GP Diplomas · Core Resources

DipMSK Core Resources

Official links, the guidance the examiners actually draw on, and the Core Revision tools that go with them — collected in one calm place.

The exam, in brief. The Diploma in Musculoskeletal Medicine is a single online paper of 180 single-best-answer questions, sat over 3 hours. Formats, fees and sitting dates change — at the time of writing, confirm all of these with the Faculty before you book.

Straight from the Faculty

The FSEM sets and awards the DipMSK. Where this page and the FSEM disagree, the FSEM is right.

The official DipMSK page

The Faculty of Sport and Exercise Medicine (FSEM) awards the diploma. Its site carries the definitive exam description.

Faculty of Sport & Exercise Medicine →

Syllabus & regulations

The syllabus tells you the breadth expected — regional MSK problems, examination, imaging, injection therapy, rehabilitation. The regulations tell you the rules. Read both.

Find the current syllabus →

Fees & sitting dates

The DipMSK is run once a year — there is one sitting, and no resit diet if you fail it. Fees and dates are published by the FSEM and do change — confirm before you plan your revision around them.

Check dates and fees →

How to apply

Eligibility and the application window are set by the FSEM. Apply early: the application window is short (11 January to 1 April for the 2027 sitting).

Eligibility and applying →

The FSEM’s own reading list

All eighteen items, as published by the Faculty in its DipMSK reading list (correct as of January 2024). The Faculty’s own preface: “There is no requirement to consult all the resources listed above; these are suggested support resources.” Where our summary and the Faculty’s list disagree, the Faculty is right.

What has changed since the Faculty published this list. The list was compiled in January 2024 and three of its items have moved since. NICE NG59 was updated on 29 July 2026 — two recommendations withdrawn, two amended (see the entry below). NICE CG177 was replaced by NG226 in 2022. The GIRFT suspected cauda equina pathway was revised in March 2026, and the link below points at that revision rather than the one the Faculty cited. Everything else on the list was current when we checked each item at source on 15 September 2026.

NICE NG59 — Low back pain and sciatica in over 16sWhat to do, what not to do, and when to image. One of the highest-yield guidelines on the whole paper. Updated 29 July 2026: NICE withdrew recommendation 1.2.13 (cognitive behavioural psychological therapy as part of a treatment package) and 1.2.14 (combined physical and psychological programmes) after some of the evidence behind them was retracted, and amended 1.1.3 and 1.2.7 to drop the psychological-therapy wording. An answer that offers either as NICE’s recommendation for low back pain is now out of date.
NICE NG226 — Osteoarthritis in over 16sDiagnosis without imaging, exercise as core treatment, and the place of analgesia and surgery.
NICE CG177 — Osteoarthritis: care and managementOn the FSEM list, though NG226 replaced it in 2022. Read NG226; know that CG177 is what older sources quote.
BESS — Shoulder region pathologiesThe British Elbow & Shoulder Society care pathways: frozen shoulder, subacromial pain, instability, cuff tears.
JOSPT — 2022 Bern Consensus Statement on shoulder injuryPrevention, rehabilitation and return to sport for athletes at all levels.
GIRFT — National suspected cauda equina syndrome pathwayThe four-hour standard, the emergency scan, and who does what. Linked here is the March 2026 revision; the FSEM list was compiled in January 2024 and points at the earlier version.
NOGG — Osteoporosis guidelinesFracture risk assessment and treatment thresholds. The UK reference for bone health questions.
ARMA — Urgent MSK and inflammatory conditions requiring emergency onward referralThe referral-urgency source the syllabus leans on in almost every subject.
NHS England — Decision support toolsCarpal tunnel syndrome, hip osteoarthritis, knee osteoarthritis and Dupuytren’s contracture.
British Society for Rheumatology — guidelines and podcastsIncluding the hot swollen joint, giant cell arteritis and the DMARD safety guidance.
Arthritis UK (formerly Versus Arthritis) — MSK clinical assessment in children and young peoplepGALS and the paediatric examination. Directly examinable in subject 18.
iRefer — Right test, first timeThe Royal College of Radiologists’ referral guidance. Every subject asks when imaging is appropriate.
RCP London — The diagnosis of fibromyalgia syndromeThe 2022 UK clinical guideline. Diagnosis is positive, not one of exclusion.
ARMA — Chronic pain policy positionReads directly onto NG193 and the persisting-pain subject.
BJSM — Doha agreement on terminology and definitions in groin pain in athletesThe five defined entities. The reason “sportsman’s hernia” is not an answer.
British Orthopaedic Association — BOAST standardsOpen fractures, the older or frail patient, spinal clearance, and the trauma standards behind several red-flag items.
RCOG — The initial management of chronic pelvic pain (Green-top 41)The reason pelvic pain sits in an MSK syllabus at all.
Paediatric Musculoskeletal Matters — PMM onlineFree, and the best single paediatric MSK resource in English.

What we would add

The list above is the source of record. These are not on it, but they come up often enough in the paper — and in clinic — to be worth the time.

NICE NG100 — Rheumatoid arthritis in adultsEarly referral, treat-to-target, and the drugs you will be expected to recognise.
NICE guidance (full library)Also worth a look: spondyloarthritis, fractures, and chronic pain. Search rather than assume.
Arthritis UK (formerly Versus Arthritis)Excellent, free, clinician-facing MSK resources — regional examination, condition summaries and patient information you can actually use in clinic.
BMJ Best Practice — musculoskeletal topicsStructured, evidence-linked topic summaries. Many NHS staff have free access through OpenAthens.

Your Core Revision toolkit

Everything below is part of your Core Revision membership. Start wherever you are — there is no wrong door.

DipMSK Question BankExam-style single-best-answer questions with worked explanations. DipMSK GuideEighteen chapters, one per FSEM subject area — recognition, mimics, imaging, management and referral timeframes. DipMSK CurriculumThe eighteen FSEM subject areas mapped, with pointers for each, rated as you go. Core LensFor every subject: the safety cue, the guideline point and the exam trap.Core CompassRate the eighteen subjects, see your readiness by subject, and build a session from your weakest. Core CalendarA realistic revision timetable built around your working week. Core WisdomFounder-written pieces on what the exam asks, the patterns it tests and how to pace the paper.

The rest of the DipMSK toolkit

Every part of the DipMSK track, one click away. Work across them rather than through them — the guide explains it, the tools drill the decision, the bank tests it and the Compass tells you what is left.

The DipMSK overviewWhere the whole track starts — what the diploma is and how it is assessed.The DipMSK Question Bank1,000 single-best-answer questions across all eighteen FSEM subjects, at exam pace.The Core 10Ten focused minutes of DipMSK questions a day, weighted to this week of your plan and your shakiest topics.Core CurriculumThe eighteen FSEM subject areas, rated as you go.Core LensHow the DipMSK actually asks it — the safety cue, the guideline point and the exam trap across all eighteen areas.Core ToolsFive interactive decision aids: the Imaging Decider, the Achilles Reasoner, the referral timing drill, the Shoulder Sorter and the Tendon Companion.Core CompassRate the eighteen subjects, see your readiness by subject, then build a session from your weakest.Core CalendarA plan anchored to your exam date, counting back from the paper.The Revision GuideEighteen chapters, from the frozen shoulder to paediatric MSK.Core WisdomTwelve pieces: what the exam asks, the clinical patterns it tests, and how to read and pace the paper.DipMSK on videoTen short videos — what the exam is, how to revise for it and the reasoning it tests.