THE SCE
The Specialty Certificate Examination (SCE) in Respiratory Medicine is a national postgraduate assessment required for CCT. Most trainees sit the exam between ST5 and ST6, once core curriculum topics have been covered and regular specialty clinics are established. The exam is computer-based, delivered via Pearson VUE, and includes both clinical knowledge and guideline-based scenarios.
01 GUIDELINES
British Thoracic Society (BTS)
European Respiratory Society (ERS)
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
NICE Respiratory Conditions Guidance
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN)
American Thoracic Society (ATS)
ATS Clinical Guidelines & Documents
Oxford Respiratory Medicine Library (ORML)
Concise clinical summaries for exam prep and practical reference.
Available via NHS Athens login
ERS Handbook
Comprehensive, practical reference covering the full spectrum of adult respiratory medicine.
Available via NHS Athens login
05 BTS RADIOLOGY COURSE
BTS Radiology for Chest Physicians 2025
Format: Online
Link: Course Details & Booking
Date: 18–19 September 2025
Designed for respiratory trainees and consultants, this course covers chest X-ray interpretation, HRCT patterns, mediastinal and pleural diseases, lung cancer staging, PET-CT, imaging in COPD and infections. Ideal for SCE preparation.
06 ONLINE QUESTION BANKS
StudyPRN
A popular SCE-style Qbank with timed practice exams and detailed feedback.
StudyPRN – Respiratory SCE Qbank
BMJ OnExamination
Trusted by many MRCP and SCE candidates, with large question bank and performance tracking.
BMJ OnExamination – SCE in Respiratory Medicine
BTS Learning (SCE Practice)
Offers a small set of free online questions tailored for respiratory SCE candidates.
02 SCE MOCK
Official SCE Sample Questions
Practice questions for the Specialty Certificate Examination (SCE) in Respiratory Medicine.
03 BOOKS
“MRCP SCE in Respiratory Medicine: 300 SBAs” – Dr LJ Smith (works at Kings now) – recent book 2023
04 JOURNALS
Official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians
Flagship journal of the European Respiratory Society
Leading UK-based respiratory journal, published by BMJ
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM)
Published by the American Thoracic Society (ATS)
See below for further information
R E S O U R C E S
INVESTIGATION
INTERPRETATION
Be confident reading:
CXR and CT patterns (ILD, malignancy)
ABGs
Spirometry (obstructive vs. restrictive)
Sleep studies and overnight oximetry
Use resources like Radiopaedia, BTS imaging examples, and BMJ modules.
Attend regular radiology MDT's (locally or consider reaching out to tertiary centres)
BLUEPRINT
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Start with the MRCP(UK) SCE syllabus – this outlines the topics and weightings.
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High-yield areas: asthma, COPD, ILD, lung cancer, infection, sleep medicine, TB, and respiratory failure.
PRIORITISE
Prioritise: Asthma, COPD, ILD, TB, Lung Cancer, Sleep and Pleural disease
Don’t try to memorise – understand key pathways and treatment steps and review summary pages of guidelines
Save PDFs offline and annotate for quick reference
Keep a summary table of cut-offs (e.g., FeNO, spirometry values, ABG thresholds)