Tri-Collegiate Membership in Oral Surgery

The Diploma of Membership in Oral Surgery is intended to test the candidates’ knowledge and understanding relevant to the practice of a Specialist in Oral Surgery. This exam is Tri-Collegiate and it is run jointly between the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

Candidates should be aware that attaining the award of the Diploma in Oral Surgery does not confer eligibility for the UK Specialist List for Oral Surgery.

Exam Benefits

Passing this exam allows a candidate to demonstrate that they have the knowledge, skills and attitude relevant to the practice of a Specialist in Oral Surgery
Successful candidates will be granted Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the relevant College (on payment of such election fee and annual subscription)

Exam Format

The Diploma of Membership in Oral Surgery exam consists of three components.

Written Paper
A multiple-choice question paper (MCQ) in 2 parts, each of 2 hours duration, and each consisting of 90 Single Best Answer (SBA) Questions.

Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
There will be six stations, each having two minutes of reading time and 10 minutes of observed activity. The OSCE assesses the ability of the candidate to communicate in different clinical situations.

Unseen Cases
This will consist of eight unseen cases in a clinical scenario format. For each case, the candidate will be given five minutes to study the patient history, results of examination and where appropriate, investigations.The structured oral examination relating to each case will last for 15 minutes.

How to Apply

The administration for this exam is handled by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) and all applications and fees should be sent directly to RCSEd regardless of which College/s a candidate may wish to affiliate with. Candidates should clearly indicate on the application form which College they wish to affiliate to, upon passing the exam.

Costs

Exam Fee: £1,800

Resit Fee: This is calculated based on the number of components the candidate is resitting. Each component costs £600 to resit.

Exam Eligibility

To be eligible to enter the Tri-collegiate Diploma of Membership in Oral Surgery exam, all candidates must:

Provide certified evidence of possession of a primary dental qualification that is acceptable to the Colleges.
Have completed 24 months of full-time or equivalent part-time training acceptable to the Colleges by the date of the examination. The training should preferably be continuous but, in some cases, breaks in training may be permitted. The total training period should not normally exceed six years.

Prospective candidates must also fulfill one or more of the following criteria:

Have satisfactorily completed, by the time of the examination, a minimum of 24 months of a full-time three year training appointment (or part-time equivalent) in a UK training programme as a stipendiary StR who has been awarded a training number.
A university Masters or Clinical Doctorate degree programme which parallels the training programme completed by an StR i.e. have satisfactorily completed, by the time of the examination, a minimum of 24 months of a full-time three year training appointment or part-time equivalent.
Have satisfactorily completed, by the time of the examination, a minimum of 24 months of a full-time three year specialist training appointment (or part-time equivalent) overseas or in the EEA which has been considered and found to be acceptable to the Colleges.
Be registered as a Specialist in Oral Surgery in the UK.

If candidates wish to apply under 2 or 3 for entry to the examination, they should submit their portfolio of evidence.

Full details about the eligibility requirements can be found here.

Candidates will be permitted a maximum of four attempts at 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

There are currently no Frequently Asked Questions associated with this exam. If you would like more information please contact us.

Examinations Section

Phone: +44 (0)131 527 1600
Fax: +44 (0)131 527 6406
Email: dental.exams@rcsed.ac.uk

Exam Details - Tri-Collegiate Membership in Oral Surgery

Key Facts

Change to the Examination Structure from November 2023