Assessment overview

The MRCGP examination, which you need in order to practise independently as a GP, was designed at the same time as the curriculum and has a blueprint (shown below) that makes sure that the curriculum is adequately tested throughout GP specialty training. This table is a simplified summary of the main areas which the assessments test; a blank box does not necessarily mean that the exam component does not test in this area.

You wouldn’t be human if you were not more concerned about the assessments than the curriculum! It’s natural that you would want to become familiar with the nature of the assessments (described below) but it is really important that you don’t try and learn the curriculum through the assessments.

If you do, you will leave big gaps in your understanding which could make you unsafe to practise. You must use the curriculum, referring to it frequently, because this is where the assessments are drawn from and, although the assessments may change, the core curriculum remains stable.

Remember: the curriculum lays out the fundamental ideas and principles of general practice but is not a detailed syllabus of everything you might ever meet in the course of your practice - it can't be! Instead, use the curriculum as your foundation, then build on your training as suggested in the 'Learning strategies' and 'Learning resources' section of each curriculum statement.

The MRCGP currently has three major components. Guided by the blueprint, the areas of the curriculum that they test deliberately overlap with each other, so that your performance can be tested in a variety of ways. For example, your clinical problem-solving skills can be tested through the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), case scenarios in Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) and through case-based discussion in Workplace-Based Assessment (WPBA).

More information about the assessments (WPBA, AKT and CSA)

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