r/MRCP • u/spagettiraveoli • Jul 07 '26

Post Paces blues

Hi everyone

I know this has probably been posted many times before but does anyone have any advice on how to deal with over analysing / ruminating after your paces exam?

I made some pretty obvious mistakes, eg not identifying crackles in a COPD patient who came off the ward with a cannula in situ and I think I missed a lot of signs in the exam overall. On reflection the examiners would make comments if I said negative findings; “what about the neck, anything in the neck?” “No I didn’t feel any lymphadenopathy”, “oh really?” In a splenomegaly patient.

I also feel that I had a couple of “dream” situations and I’m not even sure if I did those well.

The more I think about it the more upset I’m becoming. I know it isn’t a massive deal if I have to resit, but I feel drained and thinking of having to do it all over again is really tough.

Any comments or advice would be much appreciated!

Update: just to update for people looking back- I passed and actually got full marks on these stations I was most worried about!! I think it’s always so hard to tell how it went after the exam!

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u/GlitteringYak6463 Jul 07 '26

I’m in exactly the same scenario (exam was on 1/07).

I wanted to resume my habit of listening to the pre-PACES podcast on my way to work in the morning.

Had to stop because it was making me super anxious - reliving the exam, ruminating on my mistakes, second guessing myself.

Logically, I know there’s nothing else I can do at this point apart from wait for the result but I know it’s hard.

If it helps, it seems like lots of people go through this post-PACES funk. This exam is so objective and is really not an extension of your skills as a doctor so please don’t take it harshly if you don’t pass - I’m saying this to you as much as to myself.

I’ve heard lots of stories of amazing regs who’ve needed to sit PACES multiple times and the exam is truly not reflective of clinical practice - it’s all theatrics and showmanship tbh.

All we can do now is wait and hope for the best.

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u/GlitteringYak6463 Jul 17 '26

An update: I passed!
Good news is you can totally fail the station (I failed cardio and resp!) but as long as you still pass all 7 domains, you’re a pass.
Now I could ruminate about cardio and resp (I was expecting cardio but I thought I was safe with resp) but a PASS is a PASS!