Anaesthesia Examinations

For ACCS Trainees progressing to a career in Anaesthesia, part 1 multiple choice question paper of the FRCA must be passed by completion of ST2. For further guidance on examinations, see the Royal College of Anaesthetists website.

The RCoA has issued recent advice on examinations:

25% of ACCS (Anaesthesia) trainees will not start their anaesthetic module until the final 6 months of the 2-year ACCS course and therefore are not obtaining the Initial Assessment of Competence in Anaesthesia (IAC) until 22 months into their 2 year ACCS training. This could limit the opportunities such trainees have to sit the Primary FRCA Examinations. To address the problem Council has agreed to allow any registered trainee to apply to sit the Primary FRCA MCQ Examination as soon as they start an approved training post in anaesthesia or ACCS. This replaces the previous regulation that a trainee must have passed the IAC before applying to sit the MCQ Examination. However, College Tutors are strongly recommended to advise their trainees not to attempt the MCQ before they have obtained their IAC.