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THE MEDICAL REPRESENTATIVES EXAMINATION
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
- Q. How long is the exam?
The complete morning session is 2 hours – papers 1 and 2 are 20 minutes each; paper 3 is 1 hour and 20 minutes; the afternoon session is 90 minutes – 30 minutes per paper.
- Q. Are there special arrangements for dyslexic candidates?
Yes, but we require proof of the dyslexia well in advance, at least 2 months before the exam
- Q. Can someone from outside the industry sit the exam?
Yes, there are usually a number of independent candidates who sit the exam.
- Q. How many times can I sit the exam?
There are normally at least 6 exam sessions per year; there is no limit on how many times you can sit the exam
- Q. What happens if I fail and my two years are up?
If your two years expires before you pass the exam you will need to write to Heather Simmonds, Director of the Prescription Medicines Code of Practice, at 12 Whitehall, London SW1A 2DY, e-mail, giving full details of your situation. She may be able to give you an extension in time.
- Q. What would happen if I left the industry for a while before completing my exam?
You will need to complete the entire exam within three years of passing the first part. Otherwise you will have to sit the entire exam again.
- Q. What kind of help can I get with studying for the exam?
Further information is available from the registrar
- Q. If I pass the ABPI exam do I become a member of the ABPI?
No, there is no individual membership of the ABPI.
- Q. Will I need any additional reading?
All the information you require is in the Learning Manual, Volumes 1 and 2
- Q. If I pass only two papers in either session, does this mean I have to re-sit the whole session?
No. If you pass two papers in one session, you need only re-sit the one paper you failed. However, if you fail two papers in one session you will have to re-sit the whole session.
- Q. What do I do if I lose my certificate?
If you require a replacement certificate please use the form on the Request for Duplicate Certificate page
of the online exam booking website.
- Q. What is the pass rate?
The overall pass rate is around 80% for Papers 1-3 (the three morning papers) and 85% for the specialist subject exam papers.
- Q. How much work is involved in studying for the exam?
Quite a lot! Don’t pay too much attention to colleagues who claim that they only read through the syllabus the night/weekend before the exam. On average, successful candidates spend four to five months studying the learning manual.
- Q. Are there trick questions?
The questions used in the examination are not designed to trick you or catch you out – there is only one correct answer to each question. The majority of the questions are ‘multiple-choice’ where you select the correct answer from four or five options. A proportion of questions are of the True/False variety. The proportion may vary from one paper to another.
- Q. Can I get copies of previous exam papers?
No! There are no past papers available. Self-assessment questions are included in the ABPI syllabus/learning manual to enable candidates to evaluate their own progress. Anyone claiming to have a previous exam paper is incorrect!
- Q. But, my training provider has copies of past papers!
No, they do not! Training providers may produce their own versions of ABPI exam papers, and they may be very similar to the actual exam papers, but they are not ‘genuine’ past exam papers.
- Q. Who compiles the exam questions?
ABPI has constructed a database of exam questions. We do not use questions from any other source. Only ABPI staff have access to questions used in exam papers.
- Q. How are the exam papers compiled?
We have an extensive question bank and the ABPI Exam Director produces the papers by drawing on random selections of questions. The exam papers are compiled for printing about four weeks before the exam.
- Q. Does anyone check the exam papers?
The ABPI Medical Director checks the content of all of the questions.
- Q. What happens after the exam?
The answer sheets are scanned and the results are checked. Any candidate who has recorded a ‘marginal fail’ (55% to 59%) has their answer sheet double-checked before the results are published. A further manual check is made for any candidate with 59%, just to make sure that every possible credit has been given. [The same principle is applied to ‘distinction’ marking]. Thus, any candidate who has been allocated a ‘marginal fail or ‘marginal distinction’ mark will have had their result checked at least twice. Note: Marginal scores are rounded up. Therefore 119/200 is recorded as 60%, not 59.5%. Thus, nobody actually fails by just one mark!
On average, for every 500 candidates who sit the exam, around 50 answer sheets have an error in data such as the wrong candidate number, or missing candidate number. Please ensure that you complete your answer sheet correctly, giving all of the information requested.
- Q. When will I receive the results?
Approximately two weeks after the exam.
- Q. Why does it take two weeks to publish the results?
We have to receive all of the answer sheets from around the country (this takes about one week) and then scan them. Then we have to take into account any comments from Candidates, and double/treble check the ‘marginal scores’.
- Q. Who receives the results?
An e-mail alert will be sent to advise the exam candidate when their results are available via their profile on the Exams online booking website. Exam candidates may choose to allow their company to also receive results, in which case a copy of the results will be sent by e-mail to the person who made the orignial company block booking.
- Q. Can I get my result directly from ABPI?
No! We often receive requests from Candidates to release their results to them personally over the telephone for various reasons, e.g. I’m going on holiday. We do not release results over the telephone - it could be anyone calling.
- Q. Who receives my Certificate?
Certificates are posted to candidates who have completed an exam registration form, between 4-8 weeks after the exam.
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