Examinations Regulations
Section 6: Eligibility for the Primary FRCA OSCE and SOE
The College strongly recommends that candidates should not sit the Primary FRCA OSCE and SOE until they are at least halfway through their Core level/Stage 1 training programme in anaesthetics.
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A person is eligible to enter the Primary FRCA OSCE and SOE who meets the criteria A, B, C described below:
A.
is eligible to enter the Primary FRCA MCQ paper as prescribed in Regulation 13, with the exception that foundation trainees are not eligible for this exam;†
B.
has passed the Primary FRCA MCQ paper‡ within three years before the published starting date of the sitting applied for
AND
C.
(i) has been awarded the Initial Assessment of Competency in Anaesthetics (IAC);
OR
(ii) has been awarded the College of Anaesthetists, Ireland equivalent of the IAC;
OR
(iii) a doctor practising anaesthesia in the UK in a non-UK training post who has not been awarded the IAC, may submit a satisfactory NHS appraisal at a standard equivalent to that of a Deanery ARCP;
OR
(iv) is currently sponsored under the RCoA MTI and has a written report from the college tutor (see paragraph 1e);
OR
(v) has been awarded an overseas anaesthetic competency in anaesthetics which is comparable to the UK IAC;§ and (d) satisfies the requirements of these Regulations with regard to application procedures and other matters.
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A person shall not be eligible to enter for the Primary FRCA OSCE and/or SOE who has attempted and failed either the OSCE and/or SOE section of the Primary FRCA examination six times. Or where a matter under review or appeal remains unresolved. However, in accordance with General Medical Council guidelines on managing examinations during the pandemic, any candidate’s first attempt at an examination in a new online format (online written with remote proctoring or online face-to-face clinical will not have that attempt counted towards the overall total six sittings, if they do not receive a pass. This temporary change applies to all FRCA examinations between August 2020 and 31 July 2021.