An Introduction to the nMRCGP

 

The nMRCGP is the new licensing exam for all trainees wanting to become GPs. All the core components have to be done in a timely fashion. For example, if a trainee does the required minimum of say 3 case based discussions all at the end of a post, they may well be referred. However, what would be acceptable is doing one at the beggining of the post, one in the middle and one towards the end (= to demonstrate progression).

 

It's okay to mark trainees as "insufficient evidence" for example if there was no opportunity in that case to demonstrate that particular competency. It's also okay to mark trainees as "needing further development" where there was an opportunity to discuss a particular area but a need for further work identified. Rather than viewing the nMRCGP as an exam, one should view it as a portfolio where trainees are not necessarily judged on individual components but their "training picture" as a whole. Having said that, there is a minimum number of required assessments which should be adhered to.

 

 

 

When Are They To Do These Assessments and How Will I Know The Time Is Right?

 

* Don't worry about the timing. It is the trainee's responsibility to tell you when they are a) due and b) feel ready for another assessment.

 

* If a trainee asks you "can we do a CBD please", please don't say "yeah, we'll do it later, I don't have time now". You may well be busy but what you should say something like "let's make a date for that; how about next week on Tues morning after the ward round?"

 

* Because nMRCGP is a trainee led process, we have asked all our trainees to "nab" their consultants and "pin them down" for a date for assessments; please don't be offended by this. If they don't get their assessments done on time, ultimately they will not progress to the next stage of their training.

 

 

 

Can I Delegate These Assessments to One Of Our Departmental Specialist Trainees?

 

Yes, BUT ONLY IF YOU HAVE TRAINED THEM HOW TO DO IT PROPERLY.

 

Letting a specialist trainee for your specialty loose on these assessments without training them specifically for the delgated task is against the rules. No surgeon in their right mind would consider allowing their trainee to do say an appendectomy without training them up first......the same applies to these assessments for general practice training. They are important assessments which dictate whether a trainee is safe with patients and we must not forget that.

 

 

 

What Are These Assessments Then?

 

* There's quite a few different types of assessments for the nMRCGP.

* They all have acronyms which can make it look more complicated than it is.

* For simplicity's sake, I'm only going to mention the assessments YOU will be involved in.

* You'll be glad to know that of the 12 types of assessments, you only need to really get to grips with 5 of them.

* Click on the boxes below to get more detailed information on the individual components (links also in sub-menu above). You will find some really useful forms and guidance to help you on a practical basis (see "downloads" section for each page).

 

 

 

 

 

Any Advice on Doing These Assessments?

 

If you want to know more, then please go back to the home page of this website and click the "nMRCGP" section and look through each of the various components. It's really important to grasp a good understanding of what each of these assessments is about because

 

1. if you carry them out the way they are meant to be done, you will ultimately be able to figure what bits the trainee is good at and more importantly what areas they need to work on

2. a lot of these assessments are similar to those used in foundation year training. No doubt you will have some FY doctors and thus this skill becomes transferable.

3. your own specialty trainees are likely to start doing these assessments for their college too: transferable skills benefitting all.

 

So, doing it the right way now means reaping huge rewards later.

 

 

 

I'd Like More Detailed Guidance...

 

You can find very detailed information on the nMRCGP and it's individual bits on our Royal College's website: www.rcgp.org.uk