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RACGP releases KFP 2021.1 exam report
The biannual report outlines details of the recent exam and overall performance of the cohort.
Results from the college reports highlight the importance of preparation and readiness to sit the Fellowship exams.
Following each RACGP Fellowship (FRACGP) exam, the college publishes information detailing candidates’ performance and outcomes, covering pass marks and rates, mean scores and the reliability of the exam.
The public report for the 2021.1 Key Feature Problem (KFP) exam, which took place on 5 February 2021, is now available.
Comprising 26 cases each with a number of questions, the 2021.1 KFP exam had an overall pass mark of 53.92% and a mean score of 56%. These figures are from a total of 755 candidates who sat the exam.
The pass rate – the percentage of candidates who achieved the pass mark – was 65.96%.
The report provides an overview of each of the 26 cases and identifies issues that resulted in candidates losing marks, including:
- providing non-specific responses
- not reading questions thoroughly and missing key information
- providing unrelated diagnoses and/or drug recommendations
- providing further diagnoses rather than a cause for the presentation
- providing history or details not relevant to the case
- not identifying ‘red flags’ – therefore not providing correct management of the case
- providing diagnoses and/or investigations repeated from the case.
Evidence suggests that candidate success weakens for each subsequent exam attempt. Pass rates by number of attempts for the 2021.1 KFP were:
- first attempt 72%
- second attempt 27.6%
- third attempt 22.2%
- fourth and subsequent attempts 14.7%
These results indicate that preparation and readiness to sit the exams are essential for success.
The RACGP recommends the following advice for candidates when sitting the exam:
- read each question carefully and ensure answers address the question and are succinct
- only consider the information provided in the question and avoid developing further history beyond this information
- be specific in answers that include treatments, medication management, prescribing, further investigations, follow up and referral pathways
- spell out terms in full rather than using abbreviations
- ensure an understanding of current clinical guideline recommendations for appropriate screening and management, including for ‘red flags’ and ongoing management of an emergent situation, as well as any recent updates.
Accessing the practice exams after enrolment closes and using the RACGP assessment resources, such as the exam support online (ESO)
modules via
gplearning, is also highly recommended.
The next KFP exam on 9 July (2021.2) has a scheduled release date of 30 September for the corresponding report.
The RACGP has a suite of resources to support exam candidates available on the Exam Support Program webpage, including the Examination guide.
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