Certification & Assessment
Certification
If you are applying for a Certificate of
Completion of Training (CCT) (under Article 10 of the PMETB Order),
the College’s Certification Unit will evaluate your general
practice training and make a final recommendation at the end of
your training to the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training
Board (PMETB) who issue your certificate. To receive these
services, you must be registered with the College and provide
information on a regular basis about the training that you have
completed.
The alternative route to a Certificate is to
apply for a Certificate confirming Eligibility for General Practice
Registration (CEGPR) (under Article 11 of the PMETB Order). This is
usually for doctors whose specialty training is likely to take
longer than 7 years, has included posts that did not have prior
approval for GP training, or has included non-UK components.
Article 11 doctors apply direct to PMETB for this Certificate and
do not require Certification services from the College.
For both CCT and CEGPR applications, a
separate fee is payable to PMETB to issue you with your
certificate. This is paid at the end of your training and is at a
higher rate for CEGPR (Article 11) applications than for CCT. For
prices please refer to http://www.pmetb.org.uk/.
Assessment
From August 2007 the College’s assessment
(nMRCGP) will be the
single training and assessment system for UK trained doctors
wishing to obtain a CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) in
general practice. Trainees who have already undertaken at least one
component of Summative Assessment may be able to complete using
this method. Trainees who will be completing before August 2008 are
likely to take Summative Assessment rather than nMRCGP.
The nMRCGP relates to the RCGP training
curriculum (see below) and addresses the wide-ranging knowledge,
clinical skills and communication skills required by doctors who
will specialise in general practice.
The primary purpose of the nMRCGP is to
confirm that a doctor has satisfactorily completed specialty
training for general practice and is sufficiently safe and
proficient to enter independent general practice in the UK. The
nMRCGP will also provide feedback on progress during training for
trainee GPs, their trainers and deaneries, particularly through
workplace-based assessment.
Satisfactory completion of nMRCGP will be a
pre-requisite for the issue of a CCT in general practice and will
confirm eligibility for membership of the RCGP.
The nMRCGP is an integrated training and
assessment programme that comprises three compulsory elements:
- Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) – a summative assessment of the knowledge
base that underpins independent general practice within the United
Kingdom.
- Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) - an assessment of a doctor’s ability
to integrate and apply clinical, professional, communication and
practical skills appropriate for general practice.
- Workplace-based Assessment (WPBA) - the evaluation of a doctor’s
progress in their performance over time, in those areas of
professional practice best tested in the workplace. The evidence
for WPBA will be recorded in a web-based e-Portfolio personal to
each trainee.
Each of these components is independent and
will test different skills, but together they will cover the GP
curriculum. It is an outcomes-based assessment system which covers
the entire three year training programme and will be set at a
standard expected of doctors being licensed to practise
independently as general practitioners in the UK.
Already
in Specialty Training or a Vocational Training Scheme?