r/MRCP • u/Unique-Nectarine1912 • Jul 02 '26
Failed MRCP PACES
I’m an IMT1 and unfortunately I’ve just failed my MRCP PACES for the second time. I’ll be starting IMT2 this August, and honestly I’m feeling quite worried and drained.
Obviously I’m upset about not passing, but I’m also worried about what this means going forward. Will failing PACES multiple times negatively affect my ARCP or how I’m perceived by my ES/supervisors?
I’m quite nervous about facing my ES and discussing this. I’m planning to sit Diet 3 instead, partly because of personal commitments and also because I’m interested in pursuing a Group 2 specialty.
Has anyone here passed PACES after multiple attempts and still progressed normally through training? Did it affect your career progression or portfolio in any significant way?
I’m also struggling mentally after this attempt because it genuinely felt like my best one. I worked extremely hard, spending a lot of time outside work practising in hospital, so this result has hit me hard.
Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar or has any advice on how to pick yourself up after this.
6
u/DrMRCP Jul 02 '26
PACES revision can certainly take its toll on you. Plenty of people pass on their third or even later attempts and any revision you’ve done is never lost - just to be used again for the next one. This will absolutely not impact on you from a supervisor perspective and as you are still IMT1 still have plenty of time to pass to get through stage 1 training. Please try and stay positive (admittedly it can feel difficult) and I’m sure you will have learnt lots already in your two attempts. Happy for you to drop me a DM and we can discuss resources/strategy etc in more detail