Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) List of Conditions

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Introduction

All medical students in the UK will need to pass the Medical Licensing Assessment (MLA) before being able to join the medical register and work as a doctor. The MLA will consist of two parts:

Applied knowledge test (AKT): a 200-question online multiple choice exam using single best answer (SBA) questions
Clinical and professional skills assessment (CPSA): a practical examination (e.g. OSCE) run by medical schools

The medical licensing assessment content map sets out the content which could be tested as part of the MLA, either as part of the AKT or CPSA.

As part of the content map, there is a list of medical conditions which could be tested in the MLA. These medical conditions could be tested in a single best answer (SBA) question in the applied knowledge test or as part of an OSCE station in the clinical and professional skills assessment.

Conditions vs presentations

In the MLA, conditions are defined as “pathophysiological diseases or clinical diagnoses”, whereas presentations are defined as “signs, symptoms, investigation results and other relevant patient-related issues”.

A condition could cause several presentations. For example, lung cancer could cause breathlessness, haemoptysis, weight loss and bone pain.

It is important to be familiar with these conditions before taking the medical licensing assessment. We’ve included an alphabetical list of the conditions below, with relevant links to Geeky Medics articles. We’ve also included a breakdown of conditions listed by areas of clinical practice. This list is based on the General Medical Council’s MLA content map.

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List of MLA conditions

A

Acid-base abnormality
Acne vulgaris
Acoustic neuroma
Acute bronchitis
Acute cholangitis
Acute coronary syndromes
Acute glaucoma
Acute kidney injury
Acute pancreatitis
Acute stress reaction
Addison’s disease
Adverse drug effects
Alcoholic hepatitis
Allergic disorder
Anaemia
Anal fissure
Anaphylaxis
Aneurysms, ischaemic limb and occlusions
Ankylosing spondylitis
Anxiety disorder: generalised
Anxiety disorder: post-traumatic stress disorder
Anxiety, phobias, OCD
Aortic aneurysm
Aortic dissection
Aortic valve disease
Appendicitis
Arrhythmias
Arterial thrombosis
Arterial ulcers
Asbestos-related lung disease
Ascites
Asthma
Asthma COPD overlap syndrome
Atopic dermatitis and eczema
Atrophic vaginitis
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Autism spectrum disorder

B

C

Candidiasis
Cardiac arrest
Cardiac failure
Cataracts
Cellulitis
Central retinal arterial occlusion
Cerebral palsy and hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy
Cervical cancer
Cervical screening (HPV)
Chlamydia
Cholecystitis
Chronic fatigue syndrome
Chronic glaucoma
Chronic kidney disease
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Cirrhosis
Coeliac disease
Colorectal tumours
Compartment syndrome
Conjunctivitis
Constipation
Contact dermatitis
Cord prolapse
Covid-19
Croup
Crystal arthropathy
Cushing’s syndrome
Cutaneous fungal infection
Cutaneous warts
Cystic fibrosis

D

Deep vein thrombosis
Dehydration
Delirium
Dementias
Depression
Developmental delay
Diabetes in pregnancy (gestational and pre-existing)
Diabetes insipidus
Diabetes mellitus type 1 and 2
Diabetic eye disease
Diabetic ketoacidosis
Diabetic nephropathy
Diabetic neuropathy
Disease prevention/screening
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
Diverticular disease
Down’s syndrome
Drug overdose

E

F

Febrile convulsion
Fibroadenoma
Fibroids
Fibromyalgia
Fibrotic lung disease
Folliculitis

G

Gallstones and biliary colic
Gangrene
Gastric cancer
Gastrointestinal perforation
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease
Gonorrhoea

L

Leukaemia
Liver failure
Lower limb fractures
Lower limb soft tissue injury
Lower respiratory tract infection
Lung cancer
Lyme disease
Lymphoma

M

Macular degeneration
Malabsorption
Malaria
Malignant melanoma
Malnutrition
Measles
Ménière’s disease
Meningitis
Menopause
Mesenteric adenitis
Metastatic disease
Migraine
Mitral valve disease
Motor neurone disease
Multi-organ dysfunction syndrome
Multiple myeloma
Multiple sclerosis
Mumps
Muscular dystrophies
Myasthenia gravis
Myeloproliferative disorders
Myocardial infarction
Myocarditis

N

O

Obesity
Obesity and pregnancy
Obstructive sleep apnoea
Occupational lung disease
Oesophageal cancer
Optic neuritis
Osteoarthritis
Osteomalacia
Osteomyelitis
Osteoporosis
Otitis externa
Otitis media
Ovarian cancer

P

R

S

T

U

Unstable angina
Upper limb fractures
Upper limb soft tissue injury
Upper respiratory tract infection
Urinary incontinence
Urinary tract calculi
Urinary tract infection
Urticaria
Uveitis

V

W

Conditions by MLA area of clinical practice

There are 24 areas of clinical practice as part of the UK medical licensing assessment content map. Conditions can be mapped to multiple areas of clinical practice.

For example, anaemia is mapped to six areas of clinical practice: child health, clinical haematology, gastrointestinal, general practice, obstetrics & gynaecology, and perioperative medicine. This reflects how broad anaemia is as a topic and how it is encountered in multiple areas of medicine.

When we look closer at the MLA content map, we can see some conditions frequently appearing across multiple areas of clinical practice (Figure 1). The top three conditions in the MLA content map are anaemia, substance use disorder and cardiac failure.