Visitor Count :4550173
40th Anniversary Celebration
Education & Examinations > HKCFP/RACGP Conjoint Exam > Exam Construct

Conjoint HKCFP / RACGP Fellowship Examination

Exam Construct

The Examination is designed to evaluate the competence of the candidates in regard to their knowledge, skills and attitudes in General Practice/Family Medicine. A good understanding of the principles and methods of Family Medicine is essential. Skills in problem solving, communication, practice management, physical examination, and office procedures are to be tested. Commitments of continuous, comprehensive, co-ordinated, patient-centred, and anticipatory care are expected from candidates.

The segments of the Examination are:-

Written

(a) Applied Knowledge Test: 3.5 hours

(b) Key Feature Problems: 3 hours


Clinical Examination

Clinical Competency Examination (CCE): About 4 hours


Different segments test different areas of the candidate’s competence in regard to their knowledge, skills and attitudes in Family Medicine and carry different weighting to the total score of the Examinations as follows:-

SEGMENTS
  
WEIGHT
 
 
  
Written
Applied Knowledge Test
50
 
Key Feature Problems
50
 
 
 
Clinical
CCE
100

Clinical Examination - Clinical Competency Examination

Details related to the Clinical Examination will be announced in due course.


Video-taping/Audio-taping

Parts of both the Written and Clinical Segments may be video- or audio-taped and copies retained for the sole purpose of examiner training. Candidates may select not to be taped and must inform the Board of Conjoint Examination in writing not later than two weeks before the Conjoint Examination. Candidates may not demand the Board of Conjoint Examination to tape their performance for the sake of future appeal.


Criteria for a Pass in the Examination
The Board of Conjoint Examination, in the attendance of the College Chief Censor and the visiting examiners from RACGP, has the final decision on the pass or fail of a candidate.
 
Standard setting is the process by which a ‘standard’ is translated into a ‘passing score’, intended to divide a group of candidates into those who pass, and those who fail. A ‘standard’ is a conceptual boundary between acceptable and non-acceptable performance. 
 
Absolute standard setting procedures will be used to set the pass mark for the Conjoint Examination. The difficulty and importance of the examination questions will be analyzed by groups of expert examiners making judgments about hypothetical borderline candidates’ performance in each question. The questions are scrutinized for face validity, statistical reliability and quality.
 
Although the overall pass mark may vary from examination to examination, the standards used in determining those pass marks will remain constant and absolute. 
 
Under the present examination format, candidates will be required to pass both the AKT and KFP segments in the Written Examination before one can proceed to the Clinical Competency Examination. Candidates who failed in one segment will be required to re-attempt only the failed segment. Successful Written Examination result can be retained for three years (counting from whenever the first segment is passed). If one fails to pass both segments in three years, one has to retake both segments.

The Clinical Examination can only be taken after passing both segments of the Written Examination. If one fails the Clinical Examination, all the clinical stations have to be re-taken.


Feedback Session
As the examination is an educational process, the Chairman of Board of Conjoint Examination and the Chief Examiner will invite candidates to attend feedback sessions usually within two months after the Examination. The feedback is on an individual basis and preference is given to the unsuccessful candidates.
 
During the feedback session, the Chairman and the Chief Examiner, or their designates, will discuss with the candidate on areas such as the segment pass rates and the areas of weakness. There are usually some suggestions for making improvement. Comments and expectations from the candidate are always welcomed and taken seriously. Most former candidates found these sessions useful.


Examination Prize
A prize in the form of "Dr. Peter CY Lee Best Candidate Award" will be awarded to the candidate who passed the Conjoint Examination at one setting and achieved the highest mark in the Examination.


Feedback from Candidates
Feedback from candidates is an important element of the appraisal of any examination. A questionnaire will be distributed to the candidates following the examination. The information received in these questionnaires has been and will be used for the assessment and improvement of the examination process.