{xtypo_dropcap}T{/xtypo_dropcap}he RCoA website has a news item from 22nd November listing some proposed changes to the FRCA examinations prompted by the need to comply with PMETB. If the College did not do this the CCT would not have been recognised. Of particular interest will be the the removal of negative marking from MCQs (actually announced previously) and the proposals relating to the marking of the Structured Oral Examination and the whole of the Final. 

From 1st September 2008 there will be no more negative marking. It is also proposed that the SOE and Final are marked as pass/fail and that re-sits would involve only the section failed instead of the whole exam as in the past.

Below is reproduced the RCoA's page with information on these changes...

Agreed changes to FRCA Examinations

Changes to the Primary FRCA MCQ and OSCE Questions
with effect from 1 January 2008

With effect from 1 January 2008 OSCE stations that solely test the interpretation of ECGs, data interpretation and statistics (data stations) will be moved from the OSCE and questions from these stations will form part of the Primary MCQ examination.

The MCQ examination will not be increased in size, it will continue to have 90 stems each with five items.

The OSCE will continue to consist of up to 18 stations (of which only 16 will count towards the result) covering: resuscitation, technical skills, anatomy (general procedure), history-taking, physical examination, communication skills, anaesthetic equipment, monitoring equipment, measuring equipment, anaesthetic hazards, and the interpretation of X-rays. One or more of the stations may involve the use of a medium fidelity simulator. No new topics will be introduced into the OSCE without adequate notice.

The question content of OSCE stations and Structured Oral Examinations may still, in part, contain questions which require knowledge of ECGs, data interpretation and statistics.

The Primary OSCE/SOE examination week commencing 21 January 2008 will therefore be the first OSCE which will not contain data stations. The Primary MCQ Tuesday, 12 February 2008 will include questions on ECGs, data interpretation and statistics.

The reason for this decision was:

Removal of Negative marking from FRCA MCQ Examinations
with effect from 1 September 2008

Negative marking will be removed from the Primary and Final FRCA MCQ Examinations with effect from 1 September 2008. There will be no other changes to the content or structure of the papers or syllabus at either level, and the pass mark standards will remain at their present level. The only change that candidates will notice is that the optically mark read answer sheet will have only two boxes against each question "True" and "False". The "?" box will be removed.

The removal of the penalty for wrongly answering a question has significant implications for the way that candidates prepare for MCQ examinations and answer the questions. There is no longer any advantage to failing to answer a question.

Advance notice of changes to the FRCA examinations

Council is considering a number of changes to the FRCA Examinations to comply with PMETB’s conditions for the approval of the College’s CCT assessment systems and to introduce current best practice in those areas where assessment has moved on since the last major change to the FRCA Examinations ten years ago.

The removal of negative marking from the MCQ examinations, with effect from 1 September 2008, was recently announced. To pre-empt speculation and rumour the following additional changes are also being considered:

• Primary MCQ examination
  The possible introduction of some Single Best Answer questions (SBA) and / or Extended Matching Questions (EMQ).

   

• Primary Structured Oral Examinations (SOE)
  The possible merger of SOE 1 and SOE 2 into a single examination lasting 1 hour, which would cover the same ground and have the same total number of questions as the current format.

   

• Final MCQ examination
  • The introduction of some SBA questions.
  • The possible introduction of some EMQs.

   

• Final SOEs
  The possible merger of SOE 1 and SOE 2 into a single examination lasting 1 hr 20 mins covering the same ground and having the same total number of questions as the current format.

   

• Pass/fail, stand-alone examinations
  Currently all parts of the Primary and Final FRCA Examinations (with the exception of the Primary MCQ) must be taken at the same diet with marks of 2, 2 and 1+ or better (for the Primary) and 2, 2, 2 and 1+ or better (for the Final) to pass. Council is considering making all parts of both examinations pass/fail with re-sits permitted of just the parts that have been failed, although it is possible that the Final FRCA MCQ and SAQ would need to be passed before sitting the SOE examination.

At least one year’s notice will be given of any changes.

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