Apply

Requirements

You must:

• register with the College
• have at least 24 months FTE certified Basic Training
• be in an accredited training position or an approved interruption of training
• complete and submit all PREP requirements
• comply with the requirements in the Progression through Training Policy (PDF)
• have paid all College training fees

See the key dates section for submission dates.

Overseas Trained Physicians: Check eligibility requirements with your Overseas Trained Physicians Case Officer before applying.

Attempts

See the Progression through Training Policy (PDF) for limits on total training time allowed and number of attempts. The revised policy was implemented on 1 January 2017. View your exam attempts to date on the Basic Training Portal.

Applications open

If you're eligible, you’ll receive an email with instructions to apply. Ensure the College has your current email address. Emails do not guarantee eligibility and extensions will not be granted.

Contact us if you don’t receive the email and you've checked your junk/spam folder.

Application confirmation

After submitting the form, you’ll receive two confirmations that your application has been received:

• onscreen
• email within an hour

If you don’t receive a confirmation email, check your junk/spam folders.

Submit PREP tools

Submit all PREP requirements, including your Annual Progress Report (APR), by the closing date.

If you don’t complete the requirements satisfactorily, your training will not be certified. You won’t be eligible for the exam and your application will be withdrawn.

Exam confirmation

Closer to the date, you’ll receive an email confirming your registration for the exam has been successful along with your candidate number and venue details. This is dependent on your eligibility as well as fees and annual requirements being up to date.

Withdrawal

Withdrawals are not counted as exam attempts. To withdraw up until the start of the exam, contact us.

If you withdraw, you can re-apply to sit the Exam the following year if you meet the eligibility criteria. Application fees will not be rolled over from one year to another.

Special consideration

Submit your special consideration request by the closing date using the Special Consideration for Assessment application form and guide (DOC).

We will consider these circumstances before the Exam:

• permanent and longstanding impairment
• temporary impairment with medical grounds
• non-medical compassionate grounds or serious disruption
• essential commitments (religious, cultural, societal or legal obligations).

Your mark or result will not be adjusted due to any special circumstances. For more information on application requirements and the possible outcomes, see the Special Consideration for Assessment policy (PDF).

Prepare

The purpose of the Exam is to:

• assess the depth and breadth of your understanding of basic science and clinical knowledge
• allow you to demonstrate the standard of clinical knowledge needed to complete Basic Training and progress to the Divisional Clinical Examination

The Exam covers a broad sample of medical specialties following the Knowledge Guides, as outlined in the relevant examination blueprint.

Current issues necessary for physician practice will be addressed, including how you demonstrate an understanding of:

• impacts of patients’ comorbidities on their overall health
• specifics of disease and treatment interactions

The examination process determines if you’re safe to complete Basic Training and progress to the Divisional Clinical Examination.

Exam format

The Exam for both Adult Medicine and Paediatrics & Child Health is made up of 2 papers:

• Clinical Applications examines your understanding of the practice of medicine and therapeutics.
• Medical Sciences examines your understanding of the principles of medicine and the basic sciences applicable to clinical medicine.

Each paper consists of a combination of multiple choice questions (MCQs) and extended matching questions (EMQs):

You'll have 5 minutes of reading time at the beginning of each paper. Do not write on the question booklet or scoresheet during this time.

Quality assurance

All our exams are designed and developed by senior Fellows and educational experts in line with the curriculum. Robust quality assurance processes are in place to ensure the Exam and results processes are in line with international best practice.

All results undergo detailed analysis to ensure they accurately reflect your performance and that trainees have been given the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and ability in the exam process.

Visual material

Some questions require you to interpret visual material, such as:

• plain x-rays
• CT scans
• MRI scans
• ECGs
• radioisotope scans
• respiratory function tests
• sleep study patterns

Other visual materials may be included in the Exam papers, but you won’t be required to interpret them to answer the question. Generally, they’ll be accompanied by the type of report you would see from the laboratory:

• blood films
• bone marrow films
• echocardiograms
• electromyograms
• electroencephalograms
• histology sections

Multiple choice questions

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) cover a range of sub-specialties. Each question has 4 options. Choose only 1 option by filling in the corresponding bubble on the answer sheet.

Extended matching questions

A small number of extended matching questions (EMQs) will be included in the Exam. They have a similar reliability and validity to single-best-answer MCQs but are more effective at assessing problem solving and clinical reasoning.

Choose the most appropriate option, listed from A to H on the answer sheet, for each stem/clinical scenario.

Find out more about how exams are marked.

Resources

The Exam is based on the Basic Training and Professional Qualities Curricula.

The Knowledge Guides detail the topics and concepts you will need to understand to pass your assessments and progress your physician training.

You can use the Workplace Learning Planner tool to create a customised study resource that will help you familiarise yourself with the Knowledge Guides.

Reading preparation

You’re expected to be familiar with:

• current textbooks
• relevant aspects of basic science in your division (Adult Medicine or Paediatrics & Child Health)
• topics covered during in-service training programs
• general coverage of review articles, annotations and editorial comment in medical journals
• diseases relevant to medical practice in our region (South West Pacific region)
• advances in physiology and biochemistry applicable to adult medicine/paediatrics

Texts on the major subspecialties may be useful but not essential.

In line with changes made to the names of medicine ingredients by the Therapeutic Drugs Administration (TGA) from 2016, drug names on the Exam reflect the new name followed by the old name enclosed in parentheses, such as:

• furosemide (frusemide)
• adrenaline (epinephrine)
• noradrenaline (norepinephrine)
• amoxicillin (amoxycillin)

Support

Preparing for and sitting exams can place significant stress and pressure on your physical and mental health. Even following an exam, you may still feel the effects of the stress you were under.

You’re not alone in managing these difficulties. The RACP Support Program provides a professional and confidential counselling service to all our Fellows and trainees, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. See Physician Health and Wellbeing to explore other wellbeing and support resources.

Exam day

Timetable

Location

The Exam is held in locations across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Venue details are emailed to you 4 weeks prior to the exam date.

Items to bring

1. Printed or digital copy of the email confirming your exam registration, your candidate number and venue
2. Current photo ID with your full name and signature (for example, your passport or driver licence) — digital IDs are not accepted
3. Blue or black ballpoint pens (no pencils, gel or felt-tipped pens)
4. 1 x ruler
5. Highlighters

Analogue watches and water in a clear plastic bottle are allowed.

Wear layers to adjust to the room temperature for your own comfort level.

Items not permitted

1. Written material (other than your candidate allocation letter)
2. Calculators
3. Food or drink (other than water)
4. All other belongings (for example, bags)

During the exam, all mobile phones, digital watches, sport watches, smart watches (including but not limited to Apple watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung), pagers and electronic communication devices must be switched off, placed on the floor under your desk and visible to the invigilators always.

If you are found with one of these devices on your person during the exam, you will be automatically disqualified and immediately escorted out of the venue. Phones or pagers that sound during the Exam will be subject to an incident report.

Apply for special consideration by the required date.

Seating arrangements

Seating lists showing your allocated seat number will be displayed near the venue entrance.

Discuss enquiries about seating as soon as possible on the exam day with the Chief Invigilator.

Apply for special consideration by the required date.

Completing the exam

For each of the 2 examination papers, you will receive:

• a question booklet
• an answer sheet

Write your name, candidate number and exam city on the question booklet and answer sheet.

Enter your candidate number, not your MIN or table number, on both sides of the answer sheet. Find your candidate number on the email confirming your exam venue and successful registration. They can also be provided by invigilators where needed.

Do not open the question booklet or fill in your details until instructed to do so by an invigilator.

Sign the agreement on the front cover.

The content of all documents is confidential and cannot be removed from the examination room. You’re not permitted to reproduce or distribute the contents of examination material at any time or in any way. Reproducing or distributing the material is a breach of the College’s Academic Integrity in Training Process (PDF).

To answer the questions, fill in one bubble corresponding to the option you think is correct for each question. You must use black or blue ballpoint pen only.

To change an answer, put a cross through the incorrect bubble and fill in the correct one. To reselect a previously crossed-through answer, circle it and cross through all incorrect answers. Out of the ordinary answers will be manually reviewed.

The chosen response should be clear.

Leaving the examination room

Don’t leave the examination room without the invigilator’s approval. If you need the toilet, the invigilator will escort you. If you want to leave before the end of the exam, stay seated and raise your hand. An invigilator will check your materials and release you.

When you’ve finished the exam, your question booklet and answer sheet will be collected. You can leave 30 minutes after the exam has started, but not in the last 10 minutes.

Issues on exam day

If you experience issues leading up to the exam or on exam day that prevent you from attending, contact us. This may include illness, natural disasters or personal/family issues.

Results

To be successful on the Exam, you must demonstrate the standard expected of a doctor who’s completed all generalist physician training.

Marking

The Exam consists of 170 questions. Correct answers are worth one mark. Marks are not deducted for incorrect answers. The examination papers are computer-marked.

Twenty questions from recent exams will be re-used as ‘marker’ questions to compare the standard of cohorts from one year to the next. Scores on these questions don’t count towards your total mark.

Your pass score is the sum of the scores for each paper. You do not need to pass each paper separately.

The Exam is ‘criterion referenced’. This means there’s a standard set to determine passing and failing candidates. There is no set pass rate and candidate scores are not compared to each other. There is no set quota to the number of candidates that can pass.

Results email

You’ll receive an email to let you know if you've passed the exam or been unsuccessful. Ensure the College has your current email and postal address.

Contact us if you don’t receive the email.

Within 4 weeks, you will receive a second email with more detailed feedback including:

• the pass mark for the 2020 exam
• your overall mark
• your mark for each paper

The Directors of Physician or Paediatric Education (DPE) at each hospital receive an email with candidates’ names and whether they have passed the exam or not.

When detailed feedback is provided, they will then receive a report showing aggregated performance of their hospital against national averages. No report is supplied where there are insufficient candidate numbers at the hospital to provide de-identified scores.

The Reconsideration Review and Appeals Process doesn’t apply to the outcome or results.

Divisional Clinical Examination

Once you’ve satisfied the requirements of the Divisional Written Examination, you can apply for the Divisional Clinical Examination. Information on how to apply will be included in your results email if you have passed the written exam.