Aster Medcity Becomes Kerala’s First Centre

For MRCP (UK) PACES Examination

New Delhi / Kerala, 15^th November ‘2015: The Membership of Royal College of Physicians of United Kingdom (MRCP (UK)) has chosen Aster Medcity as its permanent centre for conducting the Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES), the final qualifying examination for obtaining the MRCP (UK) Diploma.

A rare honour, Aster Medcity is the first hospital in Kerala and the third in India to be chosen as the examination centre for PACES. The two other centres are in Kolkata and Chennai.

Owing to the increasing number of applications from Indian doctors and the waiting period to appear in the qualifying examination stretching to almost three years, the Membership of Royal College of Physicians of United Kingdom had invited applications from hospitals across India to become its new examination centre. Aster Medcity was bestowed the honour after a detailed facility inspection and assessment by a high-level team from the UK.

One of the most respected Post Graduate programme for Doctors, the MRCP (UK) Diploma is recognised as the knowledge-based assessment for core medical training by the General Medical Council (GMC). The examination is divided into three parts, PACES being the evaluation of clinical knowledge and skills of trainee doctors who hope to enter higher specialist training (ST3).

Aster Medcity was officially declared the permanent examination centre for MRCP (UK) PACES, on completion of the PACES pathfinder examinations that were conducted here on the 13 and 14 November 2015. The first PACES examination will be held from 25 to 27 February 2016, with 299 candidates vying for 45 seats.

Speaking on this achievement, Dr. Harish Pillai, CEO Aster Medcity & Cluster Head – Kerala, Aster DM Healthcare said, “We are delighted that Aster Medcity has been selected by the Royal College as its examination centre for PACES. It is a validation of the capabilities we have developed here as well as a testament to the quality of facilities we offer. We are certain that this will help create world-class doctors and further strengthen the medical ecosystem in Kerala and in turn, India. We look forward to this partnership and similar collaborations in the years to come.”

Dr. Andrew Elder, Medical Director, MRCP (UK) Examination; Dr. Peter Newman, Chairman & Examiner PACES; Dr. K.K Varma, Group CMO, Aster DM Healthcare and Dr. V Narayanan Unni, Chief of Medical Services, Aster Medcity were also present at the function.