MRCGP / nMRCGP – changes to the published transitional
arrangements for 2008
The arrangements for transition between the
current MRCGP examination and the nMRCGP assessment process have
been amended to accommodate those who will not have time to
complete the Workplace Based Assessment (WPBA) of nMRCGP, for
example those starting their final year of training in February
2007.
WPBA will be available from August 2007. The
College considers that it is impractical and inappropriate to
attempt WPBA in just six to eleven months. GPRs completing
training before the end of July 2008, ie those with less than 12
months of training to complete from August 2007, have been advised
by their deaneries, the College and NOSA, to apply for summative
assessment (for a CCT) and, if desired, the current MRCGP
examination. Many GPRs have already applied for either the
summer or winter 2007 examination sessions, but we understand that
there are some who missed the 9 February deadline.
The closing date for applications to the
winter 2007 MRCGP examination session (Wednesday 29 August 2007)
remains unchanged, but this will be open to first time applicants,
as well as those wishing to complete the examination or re-sit
modules previously failed.
In order to ensure that all applicants are
afforded the option of three attempts at each module, the cut-off
point for the availability of MRCGP components has been extended by
six months to include a Written Paper session in October 2008 and
Oral examinations in November/December 2008. Candidates by
that time requiring passes in the Multiple Choice Paper module of
the current MRCGP will be required instead to attempt the nMRCGP
Applied Knowledge Test (AKT).
The following options for those attempting
modules of the MRCGP examination during 2007 and 2008 will be
available:
| MRCGP modules |
Summer 2007 |
Winter 2007 |
Summer 2008 |
Winter 2008 |
| Multiple** Choice paper |
May 2007 |
October 2007 – nMRCGP AKT |
May 2008 - nMRCGP AKT |
October 2008 - nMRCGP AKT |
| Written paper |
May 2007 |
October 2007 |
May 2008 |
October 2008 |
| Oral examination |
June/July 2007 |
November / December 2007 |
June/July 2008 |
November /December 2008 |
| Consulting skills (video) |
May 2007 |
October 2007 |
May 2008 |
October 2008 |
| Consulting skills (Simulated surgery) |
March & July 2007 |
October /November 2007 - nMRCGP CSA or video |
May 2008 –nMRCGP CSA or video |
October 2008 - nMRCGP CSA or video |
** the additional AKT planned for February 2008 will only be
available to nMRCGP candidates
The arrangements above supersede those
described in Information Sheet No. 2 (revised in January 2007).
The arrangements for acquiring a CCT via
Summative Assessment during the transition period remained
unchanged (please refer to Information Sheet No. 3).
There are two routes to becoming a member of the College: by
sitting the membership examination or by undertaking Membership by Assessment of Performance
(MAP), an assessment scheme geared towards experienced GPs who
can demonstrate that they provide good quality care for their
patients in everyday practice. General practitioners who
successfully complete either of the assessment methods for
membership, pay an entrance fee to join the College, and continue
to renew their annual subscription are entitled to use the
designation Member of the Royal College of General Practitioners
(MRCGP).
The College’s membership examination was introduced in 1965 and
from 1968 became the compulsory and sole mode of entry to
membership until the introduction of MAP in April 1999.
Since 1998 the MRCGP has been a credit accumulation examination
the main feature of which is that modules or components can be
taken at the same examination session, or at different sessions, in
any order, over a three-year period. Each module can be
attempted three times during this period of time. There are
four modules: a written paper, a multiple choice paper, an oral
examination and a test of consulting skills. GP registrar
candidates who pass the multiple choice paper and consulting skills
(video) modules of the examination are exempted from those parts of
summative assessment.
The scope of the examination covers the whole range of
activities in general medical practice within the National Health
Service including those areas which overlap with other disciplines
and professions, and is described in detail in the syllabus. The examination
is not just a test of clinical knowledge and diagnostic skills but
aims to assess the candidate’s ability in consulting and
communication skills, in practice management, and of attitudes in
areas such as ethics and medical politics. Full details about
the content of the examination and what it aims to test are given
in the Examination Regulations for 2007.
The examination is held biannually, the key dates being as
follows.
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Summer examination session
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Winter examination session
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Session dates
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May/June/July
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October/November/December
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Applications close
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Early February
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Late August
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Mid July
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Late December
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