Study advice for the Clinical Paper reading test

Study advice for the Clinical Paper reading test

by Huon Snelgrove -
Number of replies: 0

In the reading test you have 30 minutes to read a clinical research paper or 5-6 pages. You are asked to read the paper quickly and take notes in Italian or English under specific headings (see the questions in the Forum below). You need to know where information is located in a clinical paper, and look there instead of reading every word from beginning to end. Of course, the best way to prepare is to read lots of papers on clinical subjects which interest you.  



If your reading speed is slow you need to read more, and build up your speed. Make sure what you read is relevant to you. Your EBM presentation should be good reading preparation, although you may need to read more than the minimum 10 papers - especially if your English is 'rusty'! 





Use the Sapienza electronic library to download articles you want to read. Cover the abstracts (or cut them out) and take a yellow marker pen to practice finding the ''answers' to the exam questions for each paper. Read each one strategically and try to finish in 10-15 minutes. Then check your answers by looking at the abstract. 

Take these opportunities to improve your  knowledge of English vocabulary as well. Make a note of unfamiliar words and use an App like Lexicon to organize these on your smartphone. 

The BMC online and BMJ offer free full text papers on a wide variety of clinical subjects too, and you can use these journals for extra practice.  The important thing is to do some clinical reading in English regularly. Try at least one or two papers a week - and read a whole bunch close to the exam!