FPM Examinership application form V1.1
THE FACULTY OF PAIN MEDICINE
OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ANAESTHETISTS
APPLICATION FORM FOR EXAMINERSHIP
AND QUESTION WRITERS
The application form must be completed online in full using the Word version of the
document. All information must be submitted electronically.
Please submit your completed application to [email protected]. The submission will be
acknowledged by return email. Please do NOT submit your Curriculum Vitae.
CLOSING DATE: FRIDAY 20TH JUNE 2014
Part 1
1.1 Title
Contact and reference details
1.2 First name(s)
1.4 Address and postcode (home)
1.3 Last name
1.6 Telephone number (home)
1.7 Telephone number (work)
1.5 Address and postcode (work)
1.8 Telephone number (mobile)
1.10 Date of birth
1.9 Email address
1.11 College Reference Number
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
Part 2
Qualifications & Training
2.1 Please list your qualifications
Date
Qualification
2.2 Current appointment (including date of appointment):
Date
Appointment
2.3 Previous relevant appointments (with dates):
Date
Appointment
Part 3
3.1
Date
Evidence of active involvement in training, assessment and
examination question writing
Please provide evidence of active involvement and commitment to training,
assessment and examination question writing in medicine undergraduate or
postgraduate education. Please give examples of formal and informal experience
with dates:
Involvement and commitment to training, assessment and
question writing
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
3.2 Please provide information about any areas of special interest that you have:
3.3 Please give some examples of ideas you could put forward for FFPMRCA question
development (200 words max)
The Faculty of Pain Medicine will be recruiting 2 examiners and 3 question writers for the
FFPMRCA in 2014 through the same application process. By submitting an application,
you are accepting that you may be appointed to either position.
Part 4
References
Please provide the names and addresses (including emails) of 2 referees, who will be asked
to provide structured references, one of whom should be a member of your current
department / directorate:
1)
2)
This form must be returned, by email to the Faculty by Friday 20th June to:
Miss Maria Burke
Faculties Administrator
[email protected]
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
APPENDIX A
RACIAL MONITORING QUESTIONNAIRE
The Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 contains a number of provisions
that affect the Royal College of Anaesthetists. Specifically the Act outlaws
race discrimination and places a general duty on the College to promote
racial equality.
As a means of monitoring the College's performance in respect of racial
equality you are requested to complete this questionnaire and return it to
the College. Completion of this questionnaire is voluntary: if you do not return it, it will be
assumed that you do not wish your racial origin to be recorded.
Full Name:
College Reference Number:
Please indicate your racial origin by ticking the relevant box:
White
Black (African)
Black (Caribbean)
Chinese
Middle Eastern
Bangladeshi
Indian
Pakistani
Other
Is English your first language? YES / NO
Where did you obtain your Primary Medical Qualifications, e.g. MB, ChB?
(1 = UK, 2 = EEA, 3 = rest of world)
This information will be recorded on the Royal College of Anaesthetists database but will
be used only for monitoring the College's compliance with the Race Relations
(Amendment) Act 2000.
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
APPENDIX B
NOTES FOR APPLICANTS
INTRODUCTION
The first sitting of the Fellowship of the Faculty of Pain Medicine of the Royal College of
Anaesthetists Examination was held in September and November 2012, although
preparations for the examination have been ongoing since July 2009. Two further MCQ and
SOE examinations have been held in January/April 2014 and September/October 2014.
The examinations questions are held in secure and professionally designed question bank
system using a Filemaker Pro interface. Controlled within the Faculty examiners and
question writers have remote access via a secure server. Question development can be
conducted via a question writing platform which allows a forum to be formed to gather
comments during the development phase. All questions are created to strict guidelines and
directly mapped to the curriculum ensuring wide and even spread. This guides the further
commissioning of questions and demonstrates the examination is clearly and adequately
related to the required professional knowledge base.
The regulations of the examination are published and are available on the Faculty website
http://www.rcoa.ac.uk/faculty-of-pain-medicine/training-examination-andassessment/ffpmrca-examination
SCHEDULES
There are two sittings of the examination each academic year planned for January and
September (MCQ) and April and November (SOE).
The MCQ is invigilated in-house so does not require attendance. Examiners are required to
attend the SOE, which runs on a single day followed by a formal dinner. The examination
begins early so examiners with far to travel may want to consider staying in London overnight
where all examinations will be held.
In addition to the examination, all examiners can expect to be involved in the development of
the examination (including question writing). Associated additional work is considered an
essential part of an examiner’s commitment.
After successful completion of the probationary year, examiners must be prepared to
commit at least 10 days per academic year to examination and core group activities, as well
as additional work in their own time.
The timetable for future examination dates are being agreed as part of the wider project.
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
PERSON SPECIFICATIONS
1.
Shall normally be a Fellow of the Faculty or RCoA by Examination, but a Fellow ad
eundem, or a Fellow by election of the Royal College of Anaesthetists will also be
considered.
2.
Shall be in good standing with the College.
3.
Applicants must be able to demonstrate that they have the competence to create
and develop a wide range of questions at a standard suitable for FFPMRCA
examinations
4.
Shall currently be active in clinical practice in the NHS or a comparable post.
5.
On 1st January 2014 shall have the expectation of completing at least 2 years as a
question writer whilst filling a Specialty Doctor / SAS grade or Consultant
appointment in the NHS, or comparable post.
6.
Can demonstrate active involvement in the training and/or assessment of trainees.
7.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
8.
Ability to work as part of a team.
PROCEDURE
At the closing date for applications, the completed application forms will be collated and
Circulated to the Chairman and key members of the Board of Examiners. Following a
structured scoring process, recommendations will be made to the Faculty Training and
Assessment Committee.
Applicants will be notified as soon as possible following the above process and confirmation of
each appointment by the Board of the Faculty of Pain Medicine
COMMITMENT
It is expected that this duty will take precedence over all other commitments unless there
are exceptional circumstances.
RETIRING
Please note that any examiner retiring from clinical practice during an academic year is also
required to retire from examining.
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
STRUCTURE OF THE EXAMINATION
There are two sections to the FFPMRCA Examination:
(1)
MCQ
There are three sub-sections to the MCQ examination comprising:
(a)
MTF (Multiple True-False) sub-section:
40 MTFs each with 5 items
(b)
SBA (Single Best Answer) sub-section:
25 SBAs
(c)
EMQ (Extended Marking Question) paper:
25 EMQs
All three sub-sections are taken as one paper in a three hour sitting. The MCQ paper
will test all Pain Medicine and generic areas of the CCT in Anaesthetics.
(2)
SOE
There are two sub-sections to the Structured Oral Examination comprising:
(a)
Clinical Pain Medicine
The Clinical Structured Oral Examination (SOE1) is 50 minutes in duration and
comprises of a long case and three short clinical questions (SCQs). The long case will
consist of; 10 minute preparation time, during which the candidate will be given the
opportunity to read a case history and view relevant investigation results provided.
During this time the candidate may make notes on paper provided for this purpose.
This is followed by a 20 minute examination devoted to the clinical material. The
clinical long case will examine a candidate’s in-depth knowledge of the assessment
and management of a complex chronic pain patient. Knowledge of clinical
assessment tools and investigations relevant to clinical practice and available
treatments will be required. The final 20 minutes will be given to the three short
clinical questions. The topics of these questions could be any aspect of clinical pain
medicine. No patients or actors are used.
(b)
Clinical Science
The Science Structure Oral Examination (SOE2) is 30 minutes in duration and
comprises of four sections; anatomy, physiology, pharmacology and a section
covering psychology, epidemiology and clinical measurement. The importance of the
scientific basis of Pain Medicine for the FFPMRCA examination must be emphasised.
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
THE MARKING SYSTEMS
Both sections must be passed to pass the whole examination.
Applicants must hold the FRCA to achieve the FFPMRCA. Candidates who pass the whole
examination who do not hold the FFPMRCA will be awarded the DFPMRCA.
In all sections of the examination, the performance of borderline candidates is reviewed by the
examiners before final marks are awarded.
If, in the opinion of the examiners, a candidate’s answers in the SOEs have been dangerous
then the candidate’s performance is reviewed by all the examiners before the marks are
confirmed.
(1)
MCQ
MTF: 1 mark is awarded for each correct answer.
SBA: 4 marks are awarded for each correctly answered question.
EMQ: 4 marks awarded for each question correctly matched.
The marks of the three MCQ sub-sections are added together to give a total mark. With 40 MTF, 25
SBA and 25 EMQ the maximum mark obtainable is 400. Marks are not deducted for wrong answers.
The pass mark is set by the examiners using assessment methods approved by the GMC.
(2)
SOE
Two examiners are present for each part of the SOE. Each examiner marks every question
independently. There are 10 questions; Pass = 2, Borderline performance = 1, Fail = 0, giving a
total of 40 marks for the two sub-sections. The pass mark is determined using assessment
methods approved by the GMC.

TRAINING DAY
Before taking up their appointment duties all successful applicants are required to attend an
examiner training day at the College. This takes place on 20th October 2014. New examiners
who are unable to attend this training day will have their appointment deferred until the
following year.
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FPM Examinership application form V1.1
THE FACULTY
If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us:
THE FACULTY OF PAIN MEDICINE of
The Royal College of Anaesthetists
Churchill House
35 Red Lion Square
London WC1R 4SG
By phone:
By fax:
020-7092-1727/729
020-7092-1730
By e-mail:
Website:
[email protected]
www.rcoa.ac.uk/fpm
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