Modular Teleconference Long Case Support

Thank you for participating in the Divisional Clinical Exam. Find exam support information here for candidates, patients, examiners and hospitals Modular Teleconference Long Case.

Candidates
Patients
Examiners and hospitals
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Candidates

Call us with issues as early as possible

Call us on 1300 697 227 as soon as possible with issues before you arrive at your sitting hospital. For example, ring us if you’re in quarantine or your hospital cannot release you for the exam due to COVID-19 clinical commitments.

Resources for candidates

Candidate etiquette and consent form (PDF)
Quick Reference Guide (PDF) | Teleconference Long Cases
Physical Examination Findings Form (PDF)

Arriving at the hospital

When you arrive at the hospital, before starting your exam, you must:

get your ID validated
sign the Candidate etiquette and consent form (PDF)

Your invigilator is your point of contact.

Participating from home

Sign the Candidate Etiquette and Consent Form (PDF) and email it to your sitting site contact (see details in the email advising you of your exam time).
You receive the Physical Examination Findings Form (PEFF) via email 30 minutes before your patient interview.
Familiarise yourself with the Quick Reference Guide (PDF).

Teleconference Long Cases

The following extra information applies if you're sitting the modular teleconference exam. See more details in the Quick Reference Guide (PDF).

Access the teleconference

You'll receive a Physical Examination Findings Form (PEFF) for each patient. Dial the teleconference (TC) number and enter the host password, followed by the hash key, on the relevant PEFF.

The recording prompts you to say your name after the beep. You will then enter the meeting. When the meeting is over, all participants can hang up the phone.

Each time an examiner, candidate or patient joins or leaves a meeting, an automated recording informs everyone in that meeting.

Once the patient is on the line, check their identity using their first name and Patient ID.

Teleconference issues

For teleconference issues, phone the Telstra support line by pressing *0 or on 1800 011 080 and option 1.

Alternatively, if you can’t connect to the teleconference, the patient is late or there are audio quality issues, open the door and notify the invigilator. They can:

assist you with teleconference troubleshooting
ring the hosting site to find out if the patient is delayed or experiencing difficulties
source another phone that can be used including, as a last resort, your own mobile phone
organise with the hosting site for you to call the patient and examiners directly

If there is background noise from the patient’s call you feel is affecting your interview, ask the patient if they can resolve it quickly.

Notify the examiners of any issues experienced when you meet with them. Major incidents are recorded in an Incident Form by the invigilator or examiner. This may result in a special consideration, to be reviewed by the Exam Committee, and your exam may be rescheduled. Minor incidents are also logged.

Delays

The hosting site Local Exam Organisers (LEOs), together with the National Examining Panel member (NEP), have discretion to manage any delays on your exam day to enable examinations to continue where at all possible. There is flexibility in the day to absorb delays of up to 40 minutes. Any delays of over 40 minutes in starting, or during, the examiner/patient, candidate/patient or candidate/examiner interview will result in your examination being cancelled and rescheduled.

The following principles apply throughout the exam:

If you are running late for your exam, the start time will not be delayed. If you arrive within 20 minutes of your start time, you can still sit the exam, but you will not receive additional time for the candidate/patient interview.

If there are delays of under 10 minutes during your candidate/patient interview, the time can be absorbed in the interview and continue on the existing timelines as planned. This is in line with what has occurred in previous year’s exams.

If there are delays of over 10 minutes and up to 40 minutes during your candidate/patient interview, the time can be extended in the interview accordingly, up to a maximum of 30 minutes.

You will always get the full 10-minute preparation time between your patient and examiner interviews.

You will always get the full 25 minutes for the examiner interview.

You should get at least a 20-minute break between your Long Cases.

If an issue is experienced in your first Long Case in the morning, it will be explored whether the examiners and patient are willing to meet with you later in the day (for example, if the candidate/patient interview is unable to take place at 8:50am it could be rescheduled to 3pm hosting site time, with your candidate/examiner interview rescheduled to 4:10pm). In this instance you would then proceed with your second Long Case in the morning as planned.

If an issue is experienced in your first Long Case and it cannot be rescheduled to later in the day, leading to the first Long Case being cancelled, the second Long Case will also be cancelled, and you will be rescheduled to another exam date.

If you completed the first Long Case but your second was cancelled, the relevant exams committee will consider whether one or both of your Long Cases will need to be rescheduled.

Rescheduling

If your exam needs to be rescheduled due to COVID restrictions, we'll give you the new date as soon as possible. This is directly impacted by state and hospital level restrictions.

Patients

The following information applies if you're participating in the teleconference exam.

Call the exam organiser if you can no longer participate

If you cannot participate in the lead up to the exam, please call your local exam organiser as soon as possible. Alternatively, ring us on 1300 697 227

Preparing for the exam

If you participate in the exam at a hospital, staff will greet you on the day and show you to a dedicated space with teleconference set up.

If you participate from an offsite location like your home, complete the checklists on the first page of the Patient information sheet (DOC). The Patient Information Sheet also details how the exam will work and how to connect to the teleconference.

Issues on the day

If you participate from a hospital, a staff member is available to support you with any issues, including connecting to the teleconference.

If you participate from home, please contact your local exam organiser. You can also contact us on 1300 697 227.

Resources

Patient Information Sheet (DOC) | Australia

Examiners and hospitals

Set up multi-factor authentication before exam day

All examiners must set up multi-factor authentication before the day to participate in the exam and access the new Digital Score Sheet. To start this process, login to MyRACP and contact us with questions.

Resources for examiners and hospitals

See our dedicated DCE Exam Resource Site for all examiner, hosting and sitting hospital resources.

Examiners

Digital Score Sheet
Examiner Feedback form
Physical Examination Findings Form (PDF)

Hospitals

Hosting Hospital Checklist (DOC)
Sitting Hospital Checklist (DOC)

Your final examiner timetable will be in your Exam Schedule, provided the week before the exam. Additional time has been built in to minimise the impact of any issues.

Teleconference Long Cases

The following extra information applies if you're participating in the modular exam. Detailed instructions are in the Quick Reference Guide.

Interactions and roles

Patient and candidate interactions

Examiners have a single teleconference (TC) number to contact patients for the morning or afternoon cycle. TC details are provided in the Physical Examination Findings Form (PEFF).

TC numbers must be used for all interactions with the patient or candidate. Candidates dial 2 different TC numbers during their half-day session, one for each patient interview.

As per usual protocols, Examiners should not:

read the PEFF or medication list until taking patient history on exam day
look at the problem list or investigations until after taking the history, discussing the case and formulating the issues list

Examiner-to-examiner interactions

Any method can be used for examiner-to-examiner interactions, including video conference if you want to set this up using your hospital’s platforms. The method must meet your Health Department’s guidelines for security and privacy of patient discussions. Zoom is often not authorised for this purpose.

Examiner-to-examiner interactions include:

meet and greet
completion of the case summary
scoring of the candidate

Use the meet and greet to discuss who will be the time-keeper, who will lead each session and how you will communicate when you wish to interject, ask additional questions or move the candidate along.

See example examiner timetables in the Quick Reference Guide (PDF). These are examples only.

Your final time will be in your Exam Schedule, provided the week before the exam. Additional time has been built in to minimise the impact of any issues.

Access the teleconference

NEPs receive an email from the hosting hospital for each patient they are examining on the day. The email includes:

the PEFF
relevant investigative results such as x-ray and pathology reports - no imaging will be used

Local Examiners may get these via email or a printed copy on the day.

Ring the TC number and enter the host passcode in the PEFF for your first patient, followed by the hash key. The recording prompts you to say your name after the beep. You'll then enter the meeting. When the meeting is over, all participants can hang up the phone.

Find out who is on the teleconference

Each time an examiner, candidate or patient joins or leaves a conference, an automated recording informs everyone.

Hosts can dial 72# at any time during the conference and the names of everyone on the call will be played. Use this to ensure the patient or candidate has hung up.

If you're at the Hosting Hospital, the LEO can assist you with dialing in. You may have an exam assistant in the room with you but this is not guaranteed. NEPs should practice dialling in before the exam starts.

Once the patient is on the line, check their identity using their first name and Patient ID.

To allow flexibility for minor delays, bells will not be used for timekeeping. Examiners are responsible for keeping the time in all their discussions. This includes giving timing cues to candidates such as ‘We have 5 minutes remaining.’. The examiner will only receive a knock if the session runs more than 3 minutes over time, if they are at an exam site.

When joining the discussion with the candidate, enquire if there were any issues in their session with the patient and note anything for consideration such as 'Candidate #3 reported patient was 4 minutes late.'. Candidates should have reported major issues to their invigilator.

Issues during the exam

Our priority is to proceed with the candidate’s exam wherever a viable and fair resolution can be enacted.

If you can't connect to the TC, the patient is running late or there is an issue with audio quality:

Contact the LEO to find out if the patient is delayed or experiencing difficulties.

If there's an issue with the TC and you're using the College's TC provider, phone Telstra support line by pressing *0 or on 1800 011 080 and option 1. If this doesn’t work, the LEO can provide another TC number or you can dial the patient’s/candidate’s direct number using 3-way calling on your mobile (if available).

If there is an issue with the phone or hospital phone network, use an alternative phone such as your own mobile phone.

If you experience any major issues during a patient or candidate TC, inform the relevant contacts at the hosting or sitting site and complete an Incident Form in the DSS.

At the end of a session, ensure all PEFFs, Investigation Reports, Patient Summaries and handwritten notes are disposed of securely.

Timekeeping

To allow flexibility for minor delays, bells will not be used for timekeeping.

Examiners are responsible for keeping the time in all discussions. This includes giving timing cues to candidates such as ‘We have 5 minutes remaining.’.

You will only receive a knock if the session runs more than 3 minutes over time.

Using the PEFF

National Examining Panel members (NEPs) receive PEFFs by email for each patient the day before the exam. Local examiners may get these via email or a printed copy on the day.

As per usual protocols, examiners should not:

read the PEFF or medication list until taking patient history on exam day
look at the problem list until after taking the history, discussing the case and formulating the issues list

Chief Examiner role

We’ll provide details of your Chief Examiner before exam day.

The Chief Examiner model is different to previous years. They will be a member of the National Examining Panel (NEP) who will be on call for all hosting and sitting sites. It’s their responsibility to make any important decisions on the day regarding, for example:

trainee, examiner or patient misadventure
changes to the schedule that may affect the examination at the hospital

The LEO and Regional Examiner should discuss any concerns on examination day with the NEP Examiner. The NEP should then alert the Chief Examiner of any decisions or outcomes agreed upon.

Timetables

See example timetables in the Quick Reference Guide. These are examples only.

Your final time will be in your Exam Schedule, provided in the week before the exam. Additional time has been built in to minimise the impact of any issues.

Digital Score Sheet

Access candidate scoresheets through the Digital Score Sheet (DSS). Log in using the red Microsoft button in the big blue box on the login screen. Do not use the login details above it.

Your individual examiner schedules appear in the DSS 1-2 days before the exam.

To complete the DSS, you:

need an internet connection
use your own device where practical or request access to a hospital computer
do not need a camera or microphone

The DSS runs only on recent versions the following web browsers. Check one of these is installed:

Google Chrome
Mozilla Firefox
Microsoft Edge
Apple Safari (Mac only)

Note: If you use older versions of the browsers, or any version of Internet Explorer, the Microsoft button will not appear and you won’t be able to log in.

For more information, including troubleshooting tips if you have difficulty logging in, see the DSS resources on the DCE Exam Resource Site.

Backup Scoring Booklet

Each team will have a paper Backup Scoring Booklet. You must complete the scores in both the DSS and the Booklet as a back-up (double entry). You do not need to copy all your notes unless you have an issue with the DSS.

If you have problems submitting the candidate results in the DSS, you can either try to enter the details into the DSS later in the day or scan or photograph the relevant pages of the Booklet and email them to DCE@racp.edu.au at the end of the day.

Incidents

If you experience major issues during a patient or candidate VC or TC, inform the relevant contacts at the hosting or sitting site and complete an Incident Form in the DSS or a paper copy.

Candidates will inform you of issues experienced during their patient interview. Log them in the Incident Form. They may result in a special consideration, to be reviewed by the Exam Committee, and their exam may be rescheduled.

For example, major incidents include any Long Case where the candidate did not get at least 15 minutes video with the guardian/carer or where the child does not appear for a large part of this.

Note anything for consideration such as 'Candidate #3 reported patient was 4 minutes late.'. Candidates should have reported major issues to their invigilator.

Delays

The hosting site LEOs, together with the NEP, have discretion to manage any delays on exam day to enable examinations to continue where at all possible. There is flexibility in the day to absorb delays of up to 40 minutes. Any delays of over 40 minutes in starting, or during the examiner/patient, candidate/patient or candidate/examiner interview will result in the candidate’s examination being cancelled and rescheduled.

The following principles apply throughout the exam:

LEOs will liaise with sitting sites, candidates, and examiners to advise them directly of any delays. Permission is not required from the Chief Examiner.

If a candidate is running late for their exam, the start time will not be delayed. If they arrive within 20 minutes of their start time, they can still sit the exam, but they will not receive additional time for the candidate/patient interview.

If there are delays of under 10 minutes during a candidate/patient interview, the time can be absorbed in the interview and continue on the existing timelines as planned. This is in line with what has occurred in previous year’s exams.

If there are delays of over 10 minutes and up to 40 minutes during a candidate/patient interview, the time can be extended in the interview accordingly, up to a maximum of 30 minutes.

A candidate always gets the full 10-minute preparation time between the patient and examiner interviews.

A candidate always gets the full 25 minutes for the examiner interview.

A candidate should get at least a 20-minute break between their Long Cases.

If an issue is experienced in a candidate’s first Long Case in the morning, it should be explored whether the examiners and patient are willing to meet with the candidate later in the day (for example, if the candidate/patient interview is unable to take place at 8:50am it could be rescheduled to 3pm hosting site time, with the candidate/examiner interview rescheduled to 4:10pm). In this instance they would then proceed with their second Long Case in the morning as planned.

If an issue is experienced in a candidate’s first Long Case and it cannot be rescheduled to later in the day, leading to the first Long Case being cancelled, the second Long Case will also be cancelled, and the candidate will be rescheduled to another exam date.

If a candidate completed the first Long Case but their second was cancelled, the relevant exams committee will consider whether one or both of their Long Cases will need to be rescheduled.

End of session

Ensure all PEFFs and Patient Summaries are disposed of securely.

Examiner feedback

After each exam, NEPs members must complete an examiner feedback form for each examiner involved. This helps us provide valuable feedback to examiners and continue to improve the exam experience.