Core Revision
MSRA revision, built around how the exam is marked
The MSRA Pack: 1,700+ clinical problem–solving questions and 500 original Professional Dilemmas items, written by practising UK doctors and marked on the near-miss principle NHS England describes — so you walk in ready for both papers, whichever specialty you’re applying to.
- 1,700+ clinical problem–solving (CPS) questions
- 500 original Professional Dilemmas (PD) items, both formats
- Full timed mock exams for both papers
- Detailed, guideline–linked explanations
- No failure tax — free extension if you don’t get an interview or offer
What is the MSRA exam?
The Multi-Specialty Recruitment Assessment is a computer-based selection exam, sat at a Pearson VUE centre in January or February. For 2027 entry the window is 5–20 January 2027, with a second sitting on 10–18 February for applicants applying only to GP and/or core psychiatry (all the 2027 dates). It is not a qualification and there is nothing to pass: it ranks you against everyone else applying in your round. Over a dozen UK training programmes use that rank — some to decide who gets an interview, some as a large slice of the final score, and a few as almost the whole decision.
It is two papers, sat back to back with a break, both pitched at the level of an F2 doctor:
- Professional Dilemmas — 50 items, 95 minutes. A situational judgement paper on professional integrity, coping with pressure, and empathy and sensitivity. Around half the items ask you to rank four or five options; the other half ask you to choose exactly three. Ranking is marked with partial credit, so a near-miss still scores.
- Clinical Problem Solving — 86 items, 75 minutes. Applied clinical reasoning — diagnosis, investigation, management — in single-best-answer (five to eight options in the real paper; ours use five) and extended-matching formats.
Each paper is standardised and reported as a number in the low hundreds, grouped into four bands. What counts as a good score sets out those bands and where the cohort actually landed; what the MSRA is used for covers the selection process end to end; and the 2027 dates tracker follows the windows as they are confirmed.
See a sample MSRA question
Have a go, then read the explanation — this is the teaching style across the whole bank.
Now a ranking item, with near-miss marking
In our model, each option scores 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 by how far it lands from the keyed position, so the maximum is 20 and a sensible attempt still collects marks. Use the arrows to order the five actions, then check.
Scenario:You are an FY2 in general practice. At the end of morning surgery you realise that an hour ago you prescribed co-amoxiclav for a 34-year-old woman whose record shows a penicillin allergy (a widespread rash as a child). The prescription went electronically to her usual pharmacy, and she has not been in touch since.
Task:Rank the five actions from most appropriate (1) to least appropriate (5).
The starting order is random. Move at least one option, then check.
Why this ranking
- 1. Telephone the patient now, apologise and stop the tablets: her safety comes first, and the professional duty of candour means telling her promptly and honestly what went wrong, apologising and putting it right.
- 2. Tell your supervising GP: once she has been contacted, involve your supervisor. They can check the plan, support you and help the practice respond.
- 3. Record it and report it as a significant event: honest notes and reporting let the practice learn from the error. Necessary, but it comes after the actions that protect her now.
- 4. Ask the pharmacy to swap the drug without telling her: it removes the immediate risk but hides the error from her, which candour does not allow.
- 5. Say nothing and wait: it leaves her at risk of a serious allergic reaction and conceals the mistake. Never acceptable.
Click here for the principle being testedHide the principle
Professional integrity when things go wrong
The GMC and NMC’s joint guidance on the professional duty of candour asks you to tell the patient when something has gone wrong, apologise, put matters right where you can, explain the likely effects, and report the error so that others can learn. Make the patient safe first, tell her without delay, then escalate and record. Concealing an error is never on the table, however small it seems.
How the marks work
A candidate who swaps options 1 and 2 still scores 18 of 20; one who puts the pharmacy swap first and the call to the patient third scores 14. The proximity principle is why getting the top and bottom of the list right matters most, and why the ranking items are where most Professional Dilemmas marks are lost.
When something has gone wrong, the keyed order almost always runs: make the patient safe, tell them honestly, escalate, then record and report. Anything that hides the error sits at the bottom.
That’s one question from each paper. The free taster gives you twenty — ten Professional Dilemmas, ten Clinical Problem Solving — marked the same way, with a report at the end. No card, no trial clock.
Core Revision is independent and not affiliated with NHS England, the MSRA team or the RCGP. Questions and explanations are for exam revision, not for the care of individual patients.
Take the free 20-question taster →What’s inside
A complete MSRA preparation — both papers, built around the way the exam is actually blueprinted.
1,700+ CPS-style questions
Clinical problem–solving single best answer questions across the twelve NHS England CPS areas — more than 550 written for the MSRA, the rest Foundation-level clinical questions shared with our AKT bank.
500 Professional Dilemmas
Ranking and choose-three items in the exam’s own formats, each marked per position and explained against Good Medical Practice.
Timed mock exams
Sit full–length mocks for both papers under exam conditions and watch your readiness build.
Teaching explanations
Every answer explained with the guideline point, safety cue and common exam trap.
Progress tracking
See your strongest and weakest areas and target your revision where it counts.
No failure tax
If your MSRA score doesn’t get you an interview or an offer in your first-choice specialty, email us within 30 days and we’ll extend your access free until the next MSRA sitting (terms 4.4).
The full exam, simulated
The MSRA-realistic mock runs the sitting the way NHS England runs it, so the first time you feel the clock is not in the test centre.
Professional Dilemmas first
50 ranking and choose-three items in 95 minutes, then an optional five-minute break before the second paper, exactly as on the day.
Clinical Problem Solving second
86 single-best-answer questions in 75 minutes, drawn from every area of the blueprint. In the real paper about half the items are extended matching questions, which this mock does not include.
Marked on the exam’s near-miss principle
Our model: proximity marks for every ranking position, four per correct choose-three pick, one per CPS answer, then a report by paper, by format and by topic.
136 items, 170 minutes, pause allowed. Shorter custom mocks from either paper when you have less time.
The rest of your MSRA toolkit
The MSRA Pack sits inside the wider Core Revision toolkit — the same platform UK trainees use for the AKT, PLAB and UKMLA. Everything below is included.
Core Compass
See your readiness at a glance and build mocks around your gaps.
Core Curriculum
The whole CPS blueprint on one page — what to learn and what to skip.
Core Lens
Every answer annotated with the safety cue, guideline point and exam trap.
Core Calendar
A day-by-day plan built around your exam date and your weak spots.
Core 10
Ten focused CPS questions a day — a steady habit between mocks.
Core Tools
Reasoners and recall cards for the judgement the paper rewards.
Core Wisdom
Short, honest guides to the exam, the timeline and every specialty.
Core Resources
The official NHS England sources, in one place and kept current.
Free Taster
Twenty original questions. The first five are open to anyone; a free account unlocks the rest.
My Revision Hub
Your questions, guides and progress, all in one calm place.
You have full access
Your progress, confidence ratings and study plan are saved to your account and follow you between devices — the bank, the timed simulator, the taster, Core Tools and Core Wisdom are all included.
Pick your plan
Full access to both papers — choose the length that fits your timeline. The only difference between plans is how long you get.
- Both papers, full access
- All timed mock exams
- For a final push before your sit
- Both papers, full access
- All timed mock exams
- A focused run–up to the window
- Both papers, full access
- All timed mock exams
- Our sweet–spot tier
- Both papers, full access
- All timed mock exams
- Plan ahead with a buffer
Every plan includes both papers, the mock–exam builder, Core Lens explanations and Core Compass — the length is the only difference. No auto–renewal and no failure tax. Want to try it first? Take the free 20-question taster before you pay a penny.
Frequently asked questions
Does it cover both MSRA papers?
How many questions are there?
Who is the MSRA Pack for?
What is the “no failure tax”?
How is the MSRA different from the AKT?
How your specialty uses the MSRA
The exam is identical for every specialty — what changes is what your score is used for. Shortlist gates, weightings, interview bypasses: we keep a verified guide for each.
Radiology · Psychiatry · Core Surgical Training · Anaesthetics · Emergency Medicine · O&G · Ophthalmology · Neurosurgery, CSRH & Nuclear Medicine · January vs February sitting · MSRA 2027 dates
Start free, today
Five of our MSRA resources are free — no card, no trial clock. The first five taster questions are open to anyone and a free account unlocks the other fifteen; the Reasoner asks for a free login only to save where you got to.
The free MSRA taster — twenty original questions, ten from each paper, marked with the same near-miss model, with a report at the end. The first five are open to everyone; a free account unlocks the rest.
The Professional Dilemmas Reasoner — a method, not an answer key. Work real dilemmas against the four Good Medical Practice domains, then train the two formats the paper actually uses: five-item ranking and choose-exactly-three — each one marked on the near-miss principle, with the marks per position shown.
The ethics and law guide — eleven chapters on capacity, DoLS, Gillick, confidentiality, safeguarding and the Mental Health Act, plus a one-page cheat sheet. Written for the AKT, but the law it teaches is the law Professional Dilemmas assumes you already know.
What is a good MSRA score? — the four bands, where the GP cohort actually landed on each paper, and the handful of specialty floors that are published.
The 2027 dates tracker — confirmed windows as they are announced, so you can plan backwards from your sitting.
Walk into your MSRA ready for both papers
Start preparing with Core Revision, and sit the CPS and PD knowing exactly what to expect.
Get the MSRA Pack — from £39.99