Devastated doctors who are now faced with retaking a gruelling six-hour exam after a “technical glitch” resulted every result being voided had raised concerns for months, PEDESTRIAN.TV has learned.
Yesterday, around 800 registrars across Australia and New Zealand sat the Royal Australasian College of Physicians‘ (RACP) Divisional Medical Physicians Exam, after eighteen months of study and thousands in costs, not to mention the emotional and physiological toll on themselves and their families.
It was the first time the RACP had conducted the exam via computers, employing the services of online exam software company Pearson Vue.
However, due to what the RACP is calling “an unknown technical fault” during the second half of the exam, every single candidate will now be forced to resit it.
“In order to be fair – [we] have determined that there will be an obligatory paper based re-sit of the exam for all candidates,” it said in a statement.
The cumulative cost of the exam is anywhere from $16,000 to $18,000, after course fees, mandatory resources, registration fees, plus accommodation and travel to courses and the exam itself are taken on board.
There’s also the huge emotional and psychological toll on doctors and their families as they undergo the training and study required. Several people had booked overseas holidays following the test to celebrate.
Devastated candidates are speaking of their shock, anger and disappointment at learning the exam they had worked so hard to complete counted for nothing. In a private Facebook group, one candidate described the thought of retaking the exam as “nauseating”, while another expressed her devastating at going “through hell for 18 months” only for it to end in “a day of distress.”
Many are concerned for the mental health of their fellow candidates.
It’s now emerged that doctors had been raising concerns about Pearson Vue and calling for a back-up plan for months should something go wrong with the test.
In a webinar held several weeks ago around the new format, RACP assured doctors they had a number of contingency plans in place for the exam.
“There are a number of different contingency plans that we have in place in case of computer failure or power outage – that has been worked through in partnership between the College and Pearson Vue, so that is something that we have considered and if there is any issue, rest assured that it will be handled swiftly,” an RACP employee said.
Pearson Vue has a history of problems, ranging from everything from tests being misplaced, misgraded, or even accidentally using the ‘real’ test as practice, forcing the class to retake the test.
P.TV understands that RACP ran into a similar issue – albeit on a much smaller scale – around six months ago with another Pearson Vue exam, where computers froze during an exam for registrars to become orthopaedics. RACP did not respond to a request for comment around that exam.
Doctors had been calling for a paper examination to be made available if the online exam failed. According to at least one candidate, RACP had spoken about back-up plans in a webinar prior to the exam. (Requests for comment around this issue were not returned, either.)
Many candidates and current physicians are astounded that no back-up plan in place to assist in case something went wrong. The RACP claims that it “explored all options” with the exam provider before choosing to call it off.
Candidates have also raised concerns with everything from total confusion at the beginning of the day to how they were informed of the unfolding situation.
Some of the 800-strong cohort had already finished the exam and were celebrating, while others still going were forced to sit in silence for up to two hours waiting for updates, only to be told via a slip of paper that the exam had been cancelled.
For many, the first word they received that they would be forced to resit the exam was shared by a RAPC via a private Facebook group, despite the fact that many of doctors didn’t even have a Facebook account.
“I’d finished the whole exam and was at the pub celebrating when a Facebook post from a College employee in a group I wasn’t a member of was shared with me saying I’d have to resit the exam,” said Dr. Steve Hurwitz on Twitter.
Internally, senior staff members of the RACP are furious with the handling of the exam.
Dr, Chris Elliott, a paediatrician and teacher at the University of New South Whales, shared a letter from a senior staff member to the board that he’d been CC’d on.
“I have never been as ashamed of being affiliated with the college of physicians as tonight,” the letter reads. “I have spent all evening counselling distressed medical registrars who have invested their entire life into the written exam only to have it cancelled today. In the face of medical registrar suicides, mental health problems in physician trainees and given the immense pressure that the written examination puts on trainees, how are you going to stop this disaster turning into another wave of suicides?”
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) of NSW described the exam failure as “a major issue” and said that it would be expressing very strong concerns to the RACP.
“The Alliance has also contacted the NSW Ministry of Health and requested that they advise Local Health Districts that the issue has occurred and that those impacted may be understandably distressed and may need support,” it said in a statement. “While we continue to address all of these issues, we want to remind everyone to take care of yourself and of your colleagues. If you know anyone who is involved, please take the time to make sure they are ok.”
RACP President Dr. Catherine Yelland has issued a further statement, personally apologising for the situation.
“I remember sitting the written exam in 1985 very clearly, and have some understanding of the stress before the exam which has now been extended,” she said.
She added that Pearson Vue – which P.TV was unable to get in contact with – has committed to providing a report within 24 hours, and that RAPC will be conducting a full enquiry.
Angry candidates have spoken about demanding refunds for their considerable financial losses, or of launching a class action. Others have called for those responsible for the exam, including the president and the chair of the exam committee, to step down.
But most of them are going straight back to work, even as they wait to hear of the date for their resit exam. “We will do this because we are caring, compassionate and hard-working people,” said Dr. Elisabeth Hatzistavrou, who sat yesterday’s exam, on Facebook. “There may be some of us who feel they are unable to continue to provide the high standard they expect o themselves under the current circumstances; to you I say please take some time to look after yourself. To everyone else I ask to please be kind to your colleagues and friends, this nay include stepping up and helping out because they are unable to safely return to work.”
If you are experiencing distress around this exam, please reach out to Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the AMA Peer Support service on 1300 853 338.
