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RACGP celebrates ‘collective effort’ of recent clinical exam
More than 700 doctors are one step closer to becoming GPs, as the RACGP reveals key insights into the latest exam results.
The 2024.1 Clinical Competency Exam had a pass rate of 89% out of the almost 800 candidates who completed the online assessment.
Over four days in June, almost 800 candidates sat the final exam on the pathway to Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP).
This week, the RACGP has published the results for the 2024.1 Clinical Competency Exam (CCE).
Delivered via Zoom, the CCE assesses clinical competence and readiness for independent practice as a specialist GP at the point of Fellowship.
Across Saturday and Sunday, 15–16 June and Saturday and Sunday, 22–23 June, a total of 798 candidates sat the 2024.1 CCE, with 711 passing the exam.
The 2024.1 CCE report translates this to a pass rate of 89.1%, which is the percentage of candidates who achieved the standard expected at the point of Fellowship.
RACGP National CCE Assessment Advisor and Lead Medical Educator, Dr Rebecca Lock, told newsGP these results indicate a promising pathway leading the next generation of GPs.
‘The high pass rate reflects that many candidates have successfully encountered a broad range of presentations in clinical practice that enable them to approach the cases well,’ she said.
‘And that they will continue to deliver high-quality care to the Australian public as they become eligible for Fellowship.
‘Completion of the triad of Fellowship exams means successful CCE candidates have now demonstrated they are ready to practice whole-person, comprehensive general practice care at the level of a consultant/specialist GP in the Australian context.’
Consisting of a series of clinical cases, the CCE assesses multiple competencies comprising performance criteria expected at the point of Fellowship, including:
- communication and consultation skills
- clinical information gathering and interpretation
- diagnosis, decision-making and reasoning
- procedural skills
- professionalism and managing uncertainty
- general practice systems and regulatory requirements.
General feedback detailed in the 2024.1 CCE report states that successful candidates demonstrated an ‘empathic and non-biased approach’ to patient management, taking into consideration the patient’s context. Competent candidates also demonstrated a non-judgemental approach to all patients.
Common pitfalls cited in the report include formulaic responses or a ‘scattergun approach’ in answering questions, which the RACGP says does not demonstrate clinical reasoning ability or understanding of individual patient context and needs.
Dr Lock said preparation is key for the Fellowship exams.
‘The biggest tip I can give for candidates is to learn from seeing patients every day in general practice,’ she said. ‘Every case we examine in the CCE starts as an Australian general practice presentation.
‘Our writers come from across the country and are experienced GPs. The exam offers candidates the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in communication, consulting, clinical reasoning, and management by recreating scenarios our GP writers have experienced.
‘The second tip I would advise is to manage exam anxiety well – practice mindful breathing so you can reset between cases, prioritise sleep, gentle exercise, and nutrition as part of your preparation, and prepare and practice with your technology so you are not managing this concern on exam day.’
Further highlighting the importance of preparation, the 2024.1 CCE report reveals the pass rate falls with each attempt – from 92.56% for the first attempt, 82.95% for second attempt, and 38.89% for the third attempt.
Those preparing for the CCE, as well as those assisting such as supervisors and mentors, are recommended to refer to the
CCE resource page which hosts a range of resources – particularly the
Clinical Competency Rubric which outlines all the criteria candidates are assessed against. Practice cases and video demonstrations are also housed here.
Dr Lock said the CCE is ‘a large collective effort’ from staff across the college as well as member examiners, and shared some ‘mind boggling’ logistics behind the 2024.1 exam:
- 872 examiner shifts
- 401 role-player shifts
- 323 hub administrator shifts
- 384 rotations in 128 hubs providing 7182 examiner-candidate interactions
- 52 after-hours meetings to train examiners and role players in the weeks leading up to the exam
‘From our team, a huge thank you to all the RACGP staff who support us and to all our examiner members who support the process of assisting our candidates to demonstrate that they meet the standard to work in unsupervised general practice in Australia,’ Dr Lock said.
‘The college should be really proud of what we achieve in this exam.’
The CCE 2024.2 is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, 9–10 November and Saturday and Sunday 16–17 November. Results will be released 18 December on the RACGP’s exam results web page.
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