Message from Chair Dr Maureen Baker on changes to the MRCGP examinations schedule: The College has changed its exams schedule in line with requests from trainees for greater flexibility and we have expanded the number of sittings from three to eight per year. This was designed to support candidates with a wider range of CSA timing options. There was wide consultation about the proposed timetable for examinations with a range of stakeholders but we apologise for any confusion or inconvenience caused by these latest revisions. The extended number of sittings means a lot of additional planning by the College so that we have the required numbers of examiners, most of whom are practising GPs and need adequate notice to book time away from their surgeries and ensure that their commitments to their patients are fulfilled. To date, fewer candidates have sat the CSA in October and November than had been anticipated and the December 2014 session is also undersubscribed. As a result, a large number of examiners who had planned on taking time out of their practices have had to be stood down at relatively short notice. Realising that it was going to be difficult to know exactly when trainees were intending to sit, we decided to amalgamate the booking periods for January and February examination and bring these forward to avoid possible capacity issues later in the year. A fortnight of exams is scheduled for January and a further week in February. In order to allow the examiners the maximum amount of time in which to plan absences from their practices, we decided to take bookings for both of these sessions simultaneously between 17 and 24 November, rather than in December and January respectively. We are also intending to bring forward the booking period for the March examination session by one week, and that for the May examination by a few days for the same reason. Unfortunately, it was not possible to give as much notice of these changes as we would have hoped, and some trainees have expressed disappointment about this, for which we apologise. The February sitting is now full but there are still a number of places available for the examination session scheduled for 19-31 January 2015 and over 900 places available for examinations in March. The revised dates have been published on the RCGP website and we very much hope that these changes will be helpful to trainees as they make their preparations and that the extra flexibility in the system will be to everyone’s advantage. The College greatly values all its trainees and is fully aware of the financial pressures faced by them. We will continue to support them through the exam and throughout their future careers. Dr Maureen Baker Chair Royal College of General Practitioners
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 17:16:14 +0000