Transition to nMRCGP

Since August 2007 there is a single training and assessment system for UK trained doctors wishing to obtain a CCT (Certificate of Completion of Training) in General Practice. Satisfactory completion of the scheme is an essential requirement for entry to the General Medical Council’s GP Register and for membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners. The nMRCGP is an integrated assessment programme that includes three components:

Applied Knowledge Test (AKT)
Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA)
Workplace-Based Assessment (WPBA) including Out of Hours Sessions

Each of these is independent and tests different skills but together they cover the curriculum for specialty training for general practice. Evidence for the workplace-based assessment is collected in the eportfolio of each GP trainee.
Doctors who are currently in GP training are subject to transition arrangements.
Please email any enquiries concerning nMRCGP to nmrcgp@rcgp.org.uk

• Applying to sit the CSA

GP trainees who have registered with the RCGP and are eligible to sit the CSA (i.e. they are within the last twelve months of training) can apply online for a morning or afternoon assessment on a particular date. Dates will be offered until fully booked, after which further dates will be made available. Fees must be paid at the time of applying.

• Applying to sit the AKT

Candidates will be able to sit the AKT at a Pearson VUE test centre on three occasions each year.  The application process is in three stages.  Candidates register for the nMRCGP through this website, then apply online to sit the test on the next available date. The applicable fee must be paid, normally online using a credit card. Candidates have the opportunity at this point to register any disability and request a reasonable adjustment, for example additional time to complete the test.  Applications are confirmed in an automatically generated email that gives the telephone number of the Pearson VUE contact centre. Book a test by phoning Pearson VUE and choosing a test centre.  Details of centres and their locations are available on the Pearson VUE website.

The earlier a candidate books, the greater the chances of their preferred centre being available: candidates booking later may need to travel further. Pearson VUE will confirm each booking in an e-mail, which will give the address of the test centre, the time by which the candidate must arrive, the identification documents that must be presented, other details about sitting the test and the rules that apply. It is essential to arrive on time: candidates who arrive late will not be admitted.

Please click here to access the FAQ’’s section on the NOSA website regarding the transition to nMRCGP
Please click here to access the nMRCGP section of the RCGP website
Book via RCGP website 

Contact Information

Name and Position	Contact Information
Dr Colin Kenny Associate Director (VTS)	Tel: 028 90400018 Email: colin.kenny@nimdta.gov.uk
Linda Craig GP Training Co-ordinator	Tel: 028 9040 0002 Email: linda.craig@nimdta.gov.uk
Rebecca Iwanczuk Executive Officer (GP VTS - GP St3 Certification)	Tel: 028 9040 0016 Email: rebecca.iwanczuk@nimdta.gov.uk
Caroline Diver Executive Officer (GP VTS - GP St3 Certification)	Tel: 028 9040 0001 Email: caroline.diver@nimdta.gov.uk

• Introduction to MRCGP and Summative Assessment

The NHS (Vocational Training for General Medical Practice) Regulations 1997 made the passing of Summative Assessment mandatory by law for all GP Registrars who started the totality of a 12 month GP Registrarship in an approved training practice after 30 January 1998. The Joint Committee on Postgraduate Training for General Practice (JCPTGP) and Directors of Postgraduate General Practice Education (DPGPEs) are committed to Summative Assessment as an objective test of GP Registrars’ skills, ensuring that those completing training achieve a minimum level of competence to practice independently as General Practitioners in the National Health Service. The National Summative Assessment Board is responsible for administering, monitoring and, in some cases organising, the provision of methods of Summative Assessment.

Since the introduction of MRCGP and Summative Assessment the component assessments have expanded from the original UK Conference of Postgraduate Advisers in General Practice (UKCRA now COGPED) methods approved by the JCPTGP:

COGPED/Summative Assessment MCQ
MRCGP MCQ
MRCGP Orals
COGPED/Summative Assessment video
COGPED/Summative Assessment audit
Summative Assessment Structured Trainers Report
VTR2 Form
VTR1 Form
RCGP - National Website
PMETB Website

to include:
Simulated Patient Surgery
The National Project Marking Schedule
The MRCGP assessment of consulting skills (video) module

It must be remembered that Summative Assessment is a test of minimal competence in the wide range of knowledge, skills and attitudes required for an independent practitioner in General Medical Practice. The vast majority of GP Registrars who conscientiously complete their training in hospital and in their General Practice attachment should have no difficulty in passing this assessment. VTR/1 forms can be signed up to 6 weeks before the completion of training, and COGPED is happy to accommodate this change.