The MRCGP Preparation Course

NEAL MASKREY

Medical Director, National Prescribing Centre

Dept of Pharmacology and Therapeutics,

University of Liverpool

              

            

This course This exam This course

“Eat one live toad first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day”

There is no shame in not knowing; the shame

is in not finding out

Old Russian Proverb

“Every act of conscious learning requires the willingness to suffer an injury to one’s self esteem. That is why young children, before they are aware of their own self-importance, learn so easily; and why older persons, especially if vain or self-important, cannot learn at all.”

Thomas Szasz

“What we hear we forget,What we see we remember,What we do we

understand”.

Task 1

You are about to go and buy a new car - money no object but let’s not get too silly. What would want the new car to have?

Introduce yourselves to each other. Work in three’s and four’s.

You have two minutes.

Task 2

You are about to participate in an MRCGP preparation course. You are going to have fun but let’s not get too silly. What would want the course to cover?

Work in three’s and fours. Introduce yourselves to each

other only if you have changed groups or have defective short term memory.

You have three minutes because this is a more complex task.

Examinations are formidable even to the best prepared, for the greatest fool may ask more than the wisest man can answer.

Charles Colton (1780 -1832)

ABOUT THE EXAM

CRITERION REFERENCING

UK DRIVING TEST

PEER GROUP REFERENCING

98% OF ACADEMIC EXAMINATIONS

REASONS FOR FAILING

Arriving late. Not reading the instructions on the written

papers. Answering a different question from that

asked.

Perfect preparation prevents pathetically poor performance:- not reading the literature. not understanding the aims of the

examination. poor knowledge base. inappropriate attitudes. poor examination techniques. not practising examination skills.

REASONS FOR FAILING

Not demonstrating critical thinking about patient management.

Lack of knowledge about practice organisation.

Lack of thought about prescribing. Lack of knowledge and organisation

about chronic diseases. Narrow approaches. Killing the patient in an emergency

situation.

EXAM STRUCTURE

MODULAR / CREDIT ACCUMULATION Written paper, MCQ, ASSESSMENT OF

CONSULTATION SKILLS, ORALS CPR ALL TOGETHER OR SEPERATE, 3y OF

APPLICATION, 2 RESITS AT ANY MODULE (FOR A FEE)

RESULTS

PASS, FAIL, MERIT (TOP 25%) IN EACH MODULE

TO OBTAIN MRCGP - PASS ALL 4 MODULES

2 MERITS AND 2 PASSES = MRCGP WITH MERIT

4 MERITS OR 3 MERITS + 1 PASS = MRCGP WITH DISTINCTION

DOMAINS OF COMPETENCE 1/2

A Factual knowledge B Evolving knowledge: uncertainty, hot topics, qualitative

research C Evidence base, knowledge of literature, quantitative

research D Critical appraisal, interpretation of literature, principles

of statistics E Application of knowledge, justification, prioritising,

audit F Problem solving (general applications) G Problem solving (case specific), personal management ) H Personal care: matching principles to individual

patients

DOMAINS OF COMPETENCE 2/2

I Written communication J Verbal communication, the consultation

process K The practice context: team issues, practice

management, business skills L Regulatory framework of practice M The wider context: medico-political, legal,

societal issues N Ethics, trans-cultural issues O Values and attitudes: Integrity, consistency,

caritas P Self-awareness, insight, reflective learning,

the doctor as a person Q Commitment to maintaining standards,

personal and professional growth, CME

Testing of domains by module

Written paper - A B C D E F G H I J K M N P

MCQ – A B C D G L N Consulting skills – G H J O Oral – D E F G H J K M N O P Q

Variety of roles of the doctor

Clinician, Family doctor Patient’s advocate Gatekeeper, resource allocater Handler of information Team member, team leader Partner, colleague, employer Manager, business-person Learner, teacher Reflective practitioner Researcher Agent and shaper of policy Member of profession Person and individual

                                                                                                              

Pass rates

Paper1 Paper 2 Video Orals

Pass (%) 59 62 75 67

Merit (%) 24 24 15 24

Fail (%) 17 14 10 9

SUMMARY

Maximise and organise knowledge base, INCLUDING CURRENT LITERATURE.

Examination techniques. Patient centred consulting style. Realistic approach to practice. Justify approaches to patient management by

reference to the current literature. Revision schedule – hot topics (including chronic

diseases and emergencies.) Self - evaluation.

This course

Feeling comfortable….……………with not knowing everything

“To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern true from false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction.

The function of education, therefore, is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically”

‘The purpose of education’ – Martin Luther King, 1948.

Consciously competent

Learn

Unconsciously competent

PracticeLapse

Unconsciously incompetent

Consciously incompetent

Assess

MRCGP COURSE CANDIDATE’S PRE-COURSE “BENEFITS”

Exam Format, Content, Examiners Agenda “How Am I Doing At The Moment” - What Are My

Strengths & Weaknesses - Can I Pass? What Are The Exam Techniques ? - Practice Them Paper 1 (Critical Reading, Statistics, Evidence Base,

Meq Skills) Orals, Mcq, Video Increase Confidence, “Reassurance I Can Do This” Increase Motivation Group Work - Support - Meet Others- ?Local Study

Group Have A Good Time Revision Guidance Professional Development Hot Topics

MRCGP COURSE TUTORS PRE-COURSE “BENEFITS”

HAVE A GOOD TIME Everything You’ve

Written “MCQ” Video Clinical Epidemiology

ABOUT THE COURSE (1)

Try it, talk about it, get some information about it, try it again

“Participative” How are you doing? - Group

progress charts How am I / you feeling?

PERFORMANCE STATUSKARNOFSKY ‘S RATING SCALE (1948)

100 NORMAL

90 MINOR SYMPTOMS

80 ACTIVE WITH EFFORT

70 CAN SELF CARE BUT UNABLE TO WORK

60 REQUIRE SOME HELP TO SELF CARE

50 FREQUENT MEDICAL CARE & HELP

40 DISABLED AND NEEDS SPECIALIST CARE

30 IN HOSPITAL, DEATH NOT NEAR

20 IN HOSPITAL NEAR DEATH

10 MORIBUND

0 DEAD

ABOUT THE COURSE (2)

How does it feel not to know something?

“Nobody loves a smart arse” C Tarrant. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

September 1999

Feedback Orals Has anyone sat / passed any modules? We will do our very best to keep to the

timetable (except for this bit?) Hotel arrangements

Kelly Holmes gets her MRCGP results

We take the job very seriously, but we don’t take ourselves at all seriously

I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose. Woody Allen

Any questions?

-security -feedback forms

- future tutors-www.mrcgp.com

http://groups.msn.com/MRCGPStudyGroup-hotel arrangements