The FRCR Part 1 physics pass rate has ranged from 27% to around 60%. Most candidates who fail do not lack knowledge - they lack strategy. In a recent Revise Radiology webinar, three consultant radiologists shared the mistakes they see most often, across both the anatomy and physics papers.

FRCR Anatomy: The 7 Mistakes

Before the mistakes: know the hard rules

These apply to every question. Miss them and you are giving away marks unnecessarily.

• Be specific head of the radius, not radius

• State the side for paired structures. Do not state a side if it is not clear.

• No abbreviations ever. Write superior mesenteric artery in full.

• Read the question carefully. It may ask at what age a structure ossifies, not what the structure is.

• Answer every question. There is no negative marking.

• Assume normal anatomy only.

Mistake 1: Studying like a textbook

Following a textbook creates a false sense of completeness. The exam does not come from a textbook.

Do this instead: Follow systems - all muscles, all bones, all vessels, all nerves. Use whatever resource works best for you. Rank topics by your own weaknesses and start there.

Mistake 2: Lack of repetition

Anatomy is like a map. You cannot memorise it once and expect it to stay.

Do this instead: Build repetition in from the start. Do not confuse first-pass learning with mastery.

Mistake 3: Lack of self-testing

Recognising a structure in a textbook diagram is not the same as identifying it on a real CT or MRI under exam conditions.

Do this instead: Start practice exams from day one. Getting answers wrong early tells you where your gaps are and builds your speed.

Mistake 4: Ignoring high-yield patterns

Spending weeks on normal variants - a small proportion of the exam - at the expense of core anatomy is a common trap.

Do this instead: Muscles, bones, vessels, and nerves account for around 80% of the exam. Master those first. Fine-tune niche content afterwards.

Mistake 5: Peaking too early

Six weeks before the exam, everything feels sharp. By exam day, the edges have blurred.

Do this instead: Plan your revision so intensity builds toward the exam. Your peak should fall in the final days not weeks before you sit.

Mistake 6: State-dependent recall

If you study while heavily caffeinated, recall becomes dependent on that state. The exam hall is quiet and pressure is high. If your study conditions do not match, your recall suffers.

Do this instead: Study in a quiet room at a normal level of alertness. Sleep well. Do something enjoyable the day before the exam. Arrive in the best possible mental state.

Mistake 7: Fearing time pressure

Each anatomy question allows approximately 54 seconds. Most candidates believe this is a race. It is not.

Do this instead: Allocate 30 seconds per question. At that pace you finish the full paper in one hour, leaving 30 minutes to review and correct any reading errors.

FRCR Physics: The 7 Mistakes

Mistake 1: Treating physics as all concepts or all facts

Candidates who only focus on concepts forget key facts. Candidates who only cram facts get confused and cannot apply them.

Do this instead: You need both. Build conceptual understanding first, then memorise the specific facts that sit on top of those concepts.

Mistake 2: Going too deep into minutiae

Spending weeks trying to understand why T1 relaxation is defined at exactly 63% costs preparation momentum and is not tested.

Do this instead: Cover high-yield content first. Save deep dives for after the exam.

Mistake 3: Underestimating physics

Anatomy can be integrated into daily clinical work. Physics cannot. It requires active, dedicated study.

Do this instead: Allocate more structured time to physics than you think you need. Listening to a lecture once is a foundation not revision.

Mistake 4: Leaving MCQ practice until the end

A candidate with exceptional physics knowledge failed on his first attempt because he only practised MCQs in the final week.

Do this instead: Start questions from day one. Practising questions tunes your thinking you spot which concepts get tested and where the traps are. Expect a dip in your scores mid-preparation. That is normal and means you are on the right track.

Mistake 5: Dropping a modality

The physics paper gives equal weight to every modality - six questions each from X-ray, fluoroscopy and mammography, nuclear imaging, radiation safety, CT, MRI, and ultrasound.

Do this instead: Never skip a modality. Set minimum score targets for each. Relative weakness is manageable. Absence is not.

Mistake 6: Revising without strategy

Randomly revisiting content does not close the gaps that cost marks.

Do this instead: Classify every modality into weak, intermediate, or strong. Work weak topics first, then intermediate, then strong, then return to weak and intermediate before the exam. Identify your dominant error type knowledge gap, reasoning error, or question reading error - at least four weeks out and target it directly.

Mistake 7: Not reading every statement to the end

A statement is only true if every word in it holds true. Marking on partial recognition is a consistent source of avoidable errors.

Do this instead: Read to the end before deciding. If a single word seems doubtful, mark it false.

The FRCR Part 1 is passable. The candidates who pass are not necessarily those who studied the most - they are those who studied with the right structure and arrived at the exam ready to perform.

Revise Radiology offers structured FRCR Part 1 preparation for both anatomy and physics, including topic-wise question banks, mock exams, video lectures, and faculty support. Global Preferential Pricing is available for trainees worldwide. Explore FRCR Part 1 resources →

Insights from Dr Koshy Jacob, Dr Syed Shahzad Hussain, and Dr Ebinesh Arulnathan