Progress update – February 2025
Taskforce
The Taskforce has been established. It includes staff from key areas of the RACP and the College Censor, tasked with operationalising the implementation plan.
The Taskforce will work closely with Fellows and Trainees to seek prompt feedback. Key education, assessment, examination, Division, Faculty and Chapter committees will be consulted appropriately throughout implementation.
Recommendations
Each of the 18 recommendations has been evaluated to determine feasibility, efficiency, impact, alternative solutions, and alignment with existing assessment reviews. An implementation plan has been developed to address short-, medium- and long-term opportunities which will be presented to the RACP Board on 28 February 2025.
Work has already commenced on the priority areas for the 2025 Divisional Clinical Examination (DCE). All actions are guided by the four key principles:
- transparently fair
- responsive
- accountable
- people-focused.
Priority areas for the 2025 DCE
Examiners: strengthening Trans-Tasman calibration and support
- Annual training and calibration sessions are being standardised where possible for examiners in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
- A partnership has been established with an expert provider to deliver Unconscious Bias Training and Cultural Awareness Training to all examiners ahead of the 2025 DCE.
- Planning is in progress to trial exam moderators to review process at select settings.
- Updates to the Digital Score Sheet (DSS) are being investigated to save time for examiners and optimise feedback collected on exam days.
- Mechanism to enhance opportunities for examiners to raise concerns during or soon after the exam are in development.
Candidates: improving transparency and feedback through process improvements
- Introducing candidate information sessions ahead of the 2025 DCE cycle.
- The relevant frequently asked questions are being updated to address concerns and enhance responsiveness.
- The existing exam allocation conflict of interest process will be published as soon as possible, ahead of the 2025 DCE. Opportunities to improve these processes are under consideration.
- Refine feedback processes and enhance data collection to improve the quantity and quality of feedback to candidates. Improvements to the Digital Score Sheet that examiners use on the day are being investigated.
- The Reconsideration, Review and Appeals Process By-Law and Special Consideration for Assessment Policies are under review. The College Trainees’ Committees will be a key point of consultation ahead of publication.
- The existing Complaint Policy and Process as applicable to the DCE is under review and will be published to ensure that stakeholders are aware of the appropriate escalation pathways.
- Enhancing opportunities for trainees/exam candidates to raise concerns during or soon after the exam.
Post examination candidate and examiner surveys are being updated to measure the effectiveness of the above changes.
A post-exam report will be published within eight weeks of results being released to ensure transparency and accountability.
Assessing the feasibility of video and audio recordings
Progress has been made in assessing the feasibility of video and audio recordings. A preliminary assessment is underway to determine whether there is any precedent for recording clinical examinations involving real patients in multiple hospital settings across other Australasian colleges, with findings to be submitted to the Board for review.
Significant challenges must be considered, including ensuring patient privacy and consent, maintaining data integrity and security, navigating ethical and legal requirements, and addressing the logistical complexities of recording in diverse hospital settings. The feasibility of standardising recordings across multiple examination locations presents a considerable operational challenge.
Patient safety and privacy remain the highest priorities, alongside the practical feasibility of implementing recordings across diverse clinical settings in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Given these considerations, video and/or audio recordings will not be introduced in the current DCE format until further scoping and evaluation are complete.
Long-term strategic initiatives and future planning
The remaining recommendations require careful consideration to prevent unintended consequences and will be addressed over a longer timeframe. The RACP is well-placed to drive meaningful change in the long term through the renewed curricula, the Cross-College Examinations Review (CCRE), and the Education Governance Review. The role of exams and their contribution to RACP Programs of Assessment is in work and underway through CCRE.
A detailed summary of the implementation plan and delivery timeframes will be published in mid-March 2025.