Theory Paper 

1. All questions are in the form of one-best answer (OBA) type of question. 

2. Paper 1: Medical based 60Q

3. Paper 2: Surgical based 60Q

4. Total number of questions: 120 Q

5. Duration: 3 hours (total) 

• you will have a break of 30 minutes in between papers

6. Passing marks is 50%

Materials to prepare

1. register first- refer to this post

2. Study Smart

• understanding what is coming out (key points)
• The table below is an estimation of how many question came out for each section, it can subject to changes and not necessarily accurate. Please use it as a guidance only.
• Discipline to study constantly everyday.

 Paper 1: medical based Q

	No. of MCQ estimated	Estimated weightage (%)
Medicine	20	35
Pediatrics	20	30
Psychiatry	8	13
Community Health	5	10
Family Medicine	5	9
Ethics	2	3
Total	60Q

Paper 2: Surgical based Q

	No of MCQ estimated	Estimated weightage (%)
Surgery	20	35
Obstetrics And Gynecology	18	30
Orthopedics	10	15
Emergency Medicine	4	8
Otolaryngology (ENT)	2	3
Forensic Medicine	2	3
Ophthalmology	2	3
Anesthesiology	2	3
Total	60Q

3. study materials

•  oxford handbooks 

• Obstetric and Gynecology reference book by ten teachers

• PLAB study materials: 1700 Q

The Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board (PLAB) Part 1 exam is an 180 question and Single Best Answer (SBA) paper designed to assess your ability to practice medicine safely in UK hospitals. 

While EPR Part 1 consist of 120 question and One best answer (OBA) paper. Can you see the similarities bolded? 

Furthermore, when we finish the exam, we realize the questions and knowledge they test on us are very similar to the how PLAB do it as well !

But How to get the materials?

• Friends: I was lucky to have a friend who studied and pass PLAB, who helped me throughout my study by sharing what he learnt. 

• Apps:  However you can also find the 1700 Q samples by downloading the app on your phone to practice!

If you have more time do try to get the sample question from the PLAB question bank to understand how the questions are being asked as well. 

Train yourself to be able to finish all 120 Questions with the limited time provided!

• Extra Points: Get some pass year questions from the local university graduates if possible.

I love to use UpToDate when I cant find the explanation quickly enough in the books too!

4. Study partners

Try to find someone who is taking the exam together or those who have passed to help you with your studies and continue motivating you till you pass the exam too.

This is my Study Plan

Other study materials recommended by MMC (from their official website):

1. S. Arulkumaran et. al. 2011. Essentials of Obstetrics. 2nd Edition. 

2. Kliegman 2011. Nelson Essential Pediatrics. 6th Edition. Publisher : Saunders 

3. Forrest, Carter. 2005. Macleod: Principles and Practice of Surgery. Churchill Livingstone. 

4. Cushieri, Hennessy, Greenhalgh, Rowley and Grace. 2003. Clinical Surgery. Blackwell Science. 

5. Williamson. 2005. Scott: An Aid to Clinical Surgery. Churchill Livingstone. 

6. Haslett Christopher. 2006. Davidson’s Principles and Practice of Medicine. 20th Edition. Churchill Livingstone. 

7. Talley, Nicholas J and O’Connor, Simon. 2005. Clinical Examination: A Systemic Guide to Physical Diagnosis. 5th Edition. 

8. Kumar, Parveen / Clark, Michael. 2005. Kumar & Clark Clinical Medicine, 6th Edition. 

9. Shirley Ooi, Peter Manning. 2004. Guide to the essentials in Emergency Medicine Singapore. McGraw-Hill. 

10. Mark Bisanzo, Micheal R. Filbin. 2007. Emergency Management of the Trauma Patient. 
Case, Algorithms, Evidence. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. 

11. Rakel R. Editor. 2007. Textbook of Family Practice. 7th Edition. W B Saunders 

12. J. Murtagh. 2010. General Practise. 4th Edition. Mc Graw Hill Book Co. 

13. Taylor R. Editor. 2003. Fundamentals of Family Medicine : The Family Medicine Clerkship Textbook. 3rd Edition. Springer Pub. Co. 

14. Solomon L, Warwick D, Selvadurai N. 2010. Apley's System of Orthopaedics and Fractures. 9th Edition. London : Butterworth-Heinemann 

15. Canale S, Beaty J. 2007. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 11th Edition. Mosby. 

16. Synopsis of Psychiatry, Kaplan & Saddock, 9th edition, Williams & Wilkins, 2003. 

17. Handbook of Essential Psychiatry For Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students by Ainsah Omar & Osman Che Bakar, 2007. 

18. Winnutt, Carl. 2004. Clinical Anaesthesia (Lecture Notes). 2nd Edition. Blackwell Publishing Limited. 

19. J. Oliver, L. Cassidy, 2005. Ophthalmology at A Glance. Blackwell Science Ltd. 

20. Burton M, Leighton S, Hall IS, Robson A, Colman BH, Russell J. 2000. Hall & Colman’s disease of the nose, throat and ear. 15th edition, University of Michigan, Churchill Livingstone 

21. Knight B. (2004). Forensic Pathology (3rd Edition). London : Edward Arnold.

 https://mmc.gov.my/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/EPR02082019_2.pdf

Common Topics Asked in EPR (Internal Med)

Internal medicine is a huge topic which is one of the paper during the exam. make sure you are able to do this well..

Internal Medicine

The main subject I am going to focus here are

1. Endocrine

2. Cardiology

3. Respiratory System

4. Gastrointestinal system

5. Renal

6. Rheumatology and Hematology

_____________________________________________________

Endocrine

1. DM
2. Thyrotoxicosis
3. Cushing syndrome
4. Dressler Syndrome
5. Breast Cancer
6. Primary Aldosteronism
7. Phaechromocytoma

Cardiology

1. MI, MR
2. DVT
3. TOF and cyanotic spells
4. Arrythmia
5. Ddx murmurs
6. Pulmonary Edema
7. DIC

Respiratory System

1, Pneumothorax

2. Chest trauma

3. Pneumonia

4. Asthma

5. Tuberculosis

Gastrointestinal (important!)

1. PU, DU
2. Cirrhosis
3. Hepatitis
4. Ddx left and right colorectal cancer
5. Cholecystitis vs cholangitis
6. Esophageal cancer
7. Pancreatitis
8. Appendicitis
9. UC and IBD
10. Diverticulosis
11. Indirect and direct hernia

Renal System

1. Renal Artery Stenosis
2. AKI dx and Mx
3. Nephrotic syndrome
4. Adrenal insufficiency, hyperplasia
5. ESRD
6. renal cancer
7. Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

Rheumatology and Hematology

1. OA and RA
2. Septic Arthritis
3. Arteriovenous malform
4. Purpura causes
5. CML dx and Mx
6. Ddx Anemia (macro, micro, nomocytic)
7. Anemia during pregnancy

Abbrevations to take note:

DM: diabetes mellitus

MOA: motor vehicle accident

Ddx: differential diagnosis

Mx: management

Good luck!

Important Topics for EPR (Surgery, etc.)

These are some of the topics me and my friends think are important after finishing the Examination for Provisional Registration (EPR)- theory exam, hopefully it could help you narrow down the topics for your study.

**please use this as a guidance only**

Do try to understand the topic as a whole from the physiology to its clinical use. It is important to have a strong foundation during your med school for you to pass the exam. 

Do not follow this key topics blindly!

Always study more!

The subjects included in this post are
1. orthopedics
2. Obstetrics and Gynecology (Obgyn)
3. Pediatrics
4. Infectious Disease
5. Neurology
6. Psychiatry
7. Emergency Medicine

For internal medicine, please refer to another post specifically for it, Happy study!

Orthopedics

1. Differential of Anterior cruciate ligament tear, PCL tear 

2. Gout

3. Fracture complications

4. Physical Examination to diagnose ACL,PCL, meniscal tear

5. what is SLT for?

Obgyn

1. Ddx of miscarriage

2. Eclampsia, Pre-Eclampsia

3. Contraindicated Medication for pregnancy

4. PPH

5. Amniotic Fluid embolism

6. Placenta previa

7. menstrual cycle

8. understand- endometriosis, adenomyosis, PID, uterine fibroids, post coital bleeding causes

Pediatrics

1. Asthma diagnosis and treatment
2. Types of heart murmurs for peds
3. Seizure
4. Types of Jaundice
5. Signs of respiratory distress
6. GI obstruction and their presentation
7. Jones criteria
8. Nephritis, Nephrotic syndrome
9. HSP
10. Ddx between hydrocele, epididymo orchitis, testicular torsion

Infectious disease

1. Dengue
2. Malaria
3. SLE
4. Ddx vaginal discharge

Neurology

1. Stroke
2. Horner's syndrome
3. Lumbar prolapse

Psychiatry

1. Bulimia nervorsa
2. Autism
3. PTSD
4. understand the types and uses of anti psych meds
5. Panic disorder

Emergency Medicine

1. types of shock
2. stroke
3. limb ischemia mx
4. dDx of chest pain
5. Burn classification and its Mx
6. GCS coma scale
7. How to treat drug overdose... (find out the possibilities or most common meds misused)

Good luck and all the best!

Intro to Examination for Provisional Registration (EPR) registration

Examination for provisional Registration (EPR)

Medical Licensing Exam in Msia.

Are you lost and looking for someone who is like you but took the exam? 

You are in luck!😁

I am one of the graduates from a University in China, who passed the EPR theory exam on 4th September 2019 and OSCE on December 2019.

I am here to share my experience to all International Medical Graduates who wish to work in Malaysia as a doctor. Hopefully with the guide of this blog, it will give you a clearer picture on what you need to prepare for the exam. 

Please use this blog as a guidance only for your preparation, and always refer to the main website (MMC website) to be more accurate.

First things first,

The medical licencing exam for international medical graduates are called EPR. EPR stands for Examination for Provisional Registration.It is for medical graduates from an university which is not fully recognize by the medical council in Malaysia . 
Check your university's status

Cost

The exam cost about
RM1000 for processing fee and another RM 3000 for the exam. 
You are still required to pay RM4k if you are retaking the exam. 😒

** all payments via online banking, so make sure you have an online account to transfer them.

Date

The exam is held two times in a year, one in March and another in September.
Schedule for 2019 and more is shown below in a table, as a reference for you to estimate the examination date. 

It is usually on the same month but the date can change. 
This is written based on our experience.

With covid-19 pandemic, some dates were cancelled. But they recently came up with an update where candidates can take online test (for theory-EPR1) starting 2021 March. 

Whoever passed the theory exam is eligible for the clinical exam. Those who failed will have to retake the theory exam. You have 4 chances to take the exam until you can pass them. 

Documents Needed

Then, you can start preparing the documents needed for the exam (preferably as soon as you can or at least 2 months before exam). 
Please refer to their official website for the registration form and checklist

There are a few things I would look out for and one of them are about how to get these documents certified. I have to make 2 trips to MMC(Malaysia Medical Council) just to submit these documents, it is crazy.

• make sure it is certified
• by a government servant- teacher/doctor working in government sector 
• + certified true copy stamp (if possible)
• if you have contents on the back of the page, make sure you certify that too.
• refer

• If possible certify at least 6 copies for future use.
• 2 for step 1: theory
• 1 for step 2: clinical
• 2 for Houseman application
• 1 for backup in case you failed.
• IF you graduate from China, make sure you photocopy and verify both the Chinese and the English certificate!

After it is accepted you will receive a letter that you are permitted to take the upcoming exam.

Last but not least, remember to check the MMC website for the exam dates! They usually release the dates 1-2 months prior exam, and ensure you register early to get to sit for the exam. Their closing date is usually 3 weeks to 1 month before the date.

Where to go?

Address: Malaysian Medical Council, Block B, Ground Floor, Jalan Cenderasari, 50590 Kuala Lumpur.
Google Map

How to apply via online?

click here to know more

What to bring during exam?

1. Identification card / Passport
2.Confirmation Letter by MMC
3. Proof of payment
4. 2B pencils and erasers!!! (no pens are allowed.)
4. Jacket ,
 - it was so cold when we took the exam , I was shivering while trying to answer the questions.
5. Water bottle
6. Watch: to keep yourself on track of the time, and answer all question before time runs out.

Advice

The exam will take up about 6 months to a year, so in the meantime while waiting for exam, I strongly advice you all

If you are financially tight, it is better you work and save money before taking the exam. However, be aware of your time management, learn to have discipline to study even though you are tired or worn out after work, always keep in mind that, if you don't pass this exam, you wont be able to practice as a doctor in Malaysia. This is the "stumbling block" that you need to overcome and work with for a better future!

Always be humble and don't be afraid to seek help from the others. 

More info visit
https://mmc.gov.my/registration/#epr