GPhC Registration Assessment Seminar

A feedback review

GPhC Feedback September assessment 1st sitters more likely to fail Pass rate historically stable so below 80% not a

problem Reduction in pass rate due to use of whole syllabus MEP, DT and standards documents will not be re-

introduced March edition of BNF will be used from now on No bias between community and hospital Any legal/clinical/policy changes that take place up to

6 weeks before the exam are examinable

PresenterPresentation NotesSept exam used to mop up june fails now more first attempts from students resiting university examsHigher failure rate than expected at september than june

GPhC are ready and willing to accept lower pass rates

Exam will cover whole syllabus and question spotting/tragetted revision is likely to lead to failure

MEP now professional resource than legal guide so not appropriateDT not same in each country and electronic only in some so not viable to useQuestions based on standards documents could have been answered without, common sense- not needed for the exam

March edition of BNF used for the exam. NHS england will not be providing these free of charge to each pharmacy so you will have to BUY your own. Get an order in now

Number of complaints about bias equal on both sides quite happy there is no bias so dont bother complaining

New technologies and procedures mean that they can amend the exam up to 6 weeks before the exam date therefore you need to keep up to date and reading PJ up to the end of your preparations.

Exam Content

GPhC will not provide a % breakdown for topic areas

What do we know 20% of the exam based on paediatrics May be more paediatrics in calculations section All areas of the syllabus covered Focus on decision making!

PresenterPresentation Notes20% on paeds was mentioned repeatedly throughout the seminarExpect more paeds in the calcs section, they let that one slipKnowlegde based questions will make up a small component of the exam. The majority of the exam will be based on decision making that require you to have prior knowledge so start preparing now. You have been warned.

Expect something in region of 10% law/ 10% science10% systems/ 10% practice rest clinical.

Exam Content

Questions longer than before More patient focused Decision making based on scenarios Pick most likely/most appropriate/best answer Questions checked to ensure not contradictory Calculations may appear in closed and open books in

addition to calculations section

PresenterPresentation NotesWont have contradictory statements in questions so less likely to be able to guess the right answer from ones you know are definitely wrong

Some questions may have 5 correct answers and you have to pick the best

Calculations in main body of paper will have 1-2 calculation steps rather than 4 or 5 steps as in calc paper

Exam Content Closed book 26 simple completion 21 classification 24 multiple completion 19 assertion reason Open book 20 simple completion 12 classification 16 multiple completion 12 assertion reason + 20 Calculation questions

Exam Content

Writing style No highlighting of key words Positive statements where possible Answers in ascending or descending order No capitals at beginning of options unless brand names All questions will have a stem, key and distractors Completion of part statements is avoided. Medical terminology used Abbreviations explained unless in BNF

Exam Content

Papers checked for response patterns and removed if identified

Breakdown of syllabus will be same for open and closed papers

Interaction between questions removed Marker questions included to check performance

against previous cohorts

PresenterPresentation NotesDont go looking for patterns on your answer sheet there wont be oneYou wont be able to find the answer to one question from the stem of anotherMarker questions are included to ensure that the exam is not too easy or too hard

Exam Content and Review

Question options will not be mutually exclusive Drugs used should be contemporary to practice Knowledge expected to be able to make decisions Commonly used drug and common side effects are

fair game All questions are reviewed after the exam Questions that are wrong, ambiguous too easy or too

hard are removed (not many) If you think a question is wrong, challenge

invigilators!

PresenterPresentation NotesIt would be advisable to know the top 200 drugs and top 20 paediateric drugs

Legal vs Ethics If a question had a patient scenario where the legal

and ethical responses contradicted each other, should you go for the legal answer or patient safety answer?

Board of assessors response: (Mair Davies) The question would be removed from the assessment in the approval stage as there are opposing answers, both of which could be right. It would not make the final paper.

Exam Answer Sheet

PresenterPresentation NotesDont write anywhere other than you are supposed to!!!!!!!!!!!!

What do I need to do to pass?

70% overall on both papers (aggregate marks) 119 / 170 questions overall 70% overall on calculations 14 / 20 questions overall

Calculations result forms part of the overall mark If 70% on closed and 100% on calcs need 60% on

open for minimum pass!

GPhC advice for exam preparation

Sample and Past papers Do not revise/memorise past papers Sample papers prior to 2012 likely to be out of date Do not cover full exam syllabus

Review whole of syllabus and performance standards Dont question spot or avoid revising areas as will

fail.

PresenterPresentation NotesGPhC has binned the RPSGB question bank

GPhC advice for exam preparation

Annotation of books Annotation allowed Not information direct from textbooks No inserts or cut and pastes Highlighting and tabs ok Focus of exam is application so less risk of cheating Decision on what is acceptable will be pragmatic Invigilators may remove resources for review

Day 1 Pharmacist Standard? Trainees who pass the exam meet this standard Virtually impossible to define GPhC will not define specifically

Identifying the required standard Assessment syllabus Professional standards Learning outcomes

Educational standards and outcomes

PresenterPresentation NotesWouldnt define

Adjustments to Assessments

Adjustments for disability / ILP are available Onus on trainee to request adjustment Evidence required Must remain Fit to Sit

PresenterPresentation NotesIf signed as fit to sit and fail you cant appeal that you were not medically able to sit the examAdjustments: scribes, readers, magnifiers, separate rooms, extra time all dependent on you providing evidence

Appeals and Remarking

Appeals Fit to sit declaration appeals unsuccessful Appeals based on being close to the pass mark

always fail.

Remarks Allowed at trainee request for a fee Exam marked electronically Error rate negligible All fails remarked by hand

GPhC Registration Assessment SeminarGPhC FeedbackExam ContentExam ContentExam ContentExam ContentExam ContentExam Content and ReviewLegal vs EthicsExam Answer SheetWhat do I need to do to pass?GPhC advice for exam preparationGPhC advice for exam preparationDay 1 Pharmacist Standard?Adjustments to AssessmentsAppeals and RemarkingGPhC Registration AssessmentGPhC Registration AssessmentWhy you shouldnt be scared of the changes!What is the point of this session!Slide Number 20Slide Number 21Slide Number 22Actual QuestionSlide Number 24Slide Number 25Actual questionSlide Number 27Actual questionSlide Number 29Slide Number 30Slide Number 31Actual questionSlide Number 33Slide Number 34Actual questionSlide Number 36Slide Number 37Actual questionSlide Number 39Slide Number 40Slide Number 41Actual questionSlide Number 43Actual questionSlide Number 45Slide Number 46Actual questionSlide Number 48Slide Number 49And relax!