The days of medical school exams may feel like yesterday for some of you, or a distant memory for others. You might be dreading the thought of having to revise again, or think it is not needed when you’ve started working on the wards. Some of you may have already sat similar exams.

We suggest thinking of the EBP-EAP Exam as an opportunity to improve your knowledge and test yourself against an international standard. If you pass the EBP-EAP Exam, this will mean you have achieved a quality mark of knowledge at European level, in line with the European Core Training Requirements in Paediatrics. With time, this achievement might increase your chances of standing out from other candidates during future job applications or facilitate your work in other countries, and facilitate your movement across them.

The exam will cover the blueprint from the European Core Paediatric Training Requirements (link here). When you revise, it is best to avoid focusing just on areas you find more interesting or easier to retain, leaving the more challenging ones until last minute.

Questions

The EBP-EAP Exam assesses knowledge, understanding and clinical decision-making abilities.

For each question, you will be given five possible answers, and you will be asked to choose the best answer. Questions usually begin with a case history, but not always. They usually ask what the most likely diagnosis is, the best treatment option or the best investigation. Photographic material may be used as a basis for questions.

The skill of identifying the most correct answer from a list of answers that all have correct elements can be challenging. Practice with question banks can help you and pattern recognition helps to consolidate the textbook theory knowledge.

Trust your instincts, often your first answer is the correct one.

Ensure you read all questions at least twice – key words like EXCEPT or NOT make all the difference when selecting your answer! Beware of double negatives.

Questions are not negatively marked so you should always select an answer, even if you’re not sure.