PACES - a history of the exam at K&C

The PACES team show off their commemorative plaque

K&C has been involved in post-graduate clinical examinations on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians for more than twenty-five years. The exam has since been renamed PACES (Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills).

Junior doctors wishing to pursue a career in medicine and related specialties need to pass a multiple-choice and written paper test before being assessed in their clinical and patient management skills. When passed, these colleagues may apply for registrar posts in their chosen specialty.

Dr Ian Roberts, Consultant General Physician and Immunologist, was the first to bring the exam to Canterbury in the 1980s, with Andrew Johnson, Consultant Chest Physician, following on as lead examiner. That was until the baton was passed on to Dr Jonathan Potter, Consultant Physician with an interest in Stroke Medicine. More recently, Frank Muller has taken over the role and Dr Ramin Baghai-Ravary, Consultant Chest Physician has been recruited to the team.

Mrs Sandra Lines, now retired from the post graduate centre, was a stalwart supporting the exam over many years. More recently, Mrs Danielle Bruce has been in charge of the administration and running of the exam (and has at times had to stand in as a patient surrogate when we were short of patients!). Danielle is now very well supported by our newest recruit from the Post Grad centre, Miss Lisa Evans.

The post-graduate catering team Helen Jemmett, Natalie Jemmett and Hayley Johnstone, have looked after the examinees, patients and examiners nutritional needs and Jackie Holness and Lisa Fleetney have supported the care of patients over the examination period.

The exam was ably supported by the four of our registrars – Drs Soad Elkady, Medha Kanitkar, Sithu King-Maung and Vikram Baines.

The most recent examination took place in the Dolphin Paediatric Centre on Saturday and Sunday 9/10 June. Examiners came from both our own Trust and from around the country. The senior visiting examiner, Dr Mike Irani (once an SHO in Canterbury in the 1970s), presented a commemorative plaque to the Canterbury PACES team on behalf of the College as a thank-you for the work put in on behalf of the Royal College of Physicians.

The exam will next take place in Canterbury in June 2019.

For more information about PACES, visit https://www.mrcpuk.org/mrcpuk-examinations/paces