Can AI help you pass PACES? What it can and can’t do
What AI practice tools can and can’t do for MRCP PACES, how to use an AI examiner and AI patients well, and how to combine them with bedside teaching.
The short answer
- Yes, AI can help, for the parts of PACES that are about thinking and talking: presenting, differentials, viva questions, consultations and communication, all under real timings.
- It can’t teach you to find real signs or check your examination technique, so it works best alongside bedside practice, not instead of it.
- Use a tool built for PACES rather than a general chatbot: curated cases, exam timings and marking against the seven PACES skills make the practice count.
What AI can genuinely help with
- Presenting. Present your findings out loud and get immediate feedback on structure, clarity and whether you committed to a diagnosis.
- The viva. An AI examiner can ask follow-up questions on investigations and management, then show a model answer.
- Consultations and communication. An AI patient can respond in character, raise concerns and push back, so you can rehearse a DNACPR discussion or a new diagnosis as often as you like.
- Differential diagnosis and clinical judgement. Defending your reasoning to an examiner, case after case, is exactly how Skills D and E improve.
- Timing and repetition. You can do a timed case on your phone in 15 minutes, every day, without organising anyone else.
What AI can't do
- Find real signs. Feeling a spleen tip, hearing a soft early diastolic murmur in a noisy room or eliciting clonus all take real patients (Skill B).
- Check your hands. Examination technique, positioning and exposure need someone watching you (Skill A).
- Judge your welfare behaviour. Comfort, dignity and consent are judged in every real encounter (Skill G); a simulation can only remind you.
- Replace examiners. No simulator's marksheet is a validated substitute for the real exam. Treat AI marks as a guide to where to focus, not a prediction of your result.
General chatbots vs PACES-specific tools
| General chatbot | PACES practice platform | |
|---|---|---|
| Cases | Invented on the spot; findings may be inconsistent or unrealistic | Curated cases with fixed findings and model answers |
| Timings | None | Real encounter timings |
| Marking | Generic comments | Marked against the PACES skills A–G |
| Signs | Text descriptions only | Can include clinical images and heart and breath sounds |
| Voice | Varies | Spoken conversations with an AI patient (on some platforms) |
How to use AI practice well
- Speak, don't type. PACES is spoken. If the tool supports voice, use it.
- Use exam timings every time. The pressure of the clock is part of what you're training.
- Commit before you check. Present and answer fully before looking at model answers.
- Track skills, not scores. If B or D keeps coming back Borderline, change what you practise next.
- Feed your bedside sessions. Take what AI practice shows you is weak to a registrar or consultant at the bedside.
A balanced weekly mix
- Most days: 1–2 AI cases (15–30 minutes), alternating examination stations with consultation and communication.
- Two or three times a week: bedside sessions on real patients, focusing on technique and signs.
- Weekly: a longer session working through several encounters back to back under exam timings.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Can AI help you pass PACES?
AI can help with presenting, differential diagnosis, viva questions and consultation and communication practice under real timings. It cannot teach you to find real signs or check your examination technique, so use it alongside bedside practice.
Is ChatGPT good for PACES practice?
General chatbots are useful for quizzing yourself and rehearsing conversations, but they lack curated cases, exam timings and marking against the PACES skills, and they may describe findings that would not be present in a real patient. PACES-specific platforms are better for structured practice.
What is an AI examiner for PACES?
An AI examiner listens to your presentation, asks viva-style follow-up questions and gives feedback, ideally marked against the seven PACES skills. Ace PACES, for example, marks each attempt skill by skill as Satisfactory, Borderline or Unsatisfactory.
Can AI replace bedside teaching for PACES?
No. Physical examination technique (Skill A) and identifying real physical signs (Skill B) need real patients. Skill B had the lowest pass rate of the seven skills in 2025, so bedside practice remains essential.
Written by The Ace PACES team. Exam facts are taken from the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians’ published PACES guidance, linked in the sources above. This guide supports exam preparation and is not a clinical guideline.
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