----- Original Message -----
From: "Dunn Matthew
> To reply to some of the posts about the FFAEM exam (maybe we should change
> the thread title)- knowledge of management issues, critical appraisal,
> writing papers etc can be assessed pretty well in the exam (and thus form
a
> major part of it). Core clinical competencies (as taken from the syllabus)
> are best assessed by your trainer watching you do them in real life. The
> FFAEM is not just the exam. It is the exam plus 5 years of supervised
> training, acquisition of competencies and regular assessment to ensure
that
> clinical skills are sufficient to pass on to the next year of training.
>
> Matt Dunn
Agreed, the 5 years of supervised training must surely count towards
trainees' assessment. But the RITA assessments do not filter through to the
FFAEM examiners, who will judge a candidate on a short viva, regardless of
how those candidates have performed over the previous 4 or 5 years. And this
applies to both the clinical component of FFAEM and to the management
component. But my main concern is the minimal clinical aspect to the exam,
with 50% of the exam given to interpretation of literature, and 25% given to
management. Surely the consultant of tomorrow will be more and more clinical
and less of a manager or an academic?
Adrian Fogarty
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