Examination Structure

Structure of the Primary Fellowship Examination

Changes to the Primary FCARCSI from June 2008

1. MCQ to become a stand alone examination from June 2008

2. Candidates with a Pass mark in MCQ are eligible to apply for OSCE/Viva section of Primary

3. Results to hold for 3 years Max

4. No negative marking in MCQ´s from September 2008

5. Candidates can apply to sit the MCQ part of the examination once he/she is in an approved training post in anaesthesia

There are 4 sections:

(a) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) - 90 questions, 3 hours

              This consists of approximately 30 questions in pharmacology, 30 questions in physiology and biochemistry, 20 questions in physics, clinical           measurement, and 10 questions in clinical anaesthesia.

(b) Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) - This consists of 14 stations (with 2 rest stations) in approximately 2 hours.  This may consist of stations in resuscitation, practical skills, anatomy including surface anatomy, history taking, physical examination, communication skills, interpretation of ECG, X-ray, biochemistry/haematology results, photographs, scans, charts, anaesthetic equipment, monitoring equipment, measuring equipment, clinical anaesthesia and statistics.

(c) Viva examination in Physiology - 25 minutes

(d) Viva examination in Pharmacology - 25 minutes

The viva’s will be structured.  They will be conducted over a 25 minutes period with two examiners in each subject.  Each viva will consist of 5 x 5 minute sections.

·  A candidate in the Primary Examination who does not attain the required standard in the MCQ section will not be permitted to proceed with the remaining elements of the examination.

·        Please note that NO negative marking is applied in the MCQ from September 2008.

Marking System for the Primary Fellowship Examination

            A new close marking system is used.

            A         -           Outstanding, potential medal winner

            B         -           Pass

            C         -           Marginal Fail

            D         -           Veto Fail

The minimum grades necessary to pass the examination are:

            B, B, B, C

Any candidate who obtains a D in any part of the examination will be an outright fail.

Structure of the Final Fellowship Examination

There are 5 sections:

(a)        Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) - 40 MCQ's in 90 minutes, comprising of questions on Anaesthesia, Pain Management, Intensive Care Medicine, General Medicine, Surgery and Anatomy related to Anaesthesia Practice.

(b)        Essay and Short Answer Question (E&SAQ) paper (all are compulsory) - 3 hours on the principles and practice of Clinical Anaesthesia, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine.

(c)        Clinical Case Viva (case study / viva exam).  Case study to be read by the candidate. Followed by 25 minutes of examination discussing the case including relevant investigations.

(d)        Viva 1 - Clinical Anaesthesia and Pain Management - 25 minutes.  A structured viva examination is held relating to the clinical material provided, and also on Clinical Anaesthesia and Pain Management unrelated to the clinical material.

(e)        Viva 2 - Intensive Care and Clinical Science - 25 minutes.  A structured viva examination is held relating to Intensive Care topics followed by application of Basic Sciences to Anaesthesia.

·        A candidate in the Final examination who does not attain the required standard in one or both of the written sections will not be permitted to proceed with the remaining elements of the examination.

·        Please note that negative marking is applied in the MCQ.

Marking System for the Final Fellowship Examination

The College uses a five-point close–marking system, the marks being:

            7          Outstanding Performance

            6          Pass

            5          Fail (Borderline)

            4          Fail

            3          Veto (if a candidate fails to answer a compulsory question in the E&SAQ Paper; or attains an unacceptable standard in the either the                       Clinical section or Viva section)

Candidates with a mark = 4 in either the MCQ section or the Essay & Short Answer Questions section will not be invited to attend the Clinical or Viva elements.

The following marks are required to pass the Final FCA RCSI Examination

            6, 6, 6, 6, 5

All examiners review performance of vetoed candidates before the final marks are awarded.

Negative marking is applied in the MCQ. One mark added for a correct answer; one subtracted for an incorrect answer; no change where ‘don’t know’ is marked.

Essay and Short Answer Question paper – ALL 6 questions must be attempted.  A mark of 3 will be given for each whole question not attempted.

Structure of the Overseas Qualifying Examination

There are 4 sections:

(a)        Multiple choice questions (MCQ) - 90 questions, 3 hours

This consists of approximately 30 questions in pharmacology, 30 questions in physiology and biochemistry, 20 questions in physics, clinical measurement, and 10 questions in clinical anaesthesia.

(b)        Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) - This consists of 14 stations (with 2 rest stations) in approximately 2 hours.  This may consist of stations in resuscitation, practical skills, anatomy including surface anatomy, history taking, physical examination, communication skills, interpretation of ECG, X-ray, biochemistry/haematology results, photographs, scans, charts, anaesthetic equipment, monitoring equipment, measuring equipment, clinical anaesthesia and statistics.

(c)        Viva 1 Examination in Physiology - 25 minutes

(d)        Viva2 Examination in Pharmacology - 25 minutes

The vivas will be structured.  They will be conducted over a 25 minutes period with two examiners in each subject.  Each viva will consist of 5 x 5 minute sections.

·        A candidate in the Primary Examination who does not attain the required standard in the MCQ will not be permitted to proceed with the remaining elements of the examination.

Please note that negative marking applies in the MCQ.

Marking System for the Overseas Qualifying Exam

            A new close marking system is used.

            A         -           Outstanding, potential medal winner

            B         -           Pass

            C         -           Marginal Fail

            D         -           Veto Fail

            The minimum grades necessary to pass the examination are:

            B, B, B, C

Any candidate who obtains a D in any part of the examination will be an outright fail.

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