04/07/2026
**How do you prepare for an MRCP PACES LCC prompt?**
Most candidates prepare **diseases**.
We prepare **the prompt**.
Take the common LCC prompt: **"Fever."**
At first glance, it looks simple. But when we analyzed recent PACES recalls from different centres, we found that the same prompt has been used to test completely different clinical reasoning.
Recent recalls include:
• Fever in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis
• Fever in SLE
• Fever after renal transplantation
• Fever following cardiac surgery (midline sternotomy)
• Non-resolving fever despite antibiotics (TB/bronchiectasis)
• Fever with pneumonia and eschar (Scrub typhus)
• Pyrexia of unknown origin (TB, lymphoma, HIV)
• Fever with splenomegaly
• Fever in a prosthetic valve patient (Infective endocarditis)
• Fever in a patient with an AV fistula
• Fever with cattle exposure (Brucellosis)
• Fever after dental extraction
• Fever following recent travel with rash and lymphadenopathy leading to acute HIV
This is why memorizing one diagnosis is never enough.
During our LCC mentorship, we break each prompt down systematically:
✅ How PACES examiners think
✅ High-yield differential diagnoses
✅ Key history points that change the diagnosis
✅ Examination clues
✅ Red flags and safety-netting
✅ Investigations and initial management
✅ How to present your reasoning confidently under time pressure
By the end, "Fever" is no longer just one topic—it becomes a structured framework that prepares you for dozens of real PACES scenarios.
This prompt-based approach is what makes candidates adaptable in the exam, even when they encounter an unfamiliar case.
**Don't just study diseases. Learn how to decode the prompt. That's how you pass PACES.**l
