Bromley Trainers Workshop: Advice on sitting the CSA and AKT

The  training year is all too short and the trainers workshop is very aware that at the end of the year you will need to have passed the CSA and AKT exams and your trainer will have been happy that you are trained as a GP fit for independent practice.

These two objectives are not the same and may sometimes cause conflict within the year.

Option One is to sit both exams as soon as possible to get them out of the way. This is a sensible option if you going to be fortunate enough to pass both exams, as it then allows you to spend the rest of the year focusing on becoming a good GP, in its broadest sense.

Option Two is to wait until nine months into your trainee year before sitting one or both of the exams. This is the logical option ( given that the exams are designed to test end of year competence ) but if you are unlucky enough to fail at this stage, you may be stuck  having to retake exams after your trainee year has finished.

Which option to choose?

Choosing between these options is not a purely random act. Passing or failing exams is largely determined by your ability (!) and if you are not an above average candidate (statistically half of you) you may find yourself wasting valuable time in the early months cramming for an exam for which you lack the basic skills. Your disappointment if you then fail the exam will be great and you will have a miserable next few months as well, as you try to remedy the situation.

The Trainers’ workshop therefore recommends that

• The decision as to when you take the exam is yours and yours alone

• You do not have to take both the CSA and the AKT at the same time – you could get one out of the way and wait for the other

• You should make a realistic assessment of your chances of passing after you have been in post for a couple of months

• You should ask the advice of your trainer, who has experience in these matters

• You should try not to feel unduly pressured by what your peers do

• The trainee year is not a good time in which to try and take additional exams

In  2007-08

• the CSA was held in February, May and October

• the AKT in January, May and October.