Study tips
Become familiar with the exam format: The MCC has created demonstration videos for both the MCQ component and the CDM component of the exam. Each instructional video clip is roughly 20 minutes long for a total of approximately 40 minutes of viewing time. The MCC also offers demonstration versions of the computer-based MCQ and CDM components of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part I (MCCQE Part I). The MCCQE Part I Online Demo provides a demonstration of how the MCC’s computer-based examination operates. You will be able to familiarize yourself with the computer-testing environment and learn about each feature before using them in the actual examination. The MCCQE Part I Online Demo includes 28 questions in the MCQ section and six cases in the CDM.
Click here to access the MCCQE Part I MCQ demo.
Click here to access the MCCQE Part I CDM demo.
Become familiar with the exam scoring format: A description of how the MCCQE Part I is scored is available for review on the MCC website.
Focus on your weaknesses: Reviewing the MCC’s Objectives for the Qualifying Examination is a good place to start in trying to identify any areas of weakness. The MCCQE objectives have been developed in terms of clinical presentations.Working from these, by yourself or with others, will align your studying with the format of the examination. Identify areas where feel that your knowledge or skills related to a given objective are weak, make a note to follow up and study that objective further with a medical reference guide or textbook. If working in a group, you may choose to assign specific topics to one and other and review them as a group.
Many candidates preparing for the exam have found it useful to quickly review sections of the current edition of their favourite textbook in each of the major clinical disciplines: obstetrics/gynaecology, paediatrics, medicine, emergency medicine, surgery and psychiatry. The Medical Council of Canada has compiled a list of reference books that may be helpful to you in your studies.
Form a study group: Forming a study group may be very helpful at ensuring that you keep on track with your exam preparation. Identify the objectives that you most need to study and focus on common or critical patient presentations. Consider having each member generate common patient presentations that they understand well, keeping in mind differential diagnoses, key features that help confirm the diagnosis. Also create checklists, identify key investigation and management plans.Allow enough time to prepare: While completing clerkship rotations, consider the objectives and content that may be on the exam. Make a study schedule and stick to it (see time management section).
Study Smart: Spending 10 hours a day passively reading study guides or old notes is much less effective than spending half that amount of time in active study. Explain concepts out loud to a study partner, practice answering questions by explaining why the right answers are right and the wrong answers are wrong. If concept mapping works for you, do it. If there are other methods that work for you, use them.
Questions, Questions, Questions: Insufficient practice with questions is one of the reasons people do poorly exams. The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) offers the Self Administered Qualifying Examination Part I (SAE – QEI), an online, 96 multiple-choice question practice examination intended for individuals wishing to test their level of preparedness for the MCCQE Part I. The Self Administered Qualifying Examination Part I does not cover all material in the MCCQE Part I but it does provide a sample of the type and style of questions that may be found in the MCCQE Part I and can serve as a study aid. It does not contain a clinical decision making type questions that are found on the exam. Following completion, feedback is e-mailed to the participants regarding the number of correctly answered questions and a comparison of their performance to those of other MCCQE Part I participants. The cost of each Self Administered Examination is $60 CAD, payable online by credit card (Visa or MasterCard only).
There are also a number of commercially available questions banks. These “ghost banks” are not official MCC questions and there is no guarantee that the information within the question is correct or are reflective of the content from the MCCQE Part I. A list of question banks is located in the resource section of this page.
Exam day tips:
Review the MCQ and Short Answer tips sections in Preparing for Exams on this website.