Examination (RACGP) Preparation - CSQTC FAQs
After being the RLO for CSQTC for 18 months and passing the RACGP examinations, I felt that I would like to de-mystify the examinations as much as possible. In order to do this, I would like share my experiences of both the common questions that I get asked as RLO and the answers that I would give to Registrars based on my knowledge as the RLO and my experience as a GP Registrar. I have also included below some Exam Tips from Dr Bill Lang, the CSQTC Senior Medical Educator - Rural Training.
In the future, I would like to include Examination Preparation FAQs for CSQTC Registrars studying towards FACCRM. If you are a Registrar who could contribute to this, please contact the current Rural RLO rural_rlo@csqtc.qld.edu.au
Compiled by Dr Danika Fietz, RLO 2008-2009 - Version 1 January 2010
When should I sit the examination?
When you are ready is the obvious answer! However, exactly how to determine when you are ready is the tricky part. Dr Graham Emblen (CSQTC Medical Educator), who provides support to Registrars who have failed an examination, makes the recommendation that Registrars wait until they are in the latter part of their training such as GPT3 onwards.
You will probably be ready when:
- Your ECT visitor reports are positive (this is a good person to ask)
- Your training adviser (TA) or a CSQTC medical educator feels positive
- You are relatively confident or at least able to effectively deal with a variety of patient/practice problems in day-to-day General Practice
- You are working in a General Practice (not hospital or non-clinical) training post
- You are eligible according to the RACGP eligibility criteria
How do I find out about the RACGP Examinations (dates, times, cost, process, regulations, eligibility etc)?
All of the up-to-date answers available from the RACGP about the RACGP Examinations can be found on the RACGP website. Download the Examination Assessment Handbook for Candidates and read it thoroughly.
Should I take 'time off' clinical practice to study for exams?
No. This is not recommended. GP examinations are about general practice and many questions are clinically oriented. Your time at work in a GP setting is an important part of sitting for your exams. You could, however, decrease your patient load for a short period to allow extra time in between patients to reflect on your performance and update your knowledge
Are there any examination past papers (apart from the questions provided on the RACGP website)?
No, there are not any official past papers for these examinations. There is however, a number of unofficial Registrar-constructed 'notes' that float around nationally. It is important, if you happen to come across any of these to realise that they are not endorsed by RACGP or CSQTC. The quality of these can not be verified and is very variable. Focusing on these as a source of study may actually waste quality time that could be spent improving both your knowledge and practice with known valuable resources. There is no deficit of good resources to enhance your knowledge, you will likely be limited by your time available to study (outside of GP work). Choose wisely.
There is, however, access to approximately 6 weeks of case discussion and sample KFP questions on ‘GP Learning’ once you have enrolled for the examination. This cannot be accessed until you have actually enrolled for the RACGP exams (there is no real need to access the questions prior to this time as there are an abundance of other resources (see next section).
What are some useful resources for studying for the exams?
Generally:
- Your day-to-day work as a GP
- CSQTC node education sessions, Bardon workshops (these are provided according to the RACGP curriculum for the exams) - held during your first year of GP term placements
- Current Management Guidelines (most available online) - eg. HT Guidelines (Heart Foundation), Diabetes in GP, Asthma Management Guidelines, TIA/Stroke Management Guidelines (lists of these guidelines can be found on: RACGP website, Medical Observer website - 'Guide to Guidelines')
- ‘AFP Clinical Challenge’ - in every Australian Family Physician (AFP) issue, Murtagh text book, monthly Check program, Australian Doctor 'How to Treat' and MCQ's following this, Medical Observer 'Clinical Review'
- Very strongly recommend attending the RACGP QLD (or another state) Exam Preparation Workshop in order to gain good insight into the type of questions asked and how the answers are marked (very different to many university examinations)
- Other references that you find useful to enhance your understanding/support the topics/subjects that you cover using the official RACGP and CSQTC resources (eg. Therapeutic Guidelines, Up To Date and other online sources)
Part 1: AKT
- GP Learning (RACGP online learning resource) - MCQ's with answers and references available (search for 'multiple choice')
- RACGP Check program (don't obsess over how many years you 'should' do - just do something - start recent and work your way backwards in time)
- ‘AFP Clinical Challenge’ – there are multiple choice questions within every issue relating to the articles of the month (very very useful if you want to start studying well before the exams as you will need a bit of time to read each journal)
Part 2: KFP
- GP Learning (RACGP online learning resource) - MCQ's with answers and references available (search for 'multiple choice')
- RACGP Check program
- Series of lectures available to be purchased from RACGP or borrowed from CSQTC library (contact CSQTC's Education Team) – ‘NSW & ACT Faculty and National Rural Faculty: RACGP pre-exam tutorial series’ (DVD)
Part 3: OSCE
- RACGP Pre-Exam Tutorial Series DVDs - available from CSQTC library (contact CSQTC's Education Team)
- ‘Clinical Skills Scenarios: Cases for GP Educators and Learners’ National Rural Faculty, RACGP (DVD) - available from CSQTC library (contact CSQTC's Education Team)
- ‘Preparing for your FRACGP Clinical Exam’ GP Logic DVD - available from CSQTC library (contact CSQTC's Education Team)
- ‘Clinical Cases for General Practice Exams’ Dr Susan Wearne (book) - available from CSQTC library (contact CSQTC's Education Team)
Bill's Exam Tips
5 Tips for Exam Preparation
- Have a good look at the RACGP website - especially the Exam page.
- Read and re-read the RACGP Assessment Handbook for candidates.
- Read all the Australian Family Physician editions for the last couple of years.
- Do Check and Check-on-Check.
- Form a study group.
5 Tips for Doing the Exam
- Do it while doing a general practice term - ie. in GPT 3 onwards - not during extended skills or an Advanced Rural Skills post, or any non-GP setting.
- Go to, and listen carefully, at the RACGP's pre-exam course.
- Work out some timings for the written exam (eg. 1/24 for the extended match questions, 30 simple match questions per hour) and get a good feeling for how long 8 and 19 minutes are for the clinical exam.
- Read the clinical tasks carefully, and do what they ask.
- Remember it's the total exam that counts, not just the question you did badly.
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