FRCR DEGREE

Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists 

The Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists (FRCR) is postgraduate exam qualification awarded by The Royal College of Radiologists, a professional body responsible for the speciality of clinical oncology and clinical radiology throughout the UK.

Overseas Radiologists wanting to secure a role in the UK via the postgraduate qualification route will need to attain Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists or FRCR in order to register with the GMC. FRCR is the UK Royal College qualification and the recommended route for radiologists looking to work in the UK as a specialist or consultant. IMGs from any country in the world can sit the FRCR examinations, provided certain eligibility criteria are met.

What is FRCR?

Radiologists become full members of the Royal College of Radiology and achieve the designation FRCR once they have passed the three separate postgraduate medical exams that make up the FRCR examination suite. The FRCR examinations aim to test a candidate’s knowledge and clinical understanding against the Specialty Training Curriculum for Clinical Radiology and the exams are a

pre-requisite for anyone looking to go into a specialty training post as a radiologist in the UK. For more senior candidates, absence of FRCR will make it very difficult to attain a locum-consutant posts unless you have a recognized equivalent or specialist registration. When registering via the postgraduate route, only full FRCR satisfies the GMC postgraduate requirements for registration as an overseas doctor.

There are three parts of the FRCR examinations.

1. First FRCR – two-part exam, each held on separate days, over a two-day period.

2. Final FRCR Part A (both must be passed in one sitting in order to attain a pass)  Two separate single best answer papers

3. Final FRCR Part B

• a reporting session
• a rapid reporting session
• an oral examination

The FRCR examinations form an essential component of training for Radiologists in the UK. For overseas doctors relocating to the UK, the FRCR is one of two options to support full GMC registration (postgraduate qualification or PLAB route). For doctors who wish to secure a senior clinical radiology job in the NHS reflective of their current

practice, we advise that FRCR would be the best route to choose. FRCR is often an essential requirement for jobs in radiology such as breast, cardiac, interventional, musculoskeletal and so on.