Pass 3rd attempt 656 so not the best person to advice but here is what i think even if this helped one person to pass i am happy :
1- pass medicine is the core to this exam, u can’t possibly do this exam with out doing pass medicine and digesting it very well and i think there isa clear consensus about that.
2- pass medicine alone is NOT enough, u really need another more exam level or harder than exam level to guarantee pass, to make it simple on which one to do, if u have a long time to prepare do pass test if limited time do on examination, i personally did on exam and i think it was the key for my 3rd attempt success as i have already done pass medicine 3-4 times and on exam just took my questions level higher to a be able to answer harder questions and this really helped.
3- only notes is basically a collection of pass medicine notes it is enough as notes to study and revise and added knowledge you can get from other q banks while answering Qs either from pass test or on exam
4- you really need to have a mind set of i need to answer each question i need to get 100% if i can, the mind set of i need 55% to pass will mostly make u fail and i think this was my biggest mistake in the previous 2 attempts, aiming for a just pass is a risk while revising at home u are trying to get the correct answer with each question and if u got it wrong u digest the explanation and get it right if repeated
5- it is doable in 4 months with work but please take the final 1-2 weeks as an annual leave or something u really need to study most hours of the day by the end
6- the MRCP website have simulation exam 200 Qs i don’t know if these are updated continuously or not but i personally found them extremely useful and most similar to the exam i don’t wanna be extreme and say at least 20 questions in the exam were almost same with some changes in the question and accordingly the answer of course but same theme and same topic so they are important
7- don’t stop if u fail please u will pass at a stage
8- sleep really well the night before the exam
Hope this helps