Best MRCP Part 1 Resources: Consultant’s Review

Which MRCP Part 1 resources are actually worth your time and money? The honest answer is less exciting than most “top ten” lists suggest. The established resources are all usable. What separates a good revision period from a frustrating one is usually how you combine and use them, not which logo is on the login screen.

This review is written by Revision Pro’s consultant-led team. We sell a question bank ourselves, so we will say plainly where we fit and where other resources may suit you better. The aim is to help you build a small, sensible revision stack and avoid the classic traps of buying too much and practising too little under exam conditions.

What a good Part 1 revision stack looks like

The MRCP(UK) Part 1 is a one-day exam of two three-hour papers, each with 100 best of five questions, taken on computer at a test centre. The Federation states that Part 1 papers contain no images, and that knowledge of UK national guidelines is required alongside clinical science and common and important disorders. That shapes what your resources need to do.

A stack that covers those demands usually has five parts:

• One main question bank. This is where most of your hours go. Pick one and aim to finish it, rather than sampling three.
• The official sample questions. The closest guide you will get to the real paper’s style.
• A reference text. Something reliable to check facts against when an explanation leaves you unsure.
• Flashcards or spaced repetition. For the facts that simply have to be memorised: drug side effects, genetics, antibodies, clinical science.
• Video or structured teaching for weak areas. Used selectively, not as a full second course.

Notice what is missing: a second question bank “just in case” and a pile of textbooks. For a fuller picture of the exam itself, our complete guide to MRCP Part 1 covers format, eligibility and planning in one place.

Start with the official Federation material

The Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians runs the exam and publishes its own Part 1 sample questions. You enter your email address, a restart code is emailed to you so you can come back and finish later, and the answers are shown once you complete the practice exam. The same page also links to an online practice test you can take.

The Federation’s guidance recommends that candidates review these example questions because they give insight into the type of material that appears in the examinations. We agree. Their value is not volume, it is calibration. They show you the length of the stems and the level of detail the examiners expect. A sensible approach is to try some at the very start to set expectations, then save the rest for the final fortnight as a reality check.

Two other official sources are worth a few minutes:

• The curriculum. The Federation points candidates to the relevant training curricula, and the Part 1 content follows the UK curriculum. Skimming it once helps you see what “common and important” means in practice.
• The blueprint. The Federation’s format page lists how the 200 questions are distributed across specialties. Clinical sciences carries the largest share, followed by clinical pharmacology, with cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, renal, respiratory, rheumatology, endocrinology and infectious diseases each carrying a sizeable number. Our syllabus weightage breakdown turns that list into revision priorities.

The Federation also mentions that the three Colleges run preparation courses. In our view, a question bank and a textbook do most of the work for Part 1, but a course can help if you learn best from live teaching.

The main question banks, compared fairly

Four well-known independent banks offer MRCP Part 1 material: Passmed, Pastest, Quesmed and BMJ OnExamination. Each is a credible option. The differences are mostly format and features.

Passmed describes its Part 1 bank as curriculum-mapped, with teaching-point explanations, timed and tutor modes, weak topic tracking, performance analytics and spaced repetition. It works across devices. Its explanations are built around a short teaching point for each question, which suits quick, repeatable review.

Pastest offers, alongside its question bank, past papers, a textbook of revision topics, multimedia learning material, an AI tutor feature that it says draws on its own content and NICE guidance, analytics on exam readiness, and a separate on-demand course. It suits candidates who want a question bank and a structured teaching resource from the same provider.

Quesmed offers a Part 1 question bank with detailed explanations, an integrated textbook of notes, past papers, a video course and progress tracking, plus an offline app. It suits candidates who like to move straight from a question into the related notes.

BMJ OnExamination highlights mock exams based on recent exam themes, feedback and peer comparison, the option to select questions by difficulty, daily questions, revision plans and an app with offline access. The peer comparison is useful if you want a sense of where you sit relative to other candidates.

When you trial any bank, look at four things: whether the explanations teach you the underlying principle or only state the answer, whether management reflects current UK guidance, whether there is a genuine timed mock mode, and whether the performance data shows you which topics to fix. Our longer piece on choosing an MRCP Part 1 question bank goes through those tests in more detail.

Where our own platform fits

Revision Pro is designed to cover several parts of the stack at once. It has 6,000+ consultant-written questions mapped to the Part 1 blueprint across 17 specialties, past papers, and a timed mock mode that mirrors the real exam. Alongside the questions sit 50+ Core Concepts videos, a Knowledge Library of revision notes, and 3,500+ built-in spaced-repetition flashcards. An adaptive engine handles review of weak topics and shows a live predicted exam score. There is also an IMG success series for the IMT application.

Where we are a good fit: if you want one login for questions, notes, flashcards and targeted video, and you like software that tells you what to revise next. Where another resource might suit you better: if you already own and like a particular textbook-led bank, or if peer benchmarking against a large cohort is the feature you care about most. You can see how the pieces fit together on our MRCP Part 1 resources page, and there is a free trial with no card needed if you want to test it against the criteria above.

Textbooks and reference sources worth having

The Federation’s own guidance recommends preparing by gaining clinical experience with acute medical patients and by studying up-to-date postgraduate clinical textbooks and current medical journals. For Part 1 you do not need a shelf of books. You need one or two you trust.

• Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine. Now in its 11th edition from Oxford University Press. It is compact and good for checking a fact quickly while doing questions.
• Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine. The 11th edition was published by Elsevier in 2025. It is a full textbook, so treat it as the place to read around a topic you keep getting wrong, not something to read cover to cover.
• UK guidance for management and prescribing. Because the exam requires knowledge of UK national guidelines, NICE guidance and the BNF are the natural reference points when a question turns on first-line treatment or a drug interaction. This matters most for doctors who trained outside the UK, where local practice may differ.

If your bank includes its own notes, that may be enough for most topics, and a standalone book becomes a backup.

Flashcards are different. Clinical sciences, pharmacology and genetics reward repeated recall more than reading, and spacing is the key: short daily reviews beat long weekend sessions.

Combining resources by learning style and time available

A doctor on nights needs a different stack from someone with a protected study block. Some realistic combinations:

If you have 12 weeks or more and some protected time: One question bank worked through by specialty, then mixed. A textbook for reading around weak topics. Daily flashcards throughout. Official sample questions at the start and again near the end. Timed mocks every one to two weeks in the final month. Our 12-week MRCP plan sets out a week-by-week version.

If you are working full time with irregular shifts: Keep the stack small and mobile. A question bank with a good app, flashcards you can do in ten-minute gaps, and one weekly block for a timed set. Skip the full textbook and rely on the bank’s explanations and notes. Our article on preparing for MRCP Part 1 while working full time has more on fitting revision around rotas.

If you learn best by reading first, or by doing questions: Readers do well with a bank that has integrated notes, reading a section before each topic block and then testing it. Question-first learners can go straight in, reading only when an explanation does not make sense. Either way, turn every fact you got wrong into a flashcard.

If you are an IMG new to UK practice: Give extra weight to UK guidance and prescribing, since some questions hinge on first-line UK management. The official sample questions are particularly useful for getting used to the style and interface.

Mistakes to avoid when choosing resources

Most resource problems are about habits, not quality.

1. Buying too many. Two banks rarely give you twice the preparation, just two half-finished ones. One bank finished, with wrong answers reviewed, is worth more.
2. Never doing timed practice. Two three-hour papers of 100 questions each is a test of stamina and pacing as well as knowledge. If all your practice is untimed tutor mode, the real exam will feel very different. Build in full or half-length timed sets well before exam day.
3. Chasing the percentage. Your score in a bank depends on that bank’s difficulty and the order you did the questions. Use it to track direction and weak areas, not as a precise forecast.
4. Skipping the official material. It comes from the people who set the exam. Leaving it unused is a missed opportunity.
5. Ignoring the blueprint. Clinical sciences carries the largest single share of questions, so leaving it until last is risky. Plan your time around where the marks are.

If a resource is not working after a genuine two or three weeks, change your approach before your product. The fix is often more timed practice, not a new subscription.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need more than one question bank for MRCP Part 1?

Usually not. One good bank, completed properly with your incorrect answers reviewed, covers most candidates’ needs. A second bank can help if you finish the first early and have time left, but starting two at once tends to spread your effort thinly. Add the official sample questions from the Federation on top, since they reflect the real exam’s style, and put any spare money or time into timed mock practice rather than another subscription.

Are the official MRCP(UK) sample questions worth doing?

Yes. They are published by the Federation, which runs the exam, and its guidance recommends reviewing them for insight into the type of material you will face. You enter your email, receive a restart code so you can return later, and see the answers once you finish. The same page also links to an online practice test. They are best used for calibration rather than volume, so consider saving some for the final weeks.

Which textbook should I use for MRCP Part 1?

Pick one you will actually open. The Oxford Handbook of Clinical Medicine is compact and handy for checking facts during question practice. Kumar and Clark’s Clinical Medicine is a fuller text for reading around weak topics. Several question banks now include integrated notes, which may be enough for most areas. Whatever you choose, cross-check management against current UK guidance, since the exam expects knowledge of UK national guidelines.

Are flashcards useful for Part 1?

They are especially useful for the heavily factual areas such as clinical sciences, pharmacology and genetics, where repeated recall matters more than understanding a long explanation. The benefit comes from spacing, so short daily sessions work better than occasional long ones. Built-in spaced-repetition cards within a question bank save setup time, while making your own cards from questions you got wrong forces you to process each mistake.

How early should I start timed practice?

Earlier than most candidates do. You do not need full papers in week one, but short timed sets from the first few weeks help you learn to pace yourself. In the final month, aim for regular longer timed sessions, including at least one full-length sitting of two three-hour papers, so the length of the exam day is not a surprise. Review every timed set afterwards, as that review is where much of the learning happens.