For FRCS (Tr & Orth) Section 1 · JCIE blueprint 2023
1,500 single best answer questions written the way the paper asks them, mapped to every topic of the JCIE syllabus blueprint — with two-paper timed mocks, the Daily Five, interactive 3D anatomy and analytics that show you exactly what to fix.
Brachial plexus
Read it right to left: the five roots emerge between scalenus anterior and medius, form three trunks, split into anterior and posterior divisions behind the clavicle, and regroup as three cords named for their position around the axillary artery.
Explore with hotspotsDrag to turn · scroll to zoom
01Try it, no account
A free sample from across the syllabus, with the full explanation under every question. Have a go at this one — rate your confidence first, the way the app asks you to.
A 28-year-old motorcyclist has bilateral closed femoral shaft fractures and bilateral pulmonary contusions. After six units of red cells his blood pressure is 95/60 mmHg, temperature 34.6 °C, lactate 4.6 mmol/L and platelet count 85 × 10⁹/L.
What is the most appropriate management of his femoral fractures in the next few hours?
02Explanations that teach
The exam is passed on judgement, not recall. So every explanation follows the same four moves — the ones you'll make in the exam hall.
This is an under-resuscitated polytrauma patient, and the hypothermia, coagulopathy and raised lactate mean the femoral fractures need damage control, not definitive fixation.
Rapid spanning external fixation controls pain, bleeding and ongoing soft-tissue injury while limiting the surgical second hit; the frames are converted to nails once the physiology has recovered.
Reamed or unreamed nailing and bridge plating are definitive procedures that add blood loss and embolic load in a patient with pulmonary contusions; skeletal traction does not stabilise the fractures and prevents upright nursing.
Reference: Pape HC et al., J Orthop Trauma 2005; Rockwood and Green's Fractures in Adults 9e.
Name the diagnosis the vignette hid
The stem implies, never states. The explanation says it out loud first.
Justify the single best answer
The mechanism and the threshold that make it best — not just "correct".
Dismantle the distractors
Why each close contender fails on this stem. Same-category options, one discriminator.
Cite the source
Current UK guidance first, then the standard texts, so you can check us.
03Mapped to the JCIE blueprint
Every question is tagged to one of 28 topics across the ten domains of the syllabus — applied basic science, oncology, trauma, hip, knee, foot and ankle, spine, shoulder and elbow, hand and wrist, and paediatrics — so you can drill a weak area tonight and see the gap close.
See the full FRCS (Tr & Orth) syllabus and revision topics, with question counts for every topic.
04Sit the exam before the exam
The real format, end to end: two papers of 120 questions, 2 hours 15 minutes each, a question navigator, flagging, and review only after you submit. Watch an answer go through the app — confidence first, then the reveal, then where it lands on your readiness picture.
Confidence × competence
Last 48 answers
Underconfident
unsure · correct
0
Mastery
confident · correct
0
Knowledge gap
unsure · wrong
0
Dangerous misconception
confident · wrong
0
05Analytics that tell you what to fix
Before every answer you rate your confidence. Combined with whether you were right, each attempt lands in one of four quadrants — and the one that matters most is the dangerous misconception: confidently wrong. We find those and bring them back until they're fixed.
06Revision that fits the rota
On the commute, between cases, in the coffee queue. Every day the app builds you a five-minute session: a drill from your weakest topics and lapses, one surgical pearl to flip and cement, and a micro-case that tests your judgement across three decisions.
Smart drill
Five questions picked for you: weak topics, lapses and new ground, with spaced repetition that brings misses back on schedule.
1,500 QsPearl of the Day
Flip-card essentials — classifications, surgical approaches, biomechanics — added as each set is checked against its reference.
0 pearlsMicro-case
One patient, three decisions. An evolving vignette that trains judgement, not just recall.
0 cases07Free, no account
A growing library of original revision articles — open fractures, fracture healing, biomechanics — and interactive 3D anatomy you can rotate, zoom and explore by hotspot: the brachial plexus and the wrist in cross-section to begin with.
Brachial plexus — drag to rotate, tap a hotspot to name the structure.All 2 3D models
08Editorial standards
No recalled questions, no invented exam frequencies, no guaranteed-pass claims. Just a transparent process you can read in full.
Written to the official structure
Every item follows the JCIE sample questions: lean vignette, five same-category options, one defensible best answer.
Referenced to current UK guidance
BOAST and NICE first; Miller's Review, Rockwood and Green, Campbell's and Ramachandran for the rest. Where a US text and UK guidance differ, UK guidance wins.
Honest about review
Every item is checked against its cited reference. No orthopaedic surgeon has reviewed the bank yet: specialist review is pending, and we will publish which sections have had it — no claims of sign-off that hasn't happened.
Open corrections
Spot an error? Report it from any question. We triage every report, fix or retire the item, and record the change.
09Simple, honest pricing
Start free. Pay monthly, or save with a one-off block that covers your whole run-up to the exam and never auto-renews.
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£99
for 6 months · or £24.99/mo
£179
for 6 months · or £44.99/mo
Prices in GBP, payment by Stripe. Monthly plans cancel any time; blocks never auto-renew. Full refund within 14 days if you've attempted fewer than 20 questions. Full comparison
Yes. The JCIE calls the written examination Section 1 of the Intercollegiate Specialty Examination in Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgery; trainees often call it Part 1 or Part A. It is two single best answer papers of 120 questions, each lasting 2 hours 15 minutes, sat on one day.
A sample of questions with full referenced explanations on the free questions page — no account needed — plus, with a free account, the Daily Five drill, core analytics and a preview of the notes library as it is published. No card is required.
Questions are original items written to the structure of the JCIE sample questions against current UK guidance and standard texts, and every explanation ends with its reference so you can check it. No orthopaedic surgeon has reviewed the content yet; specialist review is pending and we will say which sections have had it. Read how the questions are written and reviewed.
Before each answer you rate your confidence. We combine that with whether you were right to place every attempt in a mastery quadrant, then derive a composite readiness score across the syllabus — the method is explained inside the app.
Monthly plans can be cancelled at any time and run to the end of the paid month. The 3- and 6-month blocks are one-off payments that never auto-renew. If a purchase isn't right for you, message us within 14 days having attempted fewer than 20 questions for a full refund.
More in the full FAQ and the FRCS (Tr & Orth) Section 1 exam guide.
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