REGULATIONS

Diploma of Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery

of the Royal College of Surgeons of England

June 2019

Important note: these regulations are under continual review therefore it is recommended that
candidates keep in regular contact with the College to ensure that they have the most up-to-date
information.
Contents
1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 3
2. Purpose and aims of the examination ......................................................................................................... 3
3. Content of the examination ........................................................................................................................ 3
4. Format of the examination.......................................................................................................................... 3
6. Entrance Requirements ............................................................................................................................... 4
7. Applications for admission to the examination........................................................................................... 4
8. Results ......................................................................................................................................................... 5
9. Feedback...................................................................................................................................................... 5
10. Number of attempts and exemptions ......................................................................................................... 5
11. Infringement of the regulations .................................................................................................................. 5
12. Appeals and complaints .............................................................................................................................. 6
13. Withdrawal from the examination .............................................................................................................. 6
14. Candidates with special circumstances ....................................................................................................... 7
15. Proof of identity at the examination ........................................................................................................... 7
16. Exemptions .................................................................................................................................................. 8
17. Diploma and membership ........................................................................................................................... 8
18. Curriculum ................................................................................................................................................... 8
19. Syllabus coverage ........................................................................................................................................ 8
20. Contacting the Royal College of Surgeons................................................................................................... 8

2
1. Introduction
This document contains the regulations for the Diploma of Membership of the Faculty of Dental
Surgery of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England

35-43 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London WC2A 3PE
Tel: 020 7869 6281

Further information can be obtained on the RCS England website.

All parts of the examination are conducted in English.

2. Purpose and aims of the examination

2.1. Purpose
The Diploma of Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery (MFDS) represents a summative
assessment of candidates’ core knowledge, application of knowledge and understanding of the
structures and processes required to provide quality-assured dental care.

2.2. Aims
To allow the candidate to demonstrate a core knowledge and understanding of the principles and
practice of quality assured dental care.

3. Content of the examination

3.1. The MFDS will assess the candidate’s understanding of the syllabus areas and the
assessment domains of communication skills, clinical competence and clinical
reasoning. Further information can be found in the relevant examination blueprint.

4. Format of the examination

4.1. The examination consists of two parts:
 Part 1 – A three-hour written paper consisting of 150 single best answer (SBA)
questions
 Part 2 – A two and a half hour Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
circuit comprising of 14 stations.

5. Eligibility for the award of the Diploma

5.1. The Diploma of Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at The Royal College of
Surgeons of England may be granted to those who:

3
 5.2. Possess a primary dental qualification acceptable to the Boards of the FDS at The Royal
College of Surgeons of England, and should normally be registered to practise dentistry
in their country of residence;

5.3. Have completed 18 months’ full-time postgraduate experience in dentistry. Normally,

equivalent part-time experience will be acceptable if gained over a period of three-and-
a-half years;

5.4. Have passed Parts 1 and 2 of the examination in accordance with the requirements set
out in section 3 of these regulations.

5.5. Have complied with all the regulations.

6. Entrance Requirements
6.1. To be eligible to enter for the MFDS examination all candidates must provide evidence
of a primary dental qualification and registration to practice dentistry in their country of
residence. If successful at MFDS Part 1 (or equivalent), candidates must have 12 months
clinical experience before they can apply for MFDS Part 2.

6.2. Candidates are required to successfully complete MFDS Part 1 (or equivalent) before
they can apply for MFDS Part 2.

6.3. Candidates are unable to apply for MFDS Part 2 without receiving confirmation of their
MFDS Part 1 (or equivalent) result.

6.4. The Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons reserves the right,
regardless of eligibility, to review applications on an individual basis.

7. Applications for admission to the examination

7.1. Applications for admission to the examination must be completed fully with the
required certified evidence and accompanied by the full amount of the fee payable for
the examination.

7.2. If an application is found to be incomplete, the candidate will be informed and no action
will be taken until the application is complete.

7.3. Applications for the examination must be received by the closing date and time
specified in the examinations’ calendar. Applications received after the closing date will
not normally be processed.

7.4. Applications for the examination need to be submitted online through the RSC England
website.

4
 7.5. Both MFDS Part 1 and MFDS Part 2 exams will normally be held twice per year.

7.6. Further information regarding the examination can be found on the RCS England
website.

8. Results
8.1. Results will be posted on the secure RCS England website and distributed by post.

9. Feedback
9.1. Unsuccessful Part 2 candidates will be given feedback on their performance by domain.

10. Number of attempts and exemptions

10.1. Candidates are usually permitted a maximum of six attempts at the Part 1 examination.
Part 2 of the Diploma must normally be completed within five years of passing the Part
1. Candidates are usually permitted a maximum of four attempts at the Part 2 MFDS
examination.

10.2. Failure to successfully complete MFDS Part 2 within five years of successfully
completing MFDS Part 1 (or equivalent) will usually debar the candidate from applying
for any part of the MFDS examination.

10.3. Any candidates re-sitting the examination will need to pay the full fee, regardless of
which parts of the exam they are sitting. In the exceptional circumstance where a
candidate is allowed to sit the examinations without paying the examination fee, their
result will be withheld until payment is received in full.

10.4. An attempt is defined as an occasion when a candidate commences, but not necessarily
completes, the MFDS Part 1 or MFDS Part 2,

11. Infringement of the regulations

11.1. The College may refuse to admit to the examination, or may not allow to proceed with
the examination, any candidate who infringes any of the regulations or who is
considered by the examiners to be guilty of behaviour prejudicial to the proper
management and conduct of the examination.

Examples of such infringements are as follows:

a. Entry to the examination being attempted by making false claims about eligibility or
falsifying entry documentation. The College reserves the right to make checks to
validate any information or documents supplied by the candidate;

5
 b. Unfair advantage being sought or obtained: by possession of material or devices
during an examination that might give advantage; by plagiarism of any description;
by communicating or attempting to communicate with another candidate once the
examination has commenced; or by refusing to follow instructions given by
examiners or examinations staff regarding the conduct and procedure of the
examination.

11.2. Candidates shall not give or receive any assistance or communicate by any means with
one another or any person, other than the invigilator(s) and examiner(s), at any time
while an Examination is in progress. Any candidate acting in breach of this Regulation or
who is considered by the examiners to be guilty of behaviour prejudicial to the proper
management and conduct of the Examination may be suspended from the examination.

11.3. Candidates should not remove from the examination venue, or make copies of, any
papers or examination materials.

11.4. Candidates should not attempt to obtain confidential information relating to the
examination from an examiner or examination officials or pass confidential information
on the content of the examination to a third party.

11.5. Any candidate who infringes any of the Regulations may be refused admission to, or
may face expulsion from, the Examination. All instances of misconduct are reported to
the Chair of the Examination Board.

11.6. All allegations of misconduct will be investigated in accordance with the procedures
published on the Colleges website; any penalties incurred will also be in accordance
with the published procedures.

12. Appeals and complaints

12.1. Details of the appeals process and fees charged may be obtained from the RCS England
website.

13. Withdrawal from the examination

13.1. Any candidate who wishes to withdraw an application for admission to the examination
must notify the College in writing. A refund or transfer of the fee paid may be made
(less a 20% administrative fee), provided that notice of an intention to withdraw is
received by the College before the closing date by which applications are due, as shown
in the examinations calendar. Refunds or transfers are not normally made to any
candidate who withdraws after the closing date.

13.2. Any candidate who wishes to withdraw an application for admission to the examination
on medical grounds and request a refund or transfer of fee must submit a request in
writing to the relevant College, accompanied by a medical certificate. An application for
consideration of a refund or transfer of fee on compassionate grounds should be

6
 supported by full details, plus a supporting letter from an appropriate professional. Each
such application must be submitted to the College within 28 days following the date of
the commencement date of the examination.

13.3. The College reserves the right to review admission to the examination on an individual
basis in exceptional circumstances.

13.4. A candidate who becomes ill or has an accident during the examination must inform the
Lead Examiner for that diet as soon as possible. On the advice of the Lead Examiner, the
candidate may withdraw from the examination or the Lead Examiner may agree with
the candidate how the candidate should proceed to complete the examination.

14. Candidates with special circumstances

14.1. Tailored examination and other assessment arrangements will be made for individual
candidates with additional needs due to learning differences (such as dyslexia) or due to
permanent or temporary disability through reasonable adjustments. These
arrangements are intended to ensure that candidates are able to perform to the best of
their ability and that they are not discriminated against because of learning differences
or because of permanent or temporary disability.

14.2. It is the responsibility of the candidate to notify the College when they submit their
application of any additional needs they have, the reason for them, and any reasonable
adjustments that have been helpful in the past.

14.3. Applications for reasonable adjustments to meet additional needs are normally
required to be supported by written evidence. For example, in the form of a medical
report from their general medical practitioner for medical conditions, or an educational
psychologist's report for a learning difference such as dyslexia.

15. Proof of identity at the examination

15.1. Candidates must bring their passports to each part of the examination. Exceptionally,
candidates who are not in a position to provide a passport must produce an official
document that includes their name, signature and a current photograph e.g. current
photographic driving license.

15.2. For the purpose of visual identification, any candidate sitting any examination may be
required to remove any clothing and/or other item which covers all, or part of, the
candidate’s face. The College will observe sensitivity in the visual identification of
candidates.

15.3. To facilitate the assessment of non-verbal communication skills and interaction with the
examiner, the College reserves the right to require candidates to remove any item of
clothing and/or other item which covers all or part of the candidate’s face.

7
16. Exemptions
16.1. The following are currently accepted by the College as providing exemption from Part 1
of the MFDS:
a. Part 1 of the MJDF of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
b. Part 1 of the MFDS offered by the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh or the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow;
c. Part 1 of the MFD of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland

17. Diploma and membership

17.1. The candidate, after having passed all parts of the examination Diploma in Membership
of the Faculty of Dental Surgery will be invited to join the Faculty of Dental Surgery via
application and payment of a membership fee. The annual membership fee entitles
candidates to use the post nominal letters (MFDS RCS Eng) after their name.

18. Curriculum
18.1. The COPDEND Dental Foundation Training Curriculum can be found on the following
webpage: https://www.copdend.org/postgraduate-training/872-2/

19. Syllabus coverage

19.1. The MFDS examination will test the candidates’ broad-based understanding of the
theory and practice of dental health set in the context of total patient care. The relevant
basic and clinical science will be included.

19.2. All the domains from the COPDEND curriculum will be assessed: clinical,
communication, professionalism and management & leadership. The specific clinical
topics and major competencies assessed can be found in the examination syllabus.

20. Contacting the Royal College of Surgeons

For any queries regarding the application process or to submit your documentation please contact the
Examinations department at:

Examinations Department
The Royal College of Surgeons of England
35-43 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London WC2A 3PE

Telephone: +44 (0)207 405 3474 (Option 3)

Email: [email protected]
Website www.rcseng.ac.uk