The Ultimate Guide to References for the AMC MCQ Exams

When examiners are designing a question, references matter. A lot. For many reasons some obvious, but some which you might not have thought of:

• To ensure that the questions set are testing pure evidence-based medicine.
• To ensure that the latest guidelines are reflected in each exam.
• As an objective blueprint for the exams.
• To ensure that writers/their organisations are not accused of a breach of copyright or intellectual property.
• To ensure that the respective college can defend itself against a candidate who may wish to pursue an allegation of unfair process in denying them fellowship.

Why is this relevant?

References are power. Every question must have a reference source. This means that if you know the reference sources and what they say, then you are a long way towards your goal.

But there are so many references – where do I even start?

Well, here is a handy list! In our humble opinon, the single most important source by a country mile is Therapeutic Guidelines. They are Australian-based and represent an amalgamation of multiple sources. We strongly suggest that you get a login ASAP and focus on this very much first and foremost.

A list of other handy references include...

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