This page will contain links to useful resources to help with examination preparation.
Guide to Examinations
Remember the best preparation for both exams is seeing patients and seeking feedback on your consultations.
- Health Education England Northwest links to useful documents for trainees and trainers on preparing for the RCA exam
- GP Training Support
Exam FAQ’s
See the RCGP website for up to date examination information: https://www.rcgp.org.uk/training-exams/mrcgp-exam-overview.aspx
Can I apply for study leave for private study days prior to an exam?
[HEE NW] does not encourage the taking of private study leave for any reason. This includes exam preparation, as the best preparation for both AKT and CSA is consulting and reflecting on casework.
The AKT and CSA are both mandatory exams and attendance should be allowed without having to use any of your study leave days.
If I am taking one of the mandatory exams (as stated above), does this count as one of my study leave days?
No this will be regarded as professional leave and will not be recorded as a study leave day and or be deducted from your annual allowance (30 days per year). However, if you are taking a non-mandatory exam then this will need to be approved by your Educational Supervisor/TPD and will be recorded as a study leave day.
- HEE NW study leave guidance: https://www.nwpgmd.nhs.uk/gpst-study-leave
- Applied Knowledge Test (AKT)
- Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA)
Applied Knowledge Test
Statistics
Recorded Consultation Assessment
RCA Calibration Tool
We are proud to share our Bolton-developed RCA Calibration Tool, a series of videos and expert analysis to help prepare trainees for consultation analysis and calibration to RCGP standards.
The RCA was the final MRCGP exam developed during COVID. Although the tool was designed to help prepare for this, we still recommend using it to help calibrate trainees and trainers as to how RCGP examiners grade the exam, as the marking schemes for the three most recent MRCGP exams (CSA, RCA and now SCA) have been remarkably similar.
Let’s RCA!