Essential Guide to the RCA for the MRCGP

Book excerpt: The Recorded Consultation Assessment (RCA) represents a significant change for a generation of doctors used to taking practical exams featuring actors. The RCA exam is based on recordings of your telephone and video consultations with genuine patients, but of course patients don’t present or respond quite like actors do! This full-colour book provides a practical guide to help nervous candidates, and particularly International Medical Graduates (IMGs), prepare effectively, with useful advice on: Common pitfalls Working with your practice team to identify the patients you need Obtaining consent Differentiating between low and high challenge cases, and which topics to avoid Setting up the technology for telephone, video and face-to-face consultations How to perform well in each of the core domains In addition, the book takes you through all aspects of using the FourteenFish platform to record, assess and submit your consultations, with screenshots used to illustrate every step. If you need help to prepare from someone who passed the exam as part of the first cohort, who has run RCA exam preparation courses, and who has checked what is required with trainers and programme directors, then you need this book! Really packed with practical and clinical tips Covers everything you need to know before submitting A stress-free way to prepare for the exam