Free, independent DipIMC revision · by Leigh Rogers
The free DipIMC question bank
DipIMC practice questions and timed OSPE-style stations for the RCSEd Diploma in Immediate Medical Care, across all 69 units of the PHEM curriculum. Every answer shows the book, chapter and page it came from.
Enter the dojoTry 10 questions, no sign-inTry a mission
Ten free questions need no account. The whole bank and every station are free with an account, and your progress follows you between devices.
- 592 SBA questions covering all 69 units of the PHEM curriculum
- 45 timed stations: 35 of 8 minutes and 10 of 16, as in Part B
- Every answer sourced: chapter and page for books, and links that open guidelines at the right page or section
At a glance · Sample answer · Topics · Study plan · Guides · FAQ
DipIMC at a glance
| The RCSEd Diploma in Immediate Medical Care | |
|---|---|
| Part A | Written paper: 180 single best answer questions in 180 minutes |
| Part B | OSPE: 14 stations, 12 of 8 minutes and 2 of 16 minutes |
| Fee | £798 for the exam; £341 to resit the written paper, £457 to resit the OSPE (fees and withdrawal) |
| Attempts | Five, and a resit of one part counts as an attempt |
| Next diet | January 2027: Part A on 26 January, the OSPE from 27 January, Edinburgh (dates and countdown) |
| Who can sit it | Doctors, nurses and paramedics, normally four years after registration (eligibility) |
| Later diets | 29 June – 2 July 2027 · 24–28 January 2028 · 27–30 June 2028 |
| Blueprint | Phase 1 of the UK Pre-hospital Emergency Medicine (PHEM) curriculum (the curriculum) |
From the College's published regulations and exam pages, checked 26 September 2026. The DipIMC exam explained →
Every answer shows where it comes from
When you answer a question, the explanation tells you why, and "Where this comes from" tells you where to read more:
- Books: the textbook and page, e.g. Oxford Handbook of Pre-Hospital Care, pp. 159–160.
- Guidelines: the Resuscitation Council UK section or NICE recommendation.
- Consensus statements: the FPHC statement, opened at the right page of the PDF.
- Law: the Act and section on legislation.gov.uk.
If you get a question wrong, add its sources to your reading list and tick them off as you go.
A fire service watch manager asks a helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) doctor how common spinal cord injury actually is among people trapped in cars, since the crew's training has emphasised movement minimisation above everything else. According to the data underpinning the FPHC EXIT consensus statement on extrication, approximately what proportion of trapped patients have a spinal cord injury?
Correct — the answer is A
0.7%
The EXIT project data that underpin the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care's extrication consensus show that approximately 0.7% of patients trapped following a motor vehicle collision have a spinal cord injury. That low figure underpins the consensus's central shift: all patients with injury should be considered time dependent, and the extrication plan should be built around minimising entrapment time rather than absolute movement minimisation. The same work found that trapped patients are more severely injured than those not trapped (median injury severity score 18 against 13) and have higher mortality; that female patients are more likely to be trapped than males; and that older patients have an excess mortality associated with entrapment. The biomechanical study found the smallest cervical movement with self-extrication (2.6 mm) and the largest with rapid extrication (6.21 mm).
Where this comes from
- Extrication following a motor vehicle collision: consensus statementRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, November 2024 (Nutbeam, Fenwick, Haldane, Leech, Foote, Todd, Lockey)·Recommendations: spinal cord injury in trapped patients“Approximately 0.7% of patients who are trapped following a MVC”Open PDF at page 9
- Extrication following a motor vehicle collision: consensus statementRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, November 2024 (Nutbeam, Fenwick, Haldane, Leech, Foote, Todd, Lockey)·Recommendation 1: time dependence“All patients with injury should be considered time dependent.”Open PDF at page 6
- Extrication following a motor vehicle collision: consensus statementRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, November 2024 (Nutbeam, Fenwick, Haldane, Leech, Foote, Todd, Lockey)·Results: EXIT studies“trapped injury severity score (ISS) of 18”Open PDF at page 17
- Extrication following a motor vehicle collision: consensus statementRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, November 2024 (Nutbeam, Fenwick, Haldane, Leech, Foote, Todd, Lockey)·Results: EXIT studies“female patients are more likely to be trapped than males”Open PDF at page 17
- Extrication following a motor vehicle collision: consensus statementRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, November 2024 (Nutbeam, Fenwick, Haldane, Leech, Foote, Todd, Lockey)·Results: EXIT studies“older patients have an excess mortality associated with entrapment”Open PDF at page 17
- Extrication following a motor vehicle collision: consensus statementRoyal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care, November 2024 (Nutbeam, Fenwick, Haldane, Leech, Foote, Todd, Lockey)·Results: biomechanical study“the smallest anterior-posterior movement at the cervical spine (2.6mm)”Open PDF at page 18
How it works
- Practise. Choose Part A-style SBA papers of 10, 20 or 60 questions (one minute a question), in Learn mode or Exam mode. Or run a branching station against an 8- or 16-minute clock.
- Review with sources. See why the best answer is best, why the others are not, and exactly where to read.
- Build your reading list. Save the passages behind the questions you got wrong. Your dashboard tracks your weakest domains and suggests what to do next.
Revise by topic
Every unit of the PHEM curriculum has its own page, with free sample questions, answers and sources, and a drill on that unit.
1. Working in Emergency Medical Systems
- Emergency medical services systems 1.1
- Pre-hospital operational environments 1.2
- Training and regulation of pre-hospital clinicians 1.3
- Ambulance call handling, triage and dispatch 1.4
- The role of pre-hospital emergency medicine in EMS 1.5
- Law, consent and capacity in pre-hospital care 1.6
- Working with the police, fire and rescue services 1.7
- Working with acute hospital services 1.8
- Clinical advice, support and co-ordination 1.9
- Pre-hospital and acute sector management structures 1.10
2. Providing Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Care
- Pre-hospital patient assessment 2.1
- Immediate pre-hospital clinical care 2.2
- Pre-hospital cardiac arrest and resuscitation 2.3
- Pre-hospital medical emergencies 2.4
- Pre-hospital trauma management 2.5
- Pre-hospital analgesia, sedation and RSI 2.6
- Pre-hospital obstetric emergencies 2.7
- The newborn and newborn life support 2.8
- Pre-hospital paediatric emergencies 2.9
- The bariatric patient 2.10
- The older patient 2.11
- Acute behavioural disturbance 2.12
- End-of-life care and bereavement 2.13
3. Using Pre-hospital Equipment
4. Supporting Rescue and Extrication
5. Supporting Safe Patient Transfer
6. Supporting Emergency Preparedness and Response
Theme A: Operational Practice
- Applying the curriculum to local operations 7.1
- Responding to incidents by road 7.2
- Responding by air: HEMS operations 7.3
- Telecommunications and voice procedure 7.4
- Dynamic risk assessment and scene safety 7.5
- Scene management 7.6
- Pre-hospital record keeping 7.7
- Infection prevention and control 7.8
- Moving and handling 7.9
- Equality and diversity 7.10
Theme B: Team Resource Management
Theme C: Clinical Governance
Free DipIMC guides
- DipIMC January 2027: dates, countdown and what to do when
- The DipIMC for paramedics
- How to pass the DipIMC OSPE
- 10 free Part A practice questions, with answers
- The DipIMC reading list
Current, UK-focused content
Questions are written to current UK practice, as the exam requires. That means:
- Resuscitation Council UK Guidelines 2025
- Ten Second Triage, which replaced the triage sieve in 2023
- NICE NG253 for sepsis
- the current FPHC consensus statements
Where an older textbook and a newer guideline disagree, the explanation says so.
Content last updated 20 October 2026.
Who made this
DipIMC.Ninja is made by Leigh Rogers, a consultant paramedic working towards the DipIMC himself. He built it as his own revision resource, then opened it up to other candidates. It is free. About the author → · How questions are written, sourced and checked →
About the DipIMC exam · Part A: the SBA paper · Part B: the OSPE · The curriculum · Reading list · Courses and resources · January 2027 dates · For paramedics · Passing the OSPE · FAQ