The intercollegiate MRCS is an essential requirements for application to ST3 posts.
The syllabus is broad and covers all aspects of basic surgical practice, including basic sciences and critical care and reflects the core surgical training syllabus. The trauma & orthopaedic elements of the syllabus are listed below, as well as links to additional resources and guidance on appropriate reading.
- Presenting Complaint
- Traumatic limb and joint pain and deformity
- Chronic limb and joint pain and deformity
- Back pain
- To include the following conditions
- Common congenital anomalies
- Simple fractures and joint dislocations
- Fractures around the hip and ankle
- Degenerative and inflammatory joint disease
- Bone and joint infection
- Compartment syndrome
- Spinal nerve root entrapment and spinal cord compression
- Metastatic bone cancer
- Metabolic bone disease
- Common peripheral neuropathies and nerve injuries
- Amputations and rehabilitation
- To assess and initiate management of patients:
- with head and facial trauma
- with a spinal cord injury
- with chest trauma
- with abdominal and urogenital trauma
- with vascular trauma
- with fractures or dislocations
- with traumatic skin and soft tissue injury
- with burns.
- To assess the multiply injured patient.
- To prioritise management in such situations as defined by Advanced Trauma Life Support, Advanced Paediatric Life Support etc.
- Scoring systems for assessment of the injured patient
- Major incident triage
- Differences in children
- Shock
- Pathogenesis of shock
- Shock and cardiovascular physiology
- Metabolic response to injury
- Adult respiratory distress syndrome
- Indications for using uncrossmatched blood
- Wounds and soft tissue injuries
- Gunshot and blast injuries
- Stab wounds
- Human and animal bites
- Nature and mechanism of soft tissue injury
- Principles of management of soft tissue injuries
- Principles of management of traumatic wounds
- Compartment syndrome
- Fractures and dislocations
- Classification
- Pathophysiology of fractures
- Principles of management
- Complications
- Joint injuries
- Spinal cord injury
- Peripheral nerve injuries
- Vascular injury including iatrogenic injuries and intravascular drug abuse
- Crush injury
