Typically, the first few months of a GP trainee's ST3 year is dominated by preparations for the Recorded Consultation Assessment (RCA), the post-COVID replacement for the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) examination. Given the high stakes of the exam (not to mention its considerable cost), overcoming this hurdle - ideally first time - is obviously a top priority for trainees. With that in mind, GPRP are delighted to now be able to offer our own mock RCA courses.

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Dr. Al-Rufaie himself is an examiner on each of these courses. As well as having helped coach his own trainee to pass her RCA (at the first attempt), he has also done work with a number of trainees from the Chesterfield GP scheme as they have prepared for their own RCA.

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So, what makes our RCA courses different to others on the market?

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• Simulated Exam Conditions - Our courses are designed to reflect the set-up of the actual RCA, with 12 minute cases (following the same timing structure as the RCA).
   

• Large Number Of Cases - Many of the CSA/RCA courses on the market only allow each trainee to do a small number of cases each (e.g. 3 cases per trainee at the East Midlands deanery's CSA Saturday, and just 2 cases at the RCGP one-day CSA course). Our courses allow each trainee to do a minimum of 8 cases. This is made possible by keeping the number of trainees enrolled on each course small; hence, trainees will not have to work in groups, nor merely observe some cases - you get to practice each one yourself.
   

• High Quality Cases - All cases have been individually written by Dr. Al-Rufaie, and are designed to both be realistic, and cover a large proportion of the GP curriculum.
   

• High Quality Patient Simulators - We use an extensive roster of simulators of various ages/genders. Each actor has been coached by Dr. Al-Rufaie.
   

• Experienced Examiners - Each of our examiners are working GPs with experience of teaching GP trainees.
   

• Personalised Feedback - Each trainee will receive a marking sheet for every case, containing both marks covering each of the 3 assessed RCA domains, as well as individual, personalised comments. Additionally, at the end of the course all attendees will congregate as a group, and the examiners will provide some general feedback, plus useful tips and advice.
   

• Convenient Location - Our courses are ideally located for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire GP trainees, and we are the only RCA course on the market actually based in Nottingham. The majority of CSA/RCA courses advertised to trainees in the East Midlands are held in Birmingham, Manchester, or London.
   

• Competitive Price - The charge per trainee for each course is £200 (all inclusive); the majority of other RCA/CSA courses on the market typically charge in the region of £375-£495.