Anaesthetists in Training Webinar - Examinations

You are advised to refer to the CT3/Stage 1 ‘top up’ training document for details of the content of Stage 1 ‘top up’ training. If your experience meets these requirements, then yes you can use it towards CT3 equivalence.

Recruitment is run by HEE and it is not within the College’s gift to change how it is managed.  However, the Recruitment Advisory Group (RAG) has liaised with HEE’s Anaesthesia National Recruitment Office (ANRO) and the Medical and Dental Recruitment Selection (MDRS) to review the process for second marking of portfolio scores.

Following our request it has been agreed that any applicant will be able to request a review of their portfolio scores where there is disagreement on marks awarded following assessor feedback in any of the domains. There is no minimum divergence score required and applicants will not need to follow a complaints process to request certain domains to be re-scored. However, no new documents will be able to be presented as evidence at this stage. The ability to request re-scoring of portfolio domains following assessor feedback will commence for the recruitment round starting in September 2021.

In face-to-face interviews the portfolio station accounted for 50 per cent of the overall interview score. In virtual interviews the weighting is 38 per cent. More interview stations would be preferable in providing a more balanced weighting.  The Recruitment Advisory Group (RAG) is proposing that two, or three stations with six independent assessors are used for 2022 recruitment. This is currently a proposal and will be dependent on MDRS approval following testing of software platforms which are able to run multiple stations virtually.  

For clarity, this is the RAG proposal for the 2022 recruitment. Those preparing for round three applications in the 2021 recruitment timetable, which is for posts starting in February 2022, will have the same interview station format as in previous rounds this   year.

The February 2022 intake for recruitment sits within the round and process that was  agreed for 2021 national recruitment. Therefore, the principles and ST3 Person Specification that were agreed with MDRS at the end of 2020 continue for this round.

 In addition, the curriculum derogation agreed with the GMC remains in place until September 2021, which encompasses the autumn recruitment round.

The full Primary FRCA will be a requirement for ST4 applications in the next recruitment round, which we are planning for a February 2023 start.

The College has produced ARCP Outcome guidance which deaneries are encouraged to use to support panels in managing the assessment and progress of anaesthetists in training. We cannot comment on individual outcomes awarded without having all of the facts but if you have concerns you should speak to your Head of School and Regional Advisor.

Yes, when you are appointed you should discuss your situation with your Training Programme Director to consider where you can fit into the training programme.

At the moment we are not planning to recruit to ST4 in August 2022. The reason for this is that all ST4 posts will be filled from this year’s ST3 intake. If schools are able to secure funding for additional posts, then this situation may change but as things stand at the moment all posts will be filled.

The examinations will cover the same content and have not changed as a result of the introduction of the 2021 curriculum. The FRCA examinations syllabus will be published in due course.

An international medical graduate is required to pass the same parts of the FRCA as a UK graduate. The Primary MCQ is a requirement of the February 2022 ST3 intake for recruitment.

The full Primary FRCA will be a requirement for ST4 applications in the next recruitment round, which we are planning for a February 2023 start.

The results of the FRCA primary MCQ taking place on 7 September will be released by email on Monday 27 September 2021. The last ever recruitment round for ST3 opened on 27 July and closed on 17 August.

Trainees will be able to sit the FRCA Final in their ST3 year despite the curriculum change, however, trainees should note that if it is necessary to once again prioritise places for the Final SOE, ST3 trainees will be in a lower priority group to those at ST4 and ST5. Eligibility to sit the FRCA Final is based on having already passed the Primary. The College makes the following recommendations on when to sit FRCA examinations:  

• Candidates should not sit the Primary FRCA MCQ paper until they have passed the Initial Assessment of Competency. 

• Candidates should not sit the Primary FRCA OSCE and SOE until they have completed at least 1 year of Stage 1.

• Candidates should not sit the Final FRCA Examination until they have completed Stage 1 of training.

A statement regarding a revision to the Prioritisation of Applications policy was released on 16 August

FRCA examinations (written and clinical) will remain online until April 2022. This decision was made due to the continued level of uncertainty caused by the pandemic and the need to give trainees ultimate certainty and protect training and career progression. However, it may be necessary to prioritise places on clinical exams (primary OSCE SOE and final SOE) and those in lower priority groups may not be able to obtain an exam place.

The pass mark in the FRCA MCQ examinations is derived from a modified Angoff process. A set of trained Angoff judges review each question and determine the likelihood of a previously defined minimally competent candidate answering correctly. The scores are then summed and averaged and the final figure forms the pass mark. However, this is not the end of the process. Once an examination has been sat, the group of examiners responsible for that exam come together to review the performance of the paper. In this process, the examiners are looking at how well each question has performed, as well as reviewing any feedback on the questions submitted by candidates. The questions are reviewed by looking at: the proportion of candidates answering correctly, the proportion of candidates selecting each distractor and correct answer in a multiple-choice question, and whether the question is discriminating between high and low performing candidates.

Questions may be voided during the review of the questions and where they are, the Angoff for that question will be removed and the pass mark recalculated. Since the number of items removed from the exam during the post-exam analysis varies from paper to paper and the Angoff scores also vary from paper to paper, the pass mark will be different for each exam.

An advantage to this method is that the pass mark is determined on the content on the examination rather than the performance of the cohort, and this enables us to maintain a standard and deliver a fair examination to candidates. It is therefore not helpful to focus on the pass mark but rather on good preparation for the exam with a clear revision plan.

Applicants who fully meet the eligibility criteria available on our website will be permitted to sit the examination. Applicants should be currently registered with the College in a recognised membership category (not Affiliate grade) and if not currently working as an anaesthetist, be a former UK or Irish anaesthetic trainee who left anaesthetic training no more than five years before date of the sitting applied for. Applicants who are not currently working as anaesthetists in the UK and are not eligible for Temporary Examination Eligibility (TEE) are not eligible to sit the examination.

This policy was only valid for one year and expired on 31 July 2021. The policy was a recommendation from the General Medical Council after there was a need for Colleges to change swiftly to an online format to ensure exam delivery could continue during the pandemic. One year on, we feel the platforms and processes for the online delivery are fully embedded and therefore there is no requirement to continue this policy.

To sit the FRCA Primary OSCE SOE, candidates must be practicing anaesthesia. Temporary Examination Eligibility (TEE) requires applicants to be practicing anaesthetists with permanent residence outside the UK. TEE candidates who move to the UK during the year-long validity of the TEE, will no longer be eligible to sit the FRCA.

In general terms, the responsibility lies with the candidate to have the appropriate hardware and sufficient connectivity, however, using an example of an unexpected power cut (without prior notification from the power supplier), such events would be classed as an exceptional circumstance that is beyond the control of the candidate. These are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

The action taken would depend on, for example, when the power supply/connection issue occurred during the test, how long the power/connection remained unavailable, if temporary, whether the exam could be rescheduled for later on the same day. There may also be the option to change hardware, change location during a reschedule or use hotspot.

We do not run the same exam again on a subsequent day due to exam security concerns and we are unable to run an additional exam paper between diets.  If rescheduling or test completion on the same day is not possible, and it is clear that it is an exceptional circumstance that is unexpected and beyond the candidate’s control, we would request that the candidate send evidence of the event e.g. from the power supplier/WIFI provider. If approved, we would then discuss with the candidate the best option for them, for example, a refund of the exam fee or a free sitting in the next exam diet. The exam would likely be classified as a void and therefore would not count as an attempt.