Are you fit enough to pass MRCP?
When most seniors give you advice about passing MRCP, it’s all about the practice questions and technical aspects of revision. This is very natural and I would even go as far as saying that it’s the bread and butter of MRCP. However, increasingly in many “mind” sports like chess and snooker, elite players are having to concentrate on their physical health to achieve peak performance mentally. For example, one of the top, if not the best, snooker players, Ronnie O’Sullivan is an avid runner, reportedly being able to run 10km in about 35 minutes. Is this a coincidence?
Brain fog is a real phenomenon characterised by inability to concentrate and lack of mental clarity. I’m sure you have had days where you can revise for 2 or 3 hours and then there are days where even 30 minutes is a real struggle. Brain fog can be caused by lack of exercise, poor diet and tiredness.
Although I’m really passionate about lifting weights I think the exercise you should focus on to maximise your chances of MRCP success is aerobic “cardio” exercise. The bottom line is you want more blood flow “through” your brain to flush out toxins and fuel your mind. You don’t necessarily have to splurge out on a fancy gym membership as there are many workout videos on Youtube or you could run around the block. The best type of cardio in my opinion is high intensity interval training (HIIT), as it doubles as an effective weight loss tool.
Exercise also acts as a natural antidepressant by releasing endorphins, which reduces stress and anxiety during your build up to that important date.
When you think about it, being physically in shape is obviously crucial for your exam success. Carrying extra weight increases oxygen consumption, requiring more effort from your heart and lungs. Simple tasks such as walking up the stairs become notably more challenging even when carrying a 5kg rucksack so why would it not have a cumulative effect if we’re carrying 10 extra pounds of fat?
Solution: Plug in your earphones to listen to your favourite tracks, or even 20 minutes of an audiobook and run as fast as you can around the block! Try and maintain your heart rate around 70% of your maximum (220 – age). For extra bonus points, do HIIT and listen to a MRCP podcast!
When we’re tired and under pressure from that looming exam, motivation disappears off into the sunset and cooking healthy meals become a fairy tale. It’s very tempting to sacrifice eating well and think you’re saving time as you don’t have to grocery shop, or prepare and cook your food from scratch.
During your months of preparation for MRCP you don’t necessarily have to cook. The problem with most foods in the modern era is that they are processed so that all the good stuff like fibre is stripped away. For the same volume of food, you’re taking in a lot more calories.
Solution: Reduce or even cut out artificial sugar if possible. Hyperglycaemia has been linked with Alzheimers, which I know isn’t a worry at our age, but it should ring alarm bells. Postprandial relative hypoglycaemia normally follows hyperglycaemia so the more strictly you can maintain your sugar levels the better your revision. Supplement your diet with a good reliable multivitamin – this is the one I use. Also consider extra vitamin D supplementation as we increasingly find beneficial effects from this fat soluble vitamin that we didn’t previously know about – it seems to be involved in everything – this is the one I use. How do you know you’re definitely getting enough of vitamins A – Z? Why would you not maximise your chances of passing MRCP?
My most recent protein/supplement haul last week. I would also recommend this and this, as protein aids in delaying gastric emptying and improves satiety. I love carbohydrates as much as anyone but I can eat so much and still be hungry two hours later. The macronutrient profile of those two products is fairly decent, offering 20g of protein, 7 – 10g fibre at only 200 calories.
Being occasionally hungry is something to embrace, otherwise how can you enjoy the feeling of satiety? If you’re really struggling then my biggest tips are obviously caffeine (my favourite) and sparkling water, both of which are pretty effective appetite suppressants.
We’ll talk about the other two pillars of health in a future article, take care!
If you enjoyed this article make sure you get your own copy of my MRCP Part 1 & 2 Written Guide. In this guide, I explore the above and other concepts such as time allocation and the most preferable resources for the written exams in much more detail.
Hi Rory, i passed part 1 on September/2017 and thinking of applying for PACE on december, would you recommend doing it before part 2. Actually i didnt pass part 2 on march diet and recently im doing research rotation and have plenty of time to prepare for PACES.
Many thanks
Hi Eslam, well done for passing Part 1, hope you celebrated the win. I would always sit Part 2 prior to PACES and I explain it in one of my posts “when to sit MRCP”. Furthermore doing Part 2 during a research rotation is wiser as you only need to read and do practice questions. For PACES you ideally want to study for this during a clinical placement as you want to constantly practice whilst clerking in and seeing patients.
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