Introduction

We can almost hear you sigh and exclaim, ‘Not another chapter on general FRCS (Tr & Orth) exam guidance!’ There are so many ‘candidate’s exam experiences’ out there for everybody to read and digest. What new spin can they add to the same old story?

It is still necessary to include this chapter, as it neatly sets the scene for the exam. Perhaps more importantly, the exam focus regularly changes and you definitely want to keep ahead with the latest developments.

Finally, the nature of the book means that it is necessary to consider how the paediatric section of the exam fits together within the wider FRCS (Tr & Orth) exam.

A lot of this general advice can be found elsewhere, as we alluded to, in the various candidate accounts floating round the internet. The problem is that most of these ‘candidate experiences’ are in a very similar vein and after reading the first two or three very little extra new material is then uncovered. While the general exam guidance advice in the general and viva-focused Postgraduate Orthopaedics books contains few surprises, both books cover the material to a greater depth and sophistication than elsewhere. Candidates may want to search out the relevant book chapters for this information.