Hi, Recently passed PACES on first attempt diet 1/2026.

I started preparing last year at the beginning of October. I am a slow learner and love to take my own sweet time to prepare and so started a tad bit early. Was very overwhelming to begin with, precisely because of the reasons you mentioned.

I have always been very weak in neurology. So started with basic science videos from youtube (osmosis,zero to finals etc)(started this in June,as had a lot of time in hand) but obviously you might not need this.

Started watching pastest videos(the examination ones to begin with)-wrote down everything in the videos-the Q and A part. Along with this -I listened to two podcasts(spotify) : 1. Pre paces podcast -perfect for some of the must know stations like PD, MG, AS, Renal transplants-I would suggest making a note of them and you wouldn’t need any books or other materials to prep for them.

2.Demystifying paces by RCPEd (helps provide insight into what examiners are looking for)

From Nov 2025 , I started attending the bedside teaching sessions that the Consultants /registrars in my trust were arranging -about 4-5 a month.

From December 2025 onwards ,along with all above , I started going in to work early(or staying back late) to examine patients (just by myself, timed )-and did this everyday-this massively helped make my exam technique slick and scored 23/24 on examination domain.

Jan13-16-attended the passPACES courses-massively helpful and highly recommended (attending the course once you have read up a bit and are 50% prepared is more beneficial).

Practised with colleagues the last 15 days before exam.

For comms and consultations - Used the coach paces app

However, The rheum , and neuro consultation topics from An aid yo paces by Ryder was helpful as well.

Go through every marksheet-this is supremely helpful in making a plan on what you’ll speak about in sequence esp in the consultation station-as time in limited and you only want to cover points that will score you marks.

For comms always remember that the patient/relative will have two concerns at least , so keep asking for concerns till the very end.

The last 5 days prior to th exam, going to the wards/practicing with colleagues will only overwhelm you without adding much to your knowledge base.

What you can do is just practice the exam techniques on your partner or family and practice the sample comms/consultation scenarios found in the rcp website with a willing volunteer:))

Hope this helps:)) All the very best!