Affiliate Examiner (AE) Pathway - A structured route into examinership

The Affiliate Examiner (AE) Pathway offers early-career consultants, senior trainees, SAS doctors and post-CCT fellows a supported way to contribute to College examinations - while developing the skills required of a future examiner.

It provides a transparent, time-limited, and development-focused route into examinership, balancing opportunity with robust quality assurance and support.

The AE Pathway is designed to:

• Create a structured route into examinership
• Strengthen the quality and sustainability of the examining body
• Support development in question writing, calibration and judgement
• Recognise and reward high-quality contribution

Our next recruitment round for Affiliate Examiners will open in February 2026.

What does an Affiliate Examiner do?

As an Affiliate Examiner, you will:

• Write and review exam questions (SBA, CRQ, CASE, FCPE depending on component)
• Participate in item review, editing and calibration activities
• Attend training and onboarding sessions
• Contribute to maintaining standards, fairness and quality in College assessments

You will be aligned to a specific exam component for continuity and support.

This is a developmental role - you are supported, supervised and appraised, not expected to perform as a full examiner from day one.

Who is the pathway for?

To be eligible to apply to become an Affiliate Examiner for the FRCA examination, applicants must:  

Support, training and development

You will receive:

• A structured induction and training programme
• Ongoing guidance from senior examiners
• Clear expectations and regular check-ins
• A light-touch developmental appraisal once per year

Recognition and progression

The AE role is a developmental pathway, not an automatic route into examinership but strong performance is formally recognised and rewarded.

At the end of your two-year term you will receive:

• A formal letter from the Chair graded as:
  • Strongly Recommended
  • Satisfactory
  • Not Recommended
• A structured end-of-term discussion about future pathways

High-performing AEs receive:

• Enhanced weighting when applying for examiner roles
• Priority consideration for future opportunities
• Formal recognition of contribution and professionalism

What happens after the two-year term?

Depending on your performance and eligibility, you may:

• Apply for full examinership
  High-performing AEs who meet eligibility criteria can apply with enhanced weighting.
• Renew your AE term
  If you are performing well but not yet eligible for full examinership.
• Move into expanded or honorary roles
  Such as subgroup leadership, editorial work or item bank development.
• Pause and return later
  Particularly for those transitioning into consultant roles.

• Exit the scheme
  If expectations are not met, with clear feedback provided.

   

Your commitment

Affiliate Examiners must:

• attend 2-3 panel meetings a year.
• submit a sufficient amount of questions a year (minimum to be agreed with WP leads).
• visit a clinical oral examination shortly after appointment.
• agree not to disclose any information which they may gain about the examination by virtue of their position as an Affiliate Examiner to anyone external to the Board.
• abide by the FRCA Code of Conduct, social media guidelines and the misconduct policy.
• adhere to the College regulations on the Involvement in teaching, publishing, examination practice and revision courses. There is a clear conflict of interest in being an Affiliate Examiner at the same time as managing or playing an equally significant role in a local examination preparation course or the writing of revision textbooks. 
• agree to stand down from a Panel if, during their period of appointment, their circumstances change making them unable to meet any of the expected requirements.
• agree to inform the Chair of the FRCA of any circumstances, such as ill health or suspension, or unsatisfactory performance in CPD which could affect their ability to be an Affiliate Examiner or call into question the good standing of the Royal College of Anaesthetists and its examining procedure. 

CPD and professional recognition

Your AE work can be used for CPD and appraisal.

You can:

• Self-accredit one CPD credit per hour of activity
• Record reflections alongside your activity
• Use annual participation letters as evidence for appraisal and revalidation