Assessment Strategy for 2021 Anaesthetics Curriculum

The RCoA monitors pass rates of candidate cohorts including, but not limited to, ethnicity, anaesthetists in training, doctors not in training, number of attempts, and deanery/schools, to ensure that examinations are in line with expectation.

Ethnic differences in attainment are a constant feature of medical education in the UK. The RCoA has a sharing agreement in place with the GMC and provides line-by-line candidate data to the GMC on an annual basis. This information is used to monitor the differential attainment gap for all college and faculty high-stake examinations. The RCoA is not an outlier in this respect, and the differential attainment gap seen in the FRCA examination remains in line with the majority of other colleges and faculties.

At the end of each academic year, an annual report on the performance of the FRCA examination is published on the RCoA website. These annual reports are of value to examiners, Royal College departments, the GMC, trainers, anaesthetists in training and the public in general.

The FRCA Examinations Committee conducts in-house reviews of the examination structure, standard setting methods, and the processes, policies and regulations used to ensure that the FRCA examination is as robust, valid, fair and in line with changes in best practice.

The Examinations Development and Assurance Group (EDAG) was created in 2023 to support the implementation of the recommendations from examination reviews. EDAG keeps under review matters relating to the quality and assurance of FRCA, FFICM and FFPM examinations. It defines and oversees College and Faculty examination formats, standards, processes, statistical analysis, item development, marking systems and standard setting methodology for all examination components, ensuring alignment where feasible.

Changes to the FRCA examination

The Royal College of Anaesthetists and the Faculties of Intensive Care and Pain Medicine are committed to delivering fair, robust and high-quality examinations that are aligned with GMC standards and best contemporary practice and that uphold and improve standards of patient care.

Two reviews of examinations delivered by the College were completed during the period January 2020 to July 2022. The first was an internal review with the scope to look at all aspects of the FRCA examination against current best practice in postgraduate medical assessment. The second was an independent review of all RCoA examinations by Professor John McLachlan, published in 2023.

From these reviews, a number of recommendations were made and the timetable for the implementation of these changes is mindful of the fact that, in addition to protecting patients and setting standards, examinations drive teaching and learning. It therefore considers carefully the impact on training and on candidates. The timeline for the implementation of new exam formats in academic year 2027-28, provides time to consult with stakeholders to develop and create new format examinations which, after careful piloting, will need approval from the General Medical Council. Once this is completed, we will provide candidates and trainers sufficient time and support to make the necessary adjustments to their examination preparation. Throughout this period of development, we will keep the membership of the College/Faculties informed of progress, allowing for input into the proposed changes.