General Practice Students Fly High In Recent Exams

The future of general practice is in good hands after two of the highest pass rates in recent years were achieved by registrars (trainee GPs) in their recent clinical and written exams.

A total of 218 registrars took part in 2020’s end of year General Practice Education Programme (GPEP) exams, which are run by The Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.

94 percent of those sitting passed the written exam, the highest pass rate since 2011, and 80 percent were successful in the clinical exam, the highest pass rate for three years.

Lynne Hayman, CEO of the College said the results were a testament to the hard work of the registrars, their teachers and medical educators, and College staff in preparing for and facilitating the exams, despite the anxiety and uncertainty posed by COVID-19.

"I am delighted with the results of the 2020 GPEP examinations, which showcase the calibre of our registrars, and celebrate our incredibly committed team of College members and staff who worked hard to ensure their success.

"This last year has been extremely challenging for everybody, especially our registrars, so to see them fly so high in these exams and take the next step forward on the road to becoming specialist GPs is very rewarding."

The written examination comprises two three-hour papers with a mixture of multi-choice and extended matching questions, that took place on the same day and time across twelve locations nationwide.

The clinical examination sees all registrars attend a single Wellington location and uses professional actors to recreate real-life medical scenarios and situations that GPs might find themselves facing, with registrars being marked on how they, as the attending doctor, manage the situation.

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