How are exams set and written?

Now that we have convinced you (hopefully!) of the need to understand how to play the rules of the game, it Is worth knowing about how exams are set and written, because with a little consideration of the academics you can start to formulate what might and might not feature on an exam.

Exams are set from curricula – which are blueprints to a training program. If you are an GP Registrar on the RACGP Australian GP Training Program, then the relevant curriculum is the RACGP Curriculum. If you are on the Malaysian GP training program, the relevant curriculum is that of the Academy of Family Physicians of Malaysia.

Each exam is blueprinted against a curriculum – they are set to ensure that the entire curriculum is tested, and in rough percentages correlating with importance of the topic and/or prevalence.

Why is this relevant? Well, quite simply because most modern curricula extend far broader than the knowledge of medicine. If you didn’t know this, then you might curtail your preparation short.

Have a look at the RACGP Curriculum 2022 Domains (Accessed here - RACGP Curriculum and Syllabus for Australian General Practice 2022)

1. Communication skills and the patient-doctor relationship
2. Applied professional skills and knowledge.
3. Population health and the context of general practice
4. Professional and ethical role
5. Organisational and legal dimensions
6. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
7. Rural Health

The ACRRM Curriculum is much the same (Accessed here - ACRRM Curriculum).

This means that the exams will not just be testing clinical medicine – it will be testing far broader than this. These are crucial marks that can be the difference between a pass and fail.

Don’t worry – at PassGP we will orientate you to all of this and much more.

You got this.