Critical Appraisal

The Critical Appraisal section catches out clinical doctors more than any other part of the FRCEM SBA — not because it's hard, but because it's tested differently from the rest of the paper. This category gives you the focused, exam-ready stats and study-design knowledge needed to score full marks. Inside you'll find a structured guide to passing the FRCEM Critical Appraisal section, a plain-English explanation of p-values, confidence intervals, and the common biases tested, and a breakdown of the most common Critical Appraisal SBA questions with worked examples. You don't need to be a methodologist — you need to recognise study designs, interpret CIs and p-values correctly, spot the half-dozen biases the exam loves, and apply a small set of statistical concepts under time pressure. These guides give you exactly that.