The Final FRCA is a postgraduate examination in

anaesthesia Anesthesia is a state of controlled, temporary loss of sensation or awareness that is induced for medical or veterinary purposes. It may include some or all of analgesia (relief from or prevention of pain), paralysis (muscle relaxation), a ...

, more fully called the Final Examination of the Diploma of Fellowship of the

Royal College of Anaesthetists The Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) is the professional body responsible for the specialty of anaesthesia throughout the United Kingdom. It sets standards in anaesthesia, critical care, pain management, and for the training of anaestheti ...

. Trainee anaesthetists in the United Kingdom are required to pass this examination during ST3-5 (6 months through ST5), otherwise training may be delayed or stopped.

Admission to the examination

The examination is open to intermediate and higher trainees in anaesthesia, those working in approved training posts, those who have recently left an approved training post, and other doctors on approval of the Royal College of Anaesthetists who have passed the

primary FRCA The Primary FRCA is a postgraduate examination in anaesthesia, more fully called the Primary Examination of the Diploma of Fellowship of the British Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA). Trainee anaesthetists in the United Kingdom are required ...

or an equivalent exempting qualification within the last seven years. There are a maximum of six attempts at this examination, and there is a robust system in place to support candidates in the UK training system before they get to this point.

Form of the examination

The exam takes the form of a written Short-Answer Question (SAQ) paper (3 hours, 12 questions), and a Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ) paper (3 hours, 60 five stem questions covering medicine, surgery, intensive care, pain and basic sciences and 30 Single Best Answer clinical questions) which can be attempted at several regional centres in the UK (such as Edinburgh, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Manchester and London).

The Structured Oral Examination (SOE)

Candidates who pass both the MCQ and the SAQ are invited to the

Structured Oral Examination Structuring, also known as smurfing in banking jargon, is the practice of executing financial transactions such as making bank deposits in a specific pattern, calculated to avoid triggering financial institutions to file reports required by law ...

(SOE) ("

Viva voce ''Viva voce'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "with living voice" but most often translated as "by word of mouth." It may refer to: *Word of mouth *A voice vote in a deliberative assembly *An oral exam **Thesis defence, in academia *Spoken evi ...

"), in Churchill House,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the headquarters of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. The SOE component of the examination consists of two structured oral examinations: the first (clinical) consists of 10 minutes to review a prepared series of clinical data, followed by 40 minutes of questioning; the second (basic science) consists of 30 minutes of questioning.

Marking scheme

The examination is now staged into two distinct, separable components. The written paper must be passed prior to attempting the Structured Oral Examination (SOE). In the written paper, the marks from the short answer questions paper and the multiple choice questions and single-best answer questions are considered together. This part of the examination can now be passed independently, leaving the candidate to attempt the SOE without the need to resit the written paper. The marks from the written paper are no longer considered when attempting the SOE. To pass the examination, the written paper must be passed in full, followed by an independent pass of the structured oral examination (known commonly as the viva) The SOE examinations are usually held over a week. At the end of each day of SOE examinations, Successful candidates are listed on a board in the lobby of the college by RCoA reference number. Approximately half of all candidates pass the examination at each sitting. Negative marking (the deduction of a point for an incorrect answer) has been removed from the Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) component of the examination from the October 2008 sitting. From October 2010, some MCQ questions will be set according to the "single best answer" format.Nightingale P. (ed) (2008). ''Guide to the FRCA examination: The Final''. 2nd edn. London, Royal College of Anaesthetists. .

Syllabus

The tone of the examination is predominantly clinical. The syllabus is extensive and covers all aspects of clinical anaesthetic practice. In addition, the entire syllabus of the Primary FRCA examination (which is predominantly basic science) is included.

Fellowship

Those who pass the examination are admitted as Fellows of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, and are entitled to use the postnominal "FRCA" after their name. Fellowship may also be bestowed by election from the Council of the College. A ceremony is held annually in London at which new fellows are formally admitted. "Diplomates" are invited to attend, but are admitted as fellows whether or not they do so. Before the College bestowed its own fellowships, anaesthetists were awarded the FFARCS: Fellowship of the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons, the forerunner of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.

Similar qualifications

The following are similar qualifications to the FRCA. They are not necessarily equivalent or interchangeable: *FCAI: Fellowship of the

College of Anaesthetists of Ireland The College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI; ga, Coláiste Ainéistéiseolaithe na hÉireann) is the professional association and educational institution responsible for the medical specialty of anaesthesiology throughout Ireland. It se ...

(formerly termed FFARCSI, Fellowship of the Faculty of Anaesthetists of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland). *FANZCA: Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists. *EDA: European Diploma in Anaesthesiology (and Intensive Care). *FCA (SA): Fellowship of the College of Anaesthetists of the

Colleges of Medicine of South Africa The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) is the custodian of the quality of medical care in South Africa. It is unique in the world in that its 29 constituent Colleges represent all the disciplines of medicine and dentistry. The only present ...

References

{{reflist Anesthesiology Medical education in the United Kingdom