The medical industry loves a good acronym, and so we are delighted to see another one join the list this year: CAAKT. It stands for the Candidate Assessment Applied Knowledge Test, and if you’re applying for GP training towards an RACGP fellowship, then you need to know more than just what the letters stand for. The CAAKT is a two-and-half hour exam which includes a knowledge test with clinical knowledge questions, and a situational judgment test that assesses your judgment in a variety of topic areas such as ethics, morals, legal issues and professionalism. Both tests are a multiple choice format. OK, have you got your head around the new acronym? Great, now you’re ready to read our tips for doing your best at CAAKT. 1. Know the date. It’s inflexible The CAAKT will be held on Saturday, 22 July Australia-wide. This is the only day to attend the selection test this year so if you can’t make it, you will need to apply for the 2019 intake. 2. Book your place early to get your preferred time and location You need to book a place online to sit the exam. Venues and times will be made available soon through RACGP’s website and will also be emailed to candidates. Check your email regularly because the sooner you book in, the better the chances you can select your preferred location and time. Those emails are likely to be distributed in the first week of July. The CAAKT will be held in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Gold Coast, Hobart, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and Townsville. 3. Check out RACGP’s resources RACGP recommends reading page 21 of their selection guide to prepare for the CAAKT. This page outlines the competencies required to be a GP, such as communication skills, and how to apply your professional knowledge. You can find more information on these competencies in this 11-page document: RACGP Competency Profile of the Australian General Practitioner. It’s a valuable study resource for your preparation. It will help you consider a range of factors in your responses, such as the cost of treatment, involving patients in decision-making, and respecting patient confidentiality. RACGP also has a few CAAKT example questions. They show you the types of questions to expect in both the knowledge test and the situational judgement test. The RACGP states in their FAQs: ‘questions do not focus on a broad range of medical knowledge, but specifically on acute emergency situations and potentially serious conditions.’ 4. Practise situational judgement test questions The situational judgement test (SJT) assesses your judgement in a range of professional scenarios, often with a focus on ethics, morals, legal issues, and professionalism. Since the CAAKT is an entirely new assessment run by the RACGP, we are unable to comment on how it may compare to previous SJT assessments run by AGPT. However, it may still be worth checking out example SJT questions. There are many online resources, such as this one from the British Medical Journal. Apparently, there’s no evidence that practising SJT questions makes a difference to your performance. Despite this, many candidates like to practise them anyway. 5. Read questions carefully Under duress, we can jump into answering without taking a moment to read and consider the question thoroughly. Make sure you read the questions and instructions carefully and understand them. 6. Stay cool Stress is a normal hormonal response that spurs us into action. The trick is turning your stress into a positive force rather than letting it overwhelm you. By now, you know the drill on how to manage stress but there’s no harm in a little reminder. Move your body. Eat well. Keep social. Meditate. Get enough sleep.
