European Specialty Examination in Gastroenterology and Hepatology examination — improving education in gastroenterology and hepatology

Table 1 Examination blueprint

Candidates are tested on a wide range of common and important disorders as set out in the syllabus of the curriculum
The composition of the paper is as follows:
Topic	Number of questions1
Biliary tree	16
Gastrointestinal haemorrhage	10
Inflammatory bowel disease and colonic disorders	40
Liver disorders	40
Nutrition	10
Oesophageal disorders	16
Pancreatic disorders	16
Small intestinal disorders	20
Stomach and duodenal disorders	20
Other2	12
Total	200

¹This should be taken as an indication of the likely number of questions – the actual number may vary slightly. The questions in each category are distributed across both papers.

²Other is made up of the following topics: (1) Mouth and salivary gland; (2) Endoscopy; (3) Gastrointestinal physiology; (4) Gastroenterology investigations; (5) Gastroenterology symptoms/signs; and (6) Anal disorders.

Table 2 Results (2014-2019)

Diet	Pass mark	Pass rate United Kinfdom trainees	Pass rate European centres	Pass rate all candidates
2019	59% (118/200)	78.7% (111/141)	71.2% (111/156)	59.2% (290/490)
20181	60% (120/200)	83% (146/176)	73.9% (65/88)	67.3% (278/413)
2017	61.3% (122/199)	76.4% (110/144)	60.9% (81/1331)	59.1% (146/247)
2016	60.8% (121/199)	82% (100/122)	68.1% (62/911)	65% (147/226)
2015	62% (124/200)	72.5% (87/120)	63.2% (60/951)	55.4% (128/231)
2014	62.24% (122/196)	76.2% (80/105)	64% (32/501)	53.5% (106/198)

The “total” number of candidates includes international doctor who take the examination outside of Europe and the United Kingdom.

¹Candidates sitting in European centres are excluded from the total candidates in 2014-2017 data but included in 2018 when the Specialty Certificate Examination and European Section and Board of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Examination merged.