Diploma in Urgent Medical Care

The Diploma in Urgent Medical Care exam tests the knowledge, skills and behaviours of multi-disciplinary urgent medical care practitioners. It focuses on the timely recognition, diagnosis and management of conditions and situations in the urgent care environment (General Practice, Out of Hours, Walk in Centre). This exam includes urgent care for all patient age groups from neonates to the very elderly.

The level of performance expected is that equal with level 7 within the Skills for Health Career Framework for Health. Level 7 practitioners have a comprehensive, specialised, factual and theoretical knowledge within day-to-day urgent emergency care clinical practice and an awareness of the boundaries of that knowledge.

Exam Benefits

A unique multi-professional opportunity for Nurses, Paramedics and doctors to evidence their Continuing Professional Development in Urgent Care.
The examination has an extensive syllabus aimed at practitioners wishing to develop a career in Urgent Care.

The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) will grant automatic Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) for candidates who successfully pass the examination for the FPHC’s Diploma in Urgent Medical Care (DUMC). Both current and future holders of the DUMC qualification who subsequently register to undertake the MSc in Urgent Medical Care with UCLan will be deemed to have achieved the equivalent of 120 credits at RQF/CQFW Level 7 (SCQF Level 11). In order to obtain the full MSc qualification, candidates will be required to achieve the remaining 60 credits required by undertaking the appropriate preparation module and a dissertation or professional project.

Exam Format

The Diploma in Urgent Medical Care exam consists of two parts:

Part A - Written Papers
There are two written papers of 120 minutes duration each having 90 Single Best Answer (SBA) questions.

Part B – Structured Oral Examination
This is a structured oral examination (SOE) consisting of 12 structured oral testing stations. Each SOE station will be of 15 minutes duration (including 2 minutes reading time). There may also be one or more rest stations or preparation stations.

Costs

Exam Fee: £882

Resit Fee: This is calculated based on the number of components the candidate is resitting.

£389 if applying for the written paper resit only
£493 if applying for Structured Oral

Video Resource

Exam Eligibility

Candidates must fulfil the following requirements:

Medical Practitioners must possess a primary medical qualification that is acceptable to the UK General Medical Council for full registration and engaged in the practice of their profession for for not less than 5 years. Candidates must have sufficient clinical experience (at the time of application) in the area of Urgent Care. Sufficient clinical experience may range from intensive training or experience over a relatively short time frame or accumulated infrequent experience over several years.
Nurses must hold registration with the UK Nursing and Midwifery Council and have been engaged in the practice of their profession for not less than five years. Candidates must have sufficient clinical experience (at time of application) in the area of Urgent Care. Sufficient clinical experience may range from intensive training or experience over a relatively short time frame or accumulated infrequent experience over several years.
Paramedics must hold registration with the UK Health and Care Professions Council and have been engaged in the practice of their profession for not less than 5 years. Candidates must have sufficient clinical experience (at time of application) in the area of Urgent Care. Sufficient clinical experience may range from intensive training or experience over a relatively short time frame or accumulated infrequent experience over several years.
All Candidates must and in addition to the relevant registration certificate, hold and show evidence of in-datecertification in immediate life support (ILS) or Advanced Life Support (ALS). ILS courses run in RC UK accredited centres, including eILS, provide the appropriate certification. Evidence of alternative training is acceptable but this must include evidence, that the training included face to face or online preparation material and a minimum of 4 hours face to face training in Basic Life Support, defibrillation, airway and breathing assessment and RC UK algorithms. Acceptable evidence would include the course certificate and evidence of the course content and duration. Certification must be provided at least 2 weeks before the exam in date at time of examination. Candidates who do not provide ILS certification, 2 weeks before the exam, will not be allowed to sit the exam. https://www.resus.org.uk/information-on-courses/immediate-life-support/

Candidates, who do not fulfil any of the above entry requirements, may apply for special consideration. This applies for all candidates from outside the UK. Their 2 curriculum vitae and the extent of their urgent care experience should be submitted in full to the Examination Section RCSEd for consideration by the Convener for Examinations in Urgent Medical Care RCSEd. The Convener may decide to refer the application for full discussion to the Prehospital Care Examinations Board of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh for a final decision regarding eligibility.

Candidates are permitted four attempts in which to pass the examination.

Additional Information

Before applying for this exam, please ensure you have read and understood the relevant documentation.

Our Exam Policies and Procedures page will provide you with more general information about sitting an exam at the College.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where do I send my supporting documents?

Surgical Examinations

You can submit supporting documents electronically by scanning copies and emailing these to surgical.exams@rcsed.ac.uk. Alternatively, you can send it by post to the College address of FAO Examinations Department, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DW.

FPHC Examinations - FIMC / DIMC / DRTM / DUMC

You can submit supporting documents electronically by scanning copies and emailing these to fphc.exams@rcsed.ac.uk. Alternatively, you can send it by post to the College address of FAO FPHC OFFICE, The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9DW.

I want to withdraw from an examination, how do I do that?

You must advise the Examinations Department in writing (via email) that you wish to withdraw from an examination. Depending on when you request to withdraw, you may be asked to provide supporting evidence. If you withdraw before the closing date for application, there is no requirement to submit evidence. However, following the closing date, you will be required to submit evidence which must be received by the College within 14 days of the examination commencement date.

What are suitable reasons for withdrawing from an examination?

There are a number of number of reasons for needing to withdraw from an examination; these are:

medical reasons (illness prior or illness on the day of an examination)
compassionate grounds (e.g. bereavement)
unable to secure time off work

Can I get a full refund following my withdrawal from an examination?

Candidates who withdraw from an examination will be subject to a 20% administrative fee. 80% of your fee will be returned via the original payment method used to pay for the examination.

Will I be quarantined?

Occasionally candidates need to be quarantined. This depends on the examination session you are allocated to. For most examinations, we quarantine candidates who sat the morning examination session until the afternoon examination session has commenced. A light lunch is normally provided for you. You will receive information about whether you need to be quarantined in your candidate notice.

Can I keep my mobile phone and other electronic devices on my person?

When you register for the examination on the day, you will be asked to hand over your mobile phone and any other electronic devices (e.g. tablets, smartwatches) to the RCSEd Coordinator. Your device(s) will be placed in an envelope marked with your candidate number and stored securely in the RCSEd Administration Office while you undertake your examination.

When will my results be published?

Each examination varies. Results are normally published around 6 weeks after the examination has taken place. The intended results publication date will be stated on your candidate notice, and it will also be mentioned at your examination sitting.

Exam Details - Diploma in Urgent Medical Care

Key Facts