The charts below are based on feedback collated from all courses conducted (including June 2026)
What did you like about the sessions? (selection of comments):
- Regular practice meant that there was time to notice the improvement. Also, focusing the sessions on sciences, short cases or long cases helped to separate the different types of questions mentally.
- Very efficient, very relevant course
- Evening time helped to log in after work
- Regular opportunity to practice with people I did not know from training already
- The 5-min tips and stories at the beginning and end of sessions were really helpful. Also very good strategies for long cases.
- Well organised and it was helpful to have regularly organised practise to force me to talk out loud.
- Well organised from the faculty point of view.
- The questions were great, and facilitation was excellent. To be honest, the thing I found the most useful about MASC was that it started more than 5 weeks before the exam, and ran twice a week. As a serial procrastinator, and leave it to the last minute kind of person, MASC helped me think about the exam earlier than I usually would, and made me feel accountable to do regular revision at least twice a week for more than 5 weeks before the exam. This is different to other courses where they are much closer to the date. Either way, your course, your advice, and your facilitators were fantastic. And you all played no small part in my success with this exam. Please continue the amazing work.
- Timing in the evening worked well with getting kids to bed, regularity of practice, exam conditions, super helpful advice, helpful content, excellent structure, kept to time (felt really respectful of the value of evening time with multiple different priorities at this stage of life), zoom platform very functional
- Regular, twice weekly. Different people to practice with each week. Good questions.
- Being randomly allocated to different people each session.
- The range of topics covered & the length of the sessions.
- They focussed on technique rather than content
- Good quality question papaers and oppurtunity to listen even if not able to participate in the questioning/ answering.
- Good time of day, 20:15, so fitted around childcare, also, a time of day when it's hard ro pick up the books, so to get more revision in when already tired was really useful.
What do you think we could do to improve the sessions? (selection of comments)
- It would be helpful to have a few more answers in the questions, not necessarily factual answers but any good classifications/structures are very helpful
- More input into the examining side of things, ie. Stop people being too nice to each other early on
- Give more extended answers to the questions
- If there was a way to pair people up who were at similar stages in their journey at the beginning
- Not really your issue, but some of the people I was paired with did not perform their role well and impacted my session
- At least one session with someone who has cleared the final FRCA exam (senior trainee or consultant) as that would help us practice with someone who has gone through the exams.
- Absence of guide answers. I understand this is a conscious decision. But at least bullet points on some questions at least will go a long way.
- Not much for me to say here since it was so professionally run, especially with all the links and timings being run so smoothly.
- Nothing. More sessions?
- Start 2 weeks earlier. I felt like once the sessions started I changed how I prepared and wish I had done this sooner.
- I thought the sessions in general were good, but that the advice that was given was sometimes a bit conflicting - particularly in terms of approach to whether you should try and answer questions as best you can or just say you don’t know if unsure. I think a combination of the two is probably true, but it would be good for the advice from the course to be more streamlined.
Any other comments? (selection of comments)
- I really enjoyed the story you told about the person who had the family member have a serious diagnosis the week before the exam, and it made me feel a bit reassured. I had a close family bereavement in the lead up to the exam, and a funeral on the Friday before the exam. So I went into the exam having felt like my prep had been a bit suboptimal, but also feeling like I didn’t care about it as much as I usually would, and I got 48/48 too. I think probably just reiterates the fact that sometimes a bit of perspective and being a bit more chilled about the exam and trusting the process and the time you have put in is worthwhile. - MASC give the flexibility with practice. Its the only one which can be attended without booking leave
- The time that the organisers and faculty put into this course is hugely appreciated thank you. A unique feature of this course is the volume of sessions. Doing regular sessions helps to motivate revision, spread revision out and little and often meant each session wasn’t overwhelming. I appreciate this means that the faculty are giving up two nights a week for several weeks and this dedication did not go unnoticed thank you!!
- Very helpful and unique course as far as I’m aware. Thank you
- Excellent course, very time efficient and well organised. I would definitely recommend this to friends!
- Thank you so much Z***, this pass result is no small part thanks to you, your facilitators and your course.
- I really like the course structure, the discipline it provided with revision of topics. Apart from the feedback I mentioned above, I think it was an excellent course for anyone sitting the final FRCA SOE exam.
- I think it’s an excellent course and works well. The flexibility of turning up when you can and the course adapting to whoever turns up is ideal.
- Really good, worthwhile, would definitely recommend, great value for money.
- Hi Z*** and MASC team,
Just wanted to drop you an email to say thank you for running the MASC club and opening it up to non-West Midlands trainees (I'm East Mids). My friend <name. recommended it and I'm very grateful that he did. Wonderfully I passed the SOE with 47/48! Things that I found super helpful about your course:
Timings - the local revision practice available to me was daily at 6/630pm which is a nightmare time when you have young kids as I do. Your course meant I could attend after bath/bedtime which I really valued. A finish time that was adhered to also felt really respectful of candidates' time and life around exams and revision.
Structure - I found the ad hoc nature of other practices difficult because you end up going down a rabbit hole of that particular consultant's specialist area of interest which doesn't build confidence for the exam, and doesn't work on any particular exam technique. Your course of mini-exam questions in a timed, structured manor with a thought-through range of topics was so much more valuable for preparing for a highly structured and time-pressurised exam.
- Good organisation. Timing is friendly for people with childcare issues.
- Thank you for putting time and effort in this, you technological skills in splitting groups or pair candidates were impressive, well done 👏