MRCP(UK) PACES exam concludes at Nepal Mediciti

KATHMANDU: The MRCP(UK) Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES) examination, which tests the competence of doctors worldwide, concluded on Thursday at Nepal Mediciti after a three-day sitting.

Nepal Mediciti is one of the MRCP(UK) examination centres in South Asia and the country’s first and only test centre. The assessment ran from October 14 to 16 and marked the fourth occasion it has been held at the facility.

Forty-six candidates from Bangladesh, Brunei, India, Myanmar, the Maldives, the UK and Nepal took part. Doctors who pass PACES earn a globally recognised qualification that certifies their knowledge, skills and attitude, enabling them to practise in any hospital authorised by MRCP(UK).

Five examiners from the UK — Professor David Black, Dr Eleanor Grogan, Dr Arthur Docke, Dr Katja Adie and Dr Kathir Yoganathan — represented the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow and the Royal College of Physicians, London. Fifteen Nepali examiners conducted the assessments locally, including Dr Niraj Joshi, Dr Dhiraj Manandhar, Dr Arpana Neupane, Dr Sanjit Krishna Shrestha and Dr Lucky Sharma of Nepal Mediciti; Dr Sudip Shrestha of Nepal Cancer Hospital and Research Center; Dr Rakshya Pandey of HAMS Hospital; Dr Yadab K. D. Bhatta of Norvic International Hospital; Dr Shital Adhikari of Chitwan Medical College; Dr Mahesh Raj Sigdel of the Institute of Medicine (IOM); Dr Rabindra Shrestha of OM Hospital; Dr Pravin Adhikari of Nepal Medical College; Dr Yubaraj Sharma of Patan Hospital; and Dr Arun Maskey of Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center.

Nepal Mediciti has hosted MRCP(UK) PACES since 2024, reducing the need for Nepali doctors to travel to the UK to sit the assessment. Dr Pragati Koirala of Nepal Mediciti has coordinated the examination since its inception.