Top 10 Expert Tips On How To Pass MCCQE Part I Exams In 2024
The Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exams (MCCQE) Part I is a summative test that evaluates a candidate’s critical medical knowledge and clinical decision-making abilities at a level appropriate for a medical student earning his or her medical degree in Canada. The MCC Objectives, which are arranged under the CanMEDS roles, provide the basis of the exam.
Candidates who have completed Part I of the MCCQE are usually placed in supervised practice. Apart from formal accrediting processes for undergraduate and postgraduate education programs, the MCCQE Part I is the only national benchmark for medical schools in Canada and is thus administered at the conclusion of medical school.
How To Apply For MCCQE Part 1
You can apply for the MCCQE Part I at any time if you meet the eligibility requirements listed below. To apply, go to physiciansapply.ca and create an account or log in if you already have an account. To get started, go to “Examinations,” Apply for an Exam,” and then follow the prompts to pay for your exam. Your account will walk you through the steps and show you which papers you’ll need to submit as part of your application.
You may receive prompt notification that your MCCQE Part I application has been accepted if the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) has previously reviewed all required documentation. Otherwise, please allow up to three weeks for your application to be processed.
However, you must know that an exam application that includes a request for test accommodations will require up to nine weeks of processing time, once all the eligibility requirements have been fulfilled and Candidate Affairs receives all the required supporting documentation.
After your application is accepted, you will have one year to take the MCCQE Part I at an available Prometric test centre or through remote proctoring on a first come first serve basis. This one-year period is called the eligibility window. Your eligibility window expires once you take (or withdraw from) the exam.
Eligibility Requirements
To apply to the MCCQE Part I, you must be a graduate of, or a student who is expected to complete all requirements to graduate from:
- A medical school accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS); OR
- A medical school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools and identified by a Canada Sponsor Note indicating it is an acceptable medical school in Canada; OR
- A United States School of Osteopathic Medicine accredited by the American Osteopathic Association.
If you are a student:
You can apply up to 15 months prior to your expected date of graduation. Once your application is approved, however, your eligibility window will begin 12 months from your expected date of graduation.
You can schedule an exam appointment only within your eligibility window (not sooner than 12 months before your expected date of graduation). During this eligibility window, you may schedule an appointment as soon as five months prior to the first date of an exam session.
If you are a graduate:
Your medical degree/diploma must be in the process of source verification or have been successfully source verified.
Reapplying For The MCCQE Part I
If you previously applied as an international medical student (IMS), a U.S. medical student, or a student from a U.S. School of Osteopathic Medicine and your expected date for completion of medical degree requirements has changed since you first submitted your student attestation form, you must submit a new form.
If you previously applied as a student and are now a graduate, you must submit a copy of your final medical degree (diploma) to the MCC and SVR through your physiciansapply.ca account. If you previously applied as a graduate and you have already submitted your final medical degree diploma for source verification, you are not required to resubmit the diploma.
Canadian medical students or graduates are typically not required to submit additional documents as re-applicants to the MCCQE Part I.
Limited Exam Attempts
You may take the MCCQE Part I up to a maximum of four times. You cannot and will not be able to retake the exam if you have a pass result. A one-year waiting period will be required between the third and fourth attempts. After four attempts, in exceptional personal circumstances, you can submit a request for special permission to make a fifth attempt.
How To Schedule Your Appointment
After your application is accepted, you will receive a message through your physiciansapply.ca account confirming that you are eligible to take the MCCQE Part I.
You can schedule your appointment online or by telephone. Prior to scheduling, please ensure you have all the information needed to complete your appointment. We recommend the online option as the Prometric website will walk you through the entire process in an easy-to-understand way.
How To Reschedule OR Cancel Your Appointment
As some of the public health restrictions are being lifted, Prometric is re-instituting in-centre testing at as many locations as possible and the list may change weekly; therefore, we suggest checking back regularly if your preferred testing location isn’t currently available. Additionally, you may prefer to take your exam remotely proctored. We understand that this may require you to reschedule your original exam appointment.
To Make Changes To Your Exam Appointment, Please Visit Prometric.
If you need to reschedule or cancel up to 30 days before your exam appointment, you will be required to pay a CAN$38.14 fee to Prometric. You can cancel or reschedule your appointment directly through Prometric, either online or by telephone. You will need the 16-digit confirmation number you received when you first scheduled your appointment.
If you reschedule or cancel less than 30 days before your exam appointment, you will need to pay a CAN$76.28 fee to Prometric.
Appointments cannot be rescheduled/canceled fewer than 120 hours before the exam. If you do not attend your exam appointment, or if you cancel your appointment fewer than 120 hours (five days) before the day of your exam, your application fees will be forfeited.
Taking The MCCQE Part I
Before you start the exam, you will navigate through a tutorial on how the exam delivery application works, and then you will be required to watch a short video on exam security.
In the first section, there are a total of 210 MCQs. Since you are given four hours to complete the MCQ session, we suggest that you spend on average no more than 1 minute and 8 seconds per question. You can flag questions and return to those questions at any point during the MCQ component of the exam.
The following section is the CDM component and you are presented 38 cases for a total of 65-75 questions. We recommend that you spend no more than an average of five minutes and 30 seconds per case.
Cases with three or more questions may require more than the average amount of time, and cases with only one question should require less than the average amount of time. You do not have a time limit for each case but are given a total testing time of three and a half hours for the CDM component.
You will be able to flag questions within a case and return to those questions at any point during the CDM component of the exam.
You are not allowed to leave the exam room before submitting the MCCQE Part I without first notifying a Prometric staff member. Please note that the exam timer will continue to run during unscheduled breaks, and you will be required to undergo security check-in procedures upon return. No outside contact is allowed during the exam session.
When the exam is over, a notice confirming that you have completed the MCCQE Part I will be displayed on the computer screen. A 7-day policy to report procedural irregularities or incidents that may have negatively impacted your performance on exam day will also be displayed.
This notice will not include your total score or final result. You will also be sent a notice of completion email to further confirm the receipt of your exam responses.
Reporting Illnesses OR Extenuating Circumstances
If you are unwell or have extenuating circumstances that might negatively affect your performance before starting or if you have already started the exam and you want to withdraw, please notify a Prometric staff member immediately. Submit a message through physiciansapply.ca account notifying the MCC of your decision.
Technical Difficulties
Please notify Prometric staff immediately if you experience technical difficulties during the exam. If you are taking a remotely proctored exam and are experiencing technical difficulties, visit the Prometric Technical Support page.
Exam Day Incidents
If you experience a procedural irregularity or incident that may negatively affect your performance, please notify Prometric staff and notify the MCC by submitting a message through your physiciansapply.ca account within the next seven days.
The MCC may not thoroughly investigate concerns relating to exam day incidents reported seven days past your scheduled exam appointment.
If you choose to start the exam, it will count as an attempt, even if you cannot finish it.
Conduct and Behaviour
You will be monitored by Prometric staff when taking the exam. The MCC will video record (with or without audio) the invigilation of the MCC exam in accordance with the MCCQE Part I Terms and Conditions you accepted at the time of application.
At Test Centres where video cameras are installed, notices will be posted informing you that the session is being recorded. Any personal information captured in these recordings will be treated according to the MCC Privacy Policy.
Speaking to anyone other than Prometric staff during your exam appointment is prohibited and access to any communication or transmitting devices, including phones or tablets, during the exam is not permitted. You must complete the MCCQE Part I on your own; providing or receiving assistance with the completion of the MCCQE Part I is prohibited and a breach of the MCCQE Part I Terms and Conditions.
If you appear to be giving or receiving information during the exam, the Prometric staff member in charge of the exam can immediately terminate your exam. Prometric staff members must make a full report of all such occurrences to MCC.
All MCCQE Part I materials, including the content and questions comprising the MCCQE Part I, are protected by copyright and are to be kept confidential. You are permitted to use the MCCQE Part I materials solely for the purpose of completing the MCCQE Part I.
You must not disseminate, reproduce, share, or reveal to others the exam materials and content, in whole or in part, at any time in any way, even after the exam ends. Comparing exam content and question themes with your colleagues, sharing content with future exam candidates, and posting content online are considered breaches of confidentiality.
Any breach of the MCCQE Part I Terms and Conditions will be considered irregular behaviour for which MCC may take appropriate action, in accordance with the MCCQE Part I Terms and Conditions you accepted at the time of application.
How To Check Your MCCQE Result
- Log in to your physiciansapply.ca account within 20 calendar days of receiving your exam result.
- Click on Examinations in the left panel, then on Request a result Recheck in the centre panel.
How To Pass MCCQE
- Draft out a study plan.
- Get preparatory MCCQE materials.
- You could engage in study groups.
- Engage in the MCCQE study quiz.
- Familiarize yourself with their website as well as their physician’s application portal.
- Avoid distractions at all costs during this period of your exams.
- Get enough rest and eat lots of Healthy foods to help boost your memory.
- Study your own materials from medical school.
- It is often believed that proper preparation prevents poor performance, so it’s important you prepare properly.
- Ensure you’re already seated for your exams at least 30 minutes before the commencement of the exams.
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