Three years on the FRCR 2B examiner panel. Now coaching candidates one-to-one.
Mock viva preparation with a former examiner from the joint RCR/HKCR panel. Honest feedback on what is costing you marks.
Most candidates who fail know enough radiology to pass.
Knowledge is rarely the problem. Technique almost always is.
Pass rates for candidates sitting outside the UK regularly fall below 50%. In the March 2023 sitting the global pass rate was 34%.
The exam fee alone is over HK$6,000 per attempt. A failed sitting delays consultant-level progression by six months or more.
The pattern is consistent. Candidates fail not because they cannot identify the pathology, but because they cannot structure a viva answer under pressure, manage time across cases, or hold their composure when a case does not go to plan.
That is what these sessions target.
The candidates who passed were not the ones who knew the most. They were the ones who could think out loud under pressure and recover when a case went against them.
Two hours that feel like the real thing.
A diagnostic mock viva, run at exam pacing, with feedback after every block.
- Five viva blocks of fifteen minutes, back to back, at real exam pacing.
- Cases pitched at exam standard, drawn from publicly available teaching files and clinical material.
- Verbal feedback after every block: what cost you marks, what to fix, what to carry into the next case.
- English. Feedback in Cantonese on your English viva technique if that is what helps.
- Fully online via Zoom. No travel, no clinic time off, flexible scheduling around your shifts. Cases shared from screen, replay on request.
Two ways to prepare. One way to pass.
- ·Five viva blocks at exam pacing
- ·Identifies your weakest areas and the patterns costing you marks
- ·Verbal feedback after each block
- ·Fully online via Zoom, no travel
- +Everything in the Diagnostic mock, run five times across your run-up to the exam
- ·Structured progression — each session builds on the last
- ·Cases tailored to the weaknesses surfaced in earlier sessions
- ·Builds the technique, endurance and recovery skills the exam rewards
- ·Priority scheduling and sessions movable with 48 hours notice
- ·HK$400 saved per session vs single bookings
Dr Alex Ng.
Three decades in clinical radiology, three years on the FRCR 2B examiner panel.
I qualified MBChB in 1995, was elected Fellow of the Royal College of Radiologists in 2001, and Fellow of the Hong Kong College of Radiologists and the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine in 2004. I held consultant and deputy chief of service posts at Prince of Wales Hospital, and have held an Honorary Clinical Associate Professorship at the Chinese University of Hong Kong throughout.
From 2019 to 2021 I sat on the FRCR 2B examiner panel across three sittings of the joint RCR/HKCR examination, including as senior examiner in the final sitting. That experience is the foundation of how I coach candidates now.
I have recently stepped back from full-time hospital practice. I am using the time to coach FRCR 2B candidates one-to-one, in English and Cantonese.
The panel changed how I think about preparation.
Three sittings, hundreds of candidates, one pattern that kept repeating.
Candidates who struggled were not underprepared on knowledge. They had not practised presenting under pressure: structuring an answer in the first ten seconds, holding their nerve when the examiner pushed back, managing their time so they did not run out on the fifth case.
You cannot learn that from a textbook or a question bank. You learn it by doing it, under exam conditions, with someone who will tell you exactly where you lost marks and why.
That is what these sessions are for. By the time you sit the real exam, the room should feel familiar.
The things candidates usually ask first.
If you have a question that is not here, message me on WhatsApp and I will answer it.
Is the session in person or online?
Sessions run online over Zoom, with cases shared from my screen. This makes the time-zone logistics workable for candidates in the UK, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, or anywhere else.
How close to the format is it really?
The pacing, structure and number of cases match the real exam. Cases are drawn from publicly available teaching files and my own clinical material. I do not use any RCR exam content.
When do I get the feedback?
Verbally at the end of every fifteen-minute block. Specific failures, specific fixes, something to take into the next session.
What if my sitting is deferred or I have to cancel?
Cancellations more than 48 hours before a session move to a future date with full credit. Inside 48 hours, the session is forfeit. No refunds after a session has been delivered.
Are the sessions confidential?
Yes. Sessions are not recorded. Feedback is private to you, and not shared with your training programme or anyone else.
Has the exam format changed recently?
The RCR introduced changes to the FRCR 2B from mid-2025. My sessions are structured to match the current format. If you have questions about what has changed, raise it when we speak and I will walk you through what matters for your preparation.
How is this different from a group course?
Group courses cover knowledge efficiently but they cannot give you individual viva practice under time pressure with specific feedback on your weaknesses. This is one-to-one. You are the candidate for two hours. The feedback is about you, not a room of thirty people.
Prefer not to WhatsApp first?
Drop your details and a short note. I will reply within 24 hours.
Enquiry sent.
I will reply within 24 hours. If you need a faster response, message me on WhatsApp.
The next sitting is closer than you think.
Book a session before your preparation locks in.