Preparing to Pass the FRCA: Strategies for Exam Success PDF
Preview Preparing to Pass the FRCA: Strategies for Exam Success
Preparing to Pass the FRCA Preparing to Pass the FRCA Strategies for exam success Dr Caroline Whymark MB ChB FRCA Consultant Anaesthetist University Hospital Crosshouse Kilmarnock Scotland, UK 1 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford, OX2 6DP, United Kingdom Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries © Oxford University Press 2016 The moral rights of the author have been asserted First Edition published in 2016 Impression: 1 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by licence or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2015955004 ISBN 978-0-19-874868-7 Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY Oxford University Press makes no representation, express or implied, that the drug dosages in this book are correct. Readers must therefore always check the product information and clinical procedures with the most up-to-date published product information and data sheets provided by the manufacturers and the most recent codes of conduct and safety regulations. The authors and the publishers do not accept responsibility or legal liability for any errors in the text or for the misuse or misapplication of material in this work. Except where otherwise stated, drug dosages and recommendations are for the non-pregnant adult who is not breast-feeding Links to third party websites are provided by Oxford in good faith and for information only. Oxford disclaims any responsibility for the materials contained in any third party website referenced in this work. Preface I first became aware that the pass rate in FRCA exams was below the national average in my region, the West of Scotland, in 2009. I began to think of why this may be and how it could be improved. From my experience in teaching and training, I knew that exam candidates were highly intelligent professionals, often very good at their job, with a past history of exam and academic success—yet many could not pass the FRCA. Success in the FRCA exams is not only related to knowledge of anaesthesia and the exam syl- labus. In addition, a variety of skills are required, including many life skills such as prioritization, delegation, self-motivation, and stress management. The attitude of individuals and their depart- ments towards exams has a significant bearing on the outcome of exam sittings, to the extent that some would say that the FRCA is predominately a test of one’s life management skills rather than the sum total of one’s knowledge. Management of the entire process of taking exams is not widely taught, yet the ability to do this alongside a demanding professional role and important commitments outwith the hospital is integral to exam success. I developed a regional course to address this issue and began deliver- ing it in January 2011. The focus is not on teaching knowledge per se but centres, instead, upon preparing the candidate to present those parts of their knowledge specifically asked for, in the format required by each element of the exam, and to facilitate real-time, repeated practice of doing so. The regional course forms the basis of this book, and both emphasize all that must be done to ensure that an intelligent doctor who has studied the syllabus can ultimately pass the FRCA. Caroline Whymark, 2015 Disclaimer The advice and opinions expressed in this book are my own and are based on the experience I have gained in this field over a decade of helping anaesthetists in training prepare for exams. Of note, I am not an examiner for the Royal College of Anaesthetists and have no input into the development of any element of the FRCA. Indeed if this was the case, a conflict of roles would have precluded development of both the course and a book of this nature. The content of this book does not reflect the views of the Royal College of Anaesthetists nor has it been endorsed by them. However, much of the information contained within this guide is available on their website (http://www.rcoa.ac.uk), including the curriculum to which the exams and this book relate. C.W. Contents PART 1 THE ESSENTIALS 1 1 Introduction to adult learning and postgraduate exams 3 2 Motivation 6 3 Time management 12 4 Study skills 18 5 Sort your surroundings 24 PART 2 THE PRIMARY FRCA 29 6 The Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) and Single Best Answer (SBA) paper 31 7 The Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE) and Structured Oral Exams (SOEs) 39 PART 3 THE FINAL FRCA 45 8 The MCQ/SBAs paper 47 9 The Short Answer Question (SAQ) paper 52 10 The Structured Oral Exams (SOEs) 69 11 Summary 74 Index 77
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