SCFHS · Multiple Case Structured Assessment
A simulator for the oral, because a question bank cannot prepare it
Half the general surgery examinations in the catalogue have a viva, an OSCE or a clinical, and no vendor prepares any of them — because they are answered out loud. This is an examiner that asks, listens to what you actually say, questions you back, and marks the exchange on the four competence domains the Saudi Commission publishes: the only oral rubric for general surgery published in full, and the same competencies the others are testing.
What a station looks like
A scripted playback of one station, in the real interface. Step through it and you will see how the examiner pushes back, and how the marking closes.
The examiner has chosen a station.
You are not told which of the eighteen sections it is. You find out by working the case.
A fixed script, played back. The real simulator answers whatever you type, questions you back, and marks that exchange — it opens with your account.
Why an oral needs its own preparation
The format
You do not choose the section
Two to four stations of up to thirty minutes, remotely, from eighteen published sections — and you are not told which come up. The simulator draws them the same way, preferring the ones you have not seen.
The marking
Half the marks are for how you think aloud
Data-gathering and professional attitude are two of the four domains, and neither is observable unless you say it. A candidate who reaches the right operation silently loses marks in domains they did not know were being scored.
The rule
One sentence can fail the station
The Commission’s fatal-mistake rule fails a candidate regardless of the rest of the score. The simulator flags it separately from the mark, because a mock that quietly averages it away teaches you the wrong lesson.
Which examinations this prepares
26 of the boards in the catalogue examine you out loud. The stations and the marking come from the Saudi blueprint because it is the one published in full; what you practise — reasoning aloud, being pushed back on, closing a plan under questioning — is what every one of them scores.
| MHKICBSC | MHKICBSC Parts 1 and 2 — Membership (Hong Kong and Singapore) |
| PBS | Philippine Board of Surgery — Diplomate |
| Arab Board | Arab Board of Health Specializations — General Surgery |
| DHA | Dubai Health Authority — General Surgery licensing examination |
| SCFHS | Saudi Commission for Health Specialties — General Surgery classification examination |
| PGIM Sri Lanka | Postgraduate Institute of Medicine — MD Surgery (Sri Lanka) |
| COSECSA | College of Surgeons of East, Central and Southern Africa — FCS General Surgery |
| FIBMS | Iraqi Board of Medical Specializations — General Surgery |
| FCPS Pakistan | College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan — FCPS General Surgery |
| FCPS Bangladesh | Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons — FCPS Surgery |
| NPMCN | National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria — Fellowship in Surgery |
| CMCG | Consejo Mexicano de Cirugía General — certificación y recertificación |
| RCST | Royal College of Surgeons of Thailand — Board of Surgery |
| Facharzt Chirurgie | Facharztprüfung Allgemein- und Viszeralchirurgie (Germany) |
| FMH Chirurgie | Facharztprüfung Chirurgie (Switzerland) |
| Ordem dos Médicos | Exame Final da Especialidade de Cirurgia Geral (Portugal) |
| PES Chirurgia | Państwowy Egzamin Specjalizacyjny — chirurgia ogólna (Poland) |
| Türk Cerrahi Board | Ulusal Cerrahi Yeterlilik Sınavı (Turkey) |
| TCBC | Título de Especialista em Cirurgia Geral (Brazil) |
| AAC Argentina | Certificación de Especialista en Cirugía General (Argentina) |
| DNB India | DNB General Surgery (India) |
| RACS Fellowship | Fellowship Examination in General Surgery (Australia and New Zealand) |
| FWACS | Fellowship of the West African College of Surgeons — General Surgery |
| FC Surg(SA) | Fellowship of the College of Surgeons of South Africa |
| GCPS Ghana | Fellowship in General Surgery (Ghana) |
| FRCSC | Certification Examination in General Surgery (Canada) |
The four domains you are marked on
Transcribed from the Commission’s blueprint. The simulator scores each one separately.
| Domain | As the Commission defines it |
|---|---|
| Data-Gathering Skills | the candidates' ability to obtain and identify important information, correlate the clinical data to recommend appropriate testing. It includes interviewing and history taking. |
| Reasoning and Analytical Skills | the candidates' ability to rationalize recommended effective management plans, evaluate alternative plans, recognize indicators to different appropriate treatments based on relevant, correct clinical data interpretation. |
| Decision-Making Skills | the candidates' ability to formulate a logical diagnosis, identify immediate needs, and make accurate inferences regarding the expected outcomes. It includes recognizing potential complications, risks, and benefits. |
| Professional Attitude | the commitment to deliver the highest standards of ethical and professional behavior in all aspects of health practice, resulting in the wise application of behaviors that demonstrate a commitment to excellence, respect, integrity, accountability and altruism. |
The eighteen sections it draws from
Each encounter covers 6 to 8 of these, and the candidate is not told which. They are bread-and-butter general surgery on call, not a subspecialty syllabus.
- 1. Trauma
- 2. Shock and critical care
- 3. Surgical complications
- 4. Wound care
- 5. Breast
- 6. Endocrine
- 7. Skin and soft tissue
- 8. Abdominal wall hernia
- 9. Acute abdomen
- 10. Upper GI bleeding
- 11. Lower GI bleeding
- 12. Esophagus and stomach
- 13. Small intestine
- 14. Large intestine
- 15. Anorectal
- 16. Pancreas
- 17. Spleen
- 18. Liver and biliary surgery
It comes with the Gulf preparation
Six stations a day, every day of your access, with no charge per viva. The live courses that prepare this oral charge for each mock, and run to a fixed timetable.
Questions people ask
Is the SCFHS general surgery exam an oral or multiple choice?
For the professional-practice classification in general surgery it is an oral — a Multiple Case Structured Assessment of two to four stations of up to thirty minutes, conducted remotely with two to four examiners, drawn from eighteen published sections.
Can I try the simulator before buying?
The demonstration on this page is a fixed script played back in the real interface, so you can see exactly how a station runs and how it is marked. The simulator itself — where you type your own answers and are questioned back — opens with an account.
How many stations can I practise?
There is no per-station charge and no cap on how many you sit within your access period. The stations you have not seen are preferred when a new encounter is drawn.
Does it mark the fatal-mistake rule?
Yes, and it reports it separately from the score rather than folding it into an average, because that is how the Commission applies it: a fatal mistake can fail the station whatever the rest of the marks say.