Preparing for the Diplomate Examination (DFPH)

Yes.

Past papers are held here for easy downloading. However, questions in the Paper IIB paper are not published, as they form part of a reusable question bank. Following GMC approval of Standard Setting in October 2016, FPH is working toward a closed bank of questions for all sittings from June 2017.  A selection of past papers will continue to be available on FPH website.

There are specimen questions, but the real questions are not published. The specimen questions can be found on the Paper IIB Specimen Questions page and link for Additional Paper IIB Specimen Questions - June 2018 on the same page.

Is it good practice when answering such a question to identify one’s country so that the examiner can be clear of the context? Or is this seen as using potentially identifiable information?

Yes, it is good practice. FPH is an international examination body, and public health is carried out in many settings. For this reason, questions often ask candidates to specify a named country, setting or example to provide context for their answer and demonstrate understanding of the particular question's topic area. As papers are marked anonymously and each section by separate examiners, individual candidates should not be able to be identified.

There isn’t a clear, simple answer to this. It very much depends on the question, for instance what you are being asked to do (e.g. list… describe... discuss… , etc), whether there are sub-sections to the question that need addressing separately, and whether your ideas can best be summarised in this fashion.  The Diplomate exam is partly testing your ability to communicate sometimes complex ideas in a clear and structured manner, so the choice of whether to use bullets or other ways to summarise is part of that overall judgement.

The best advice is that many answers require clear reasoned argument that is then supported by the use of (for example) bullet points to clarify/emphasise key areas, or to give lists of examples. 

Question: I understand the questions for all sections of the Diplomate examination (DFPH) are from a closed bank. As a result exam regulations require that candidates do not share questions with others. I see the misconduct policy has also been updated to include not sharing examination materials after the examination. What can I do to support revision to ensure I do not fall foul of these requirements?

Answer: Yes the question bank is closed, this allows us to undertake comprehensive quality assessments for the DFPH examination and it is important for the fairness and robustness of the examination that tight question security is maintained.

Here are some dos and don'ts when helping colleagues revise for the exam

Do

• Use existing materials on FPH website. There are a range of questions from all parts of the syllabus and IIA and IIB specimen questions. And these will be added to over time.
• look at the Examiners' comments provided by the Chair of Examiners following each sitting with general advice on approach and technique.  
• Write questions of your own based on the comprehensive syllabus. 
• Set up or work with existing revision groups in your region
• Attend designated revision sessions
• practise writing answers to time
• let FPH or your SRC rep know if you hear of any question sharing

Don'ts

• Don't note down questions from the examination you sit
• Don't share questions after the examination by any route including word of mouth, social media or email
• Don't quiz examiners on topics that will come up in the examination (any topic in the syllabus may be in the exam)
• Don't forget that any questions known to be shared will have to be removed from the question bank, this will impact on the quality and robustness of the Diplomate Examination.
• Don't forget that sharing questions is subject to a fitness to practice investigation.