MRCGP SCA Exam Week Checklist

Use this MRCGP SCA exam week checklist to make your final seven days smaller, not bigger. Stop broad revision and lock down three things: a repeatable consultation shape, safe management for common GP problems, and a room and IT setup that will not wobble on the day. The MRCGP Simulated Consultation Assessment has 12 simulated consultations, each with 3 minutes of reading time followed by a 12-minute consultation; some stations are telephone only, and physical examination is not assessed within the SCA.

In the last week, your job is not to sound encyclopaedic. It is to make the examiner believe you can gather the right data, build a safe working diagnosis, offer a realistic UK GP plan, and relate to the patient like a new independent GP. Each case is marked in three domains: data gathering and diagnosis, clinical management and medical complexity, and relating to others.

Why the final week matters

RCGP is explicit that there is no preferred consultation model and no script to follow. Cases come from a large bank mapped to the curriculum, exam days differ, and the blueprint spreads cases across broad clinical experience groups rather than a narrow set of predictable themes. The practical consequence is simple: do not spend exam week trying to guess the cases. Rehearse a flexible pattern that works in urgent care, mental health, prescribing, results, older adults, children, and professional dilemmas.

That matters even more because the August 2025 curriculum update did not change the structure or format of the SCA. So if you hear late rumours about a new format, treat them cautiously and verify with RCGP. Use the week to sharpen performance, not to rebuild your method.

The MRCGP SCA exam week checklist

7 to 5 days before

Spend the first half of the week on timed speaking, not passive reading. Run at least two proper mock viva blocks under pressure and score yourself case by case against the three marking domains. If you already have trainer feedback, look for repeated weaknesses rather than isolated bad cases; the RCGP consultation toolkit is built for this kind of structured review and RAG self-assessment with your trainer or educational supervisor.

A sensible final-week pattern is:

one video-heavy mock block
one telephone-heavy mock block
one urgent or unscheduled care case every day
one case that forces shared decision-making or a professional dilemma
a brief debrief after every case focused on what you would change next time

Telephone stations deserve separate practice. RCGP notes that some consultations are audio only, and the toolkit stresses that structure, signposting, and short summaries matter even more when you cannot rely on visual cues. If your audio cases sound abrupt or disjointed, slow down and tell the patient where you are in the consultation.

4 to 2 days before

Now trim your consultation down to what examiners need to hear. A useful internal sequence is: open and agenda set, focused data gathering, working diagnosis or differential, shared management, and safety net. That sequence maps well to the SCA domains without making you sound scripted.

For a 67-year-old with central chest pain, do not try to sound clever. Say early that you need to assess urgency, ask targeted red-flag questions, state the likely working diagnosis and important alternatives, explain the need for same-day emergency assessment if features suggest acute coronary syndrome, and tell the patient exactly what will happen next. In this exam you are not asked to perform a physical examination, so say what you would need to examine or check in real practice rather than pretending to do it.

In a telephone case about low mood, medication side effects, or a difficult result, signpost more than feels natural: 'Because I cannot see you, I am going to check a few things carefully, including safety.' Then check risk, function, patient concerns, and what support is around them before offering a plan. Audio stations reward clarity, not speed.

The last 24 hours

On the last day, stop hunting obscure guidelines. The clinical management toolkit is blunt about a common failure pattern: candidates who cannot manage conditions in line with up-to-date guidance and evidence, or who leave management so late that the plan becomes rushed and not patient-centred. Your final clinical revision should therefore be a short list of common GP plans you can say cleanly under pressure.

Keep that list practical. Think chest pain, headache red flags, abdominal pain, asthma flare, UTI, child fever, contraception, results, depression, safeguarding, and prescribing decisions. You are not trying to memorise a textbook. You are trying to sound safe, specific, and calm.

What strong answers sound like

Strong candidates do not just collect facts; they make the patient feel held while the examiner hears clear thinking. A reliable answer shape sounds like this: agenda, signpost, reason, plan, safety net. That mirrors the way the SCA domains and consultation toolkit expect you to organise your thinking.

Here are the sorts of lines that help:

'What were you hoping we could sort today?'
'I need to ask a few quick questions to judge how urgent this is.'
'My working diagnosis is X, but I also need to consider Y because...'
'My plan today is...'
'If X happens, seek urgent help; otherwise I want...'

Notice what is missing: long textbook monologues. The consultation overview places data gathering first, then management, while relating to others runs through the whole case. If you speak for two minutes on guidelines without involving the patient, you may sound knowledgeable but still underperform in the station.

Room, kit, and platform

Most avoidable final-week problems are logistical.

Check your surgery room early. It needs to be somewhere you can remain undisturbed, and RCGP asks that you have access to the surgery between 08:30 and 18:30 because sessions run in the morning or afternoon with rerun time built in.
Use one monitor only, disconnect any landline, clear clinical posters or guidance from the walls, and sort your lighting before the day.
Use a laptop or PC, not a tablet or mobile device. Osler Online is compatible through Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, and the required check should be done on the same device and in the same room you will use on the day. Testing a backup device is sensible too.
Bring valid government photo ID. You may have a phone on silent and out of reach, plus a whiteboard and marker and drinks or small snacks if permitted in the room; you may not use paper, notes, preparation materials, or personal recording devices.
From September 2024, access to the BNF is not permitted during the SCA. Do not build your confidence around looking things up.
If you are in the afternoon session, exam conditions start as soon as you log in because of the quarantine period. If a qualifying technical disruption happens, reruns are used at the end of the session, so tell the invigilator promptly rather than trying to battle through in silence.

The night before, pack your ID, check the room once more, and stop. A tired candidate with five extra facts is usually weaker than a rested candidate with a clean structure.

Common mistakes

These are the failure patterns I would actively try to avoid in the final week:

sounding memorised when RCGP makes clear there is no preferred script or model
taking a long history and then rushing the management plan into the last few seconds
offering a plan that is not realistic or feasible in current NHS general practice
forgetting to explain why you are changing direction or asking sensitive questions, especially on telephone stations
repeating questions because you are thinking ahead instead of listening
relying on paper notes, pen and paper, or BNF access that will not be available on the day
neglecting the patient perspective and giving a generic plan with little shared understanding

Practice workflow

Keep your rehearsal loop tight. The RCGP toolkit recommends using the consultation overview and RAG self-assessment with your trainer or educational supervisor, then focusing first on the red tasks that recur. That is exactly what you want in exam week: short cycles, fast feedback, visible improvement.

A simple mock viva loop looks like this:

run 3 timed cases
self-score each case against the three domains
get 5 minutes of trainer, peer, or supervisor feedback
repeat only the opening 90 seconds and final 60 seconds of the weakest case
write down one behaviour to fix tomorrow

AI role-play can help with fluency and volume of practice, but do not let it replace human debrief. For this exam, your best last-week feedback still comes from someone who can tell you whether your plan sounds safe, workable in UK general practice, and person-centred.

Summary

Build one flexible consultation shape rather than a rigid script.
Make management and safety-netting visible before the final minute.
Rehearse telephone cases with extra signposting and summaries.
Lock down the room, browser, device check, and allowed items before the day.
Walk in aiming to sound safe, clear, and person-centred, not exhaustive.

MRCGP SCA Exam Week Checklist

Why the final week matters

The MRCGP SCA exam week checklist

7 to 5 days before

4 to 2 days before

The last 24 hours

What strong answers sound like

Room, kit, and platform

Common mistakes

Practice workflow

Summary

References

Practice Family Medicine with a live AI examiner

Why the final week matters

The MRCGP SCA exam week checklist

7 to 5 days before

4 to 2 days before

The last 24 hours

What strong answers sound like

Room, kit, and platform

Common mistakes

Practice workflow

Summary

References

Related guides

Practice Family Medicine with a live AI examiner