Doctors in training have expressed anger and incredulity at yet another examination system failure by a specialist training college that has forced many candidates to postpone and resit the annual test.
More than one in ten of the candidates sitting the RACP’s computer-based Divisional Written Examination on 14 February were hit by a technical glitch that prevented them logging in to the system, leaving them unable to complete the session in the allocated time.
The technical breakdown affected 120 of the 1150 candidates who sat the computer-based exam were trainees in Melbourne, Sydney and New Zealand.
The RACP has said the trainees will be able to resit the exam on 8 March, but the AMA says specialist colleges need to have back up plans to avoid exam failures that cause huge distress to candidates whose medical careers depend tests.
“One-off, high-stake barrier examinations are extremely stressful and take up to a year of personal and professional sacrifice. It is extremely disappointing for both trainees and supervisors that ongoing difficulties arise with virtual/online examination platforms with insufficient contingency planning in place,” the AMA said in a statement released on 17 February.
“The AMA is concerned about the ongoing difficulties Specialist Medical Colleges are having with examination processes both during and prior to the pandemic … The AMA Federal Council of Doctors in Training (CDT) has received feedback from many RACP trainee members about the significant distress the exam failure and disruption has caused.”
The AMA noted that the RACP’s 14 February exam system breakdown was just the latest in a litany of technical failures and cancellations inflicted on trainees by specialist colleges. The RACP’s infamous 2018 computer system meltdown left hundreds of trainees in despair, and this has been followed by exam glitches for RACGP trainees and more recently the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in November 2021.