Membership MCAI
Membership CAI Examination
Who is eligible for the Membership CAI MCQ?
Any medical practitioner with a primary medical qualification acceptable to the Irish Medical Council (IMC) will be eligible to sit the MCAI MCQ Examination and has been employed as an anaesthetist for 6 months, prior to the date of the particular exam applied for.
For a list of acceptable qualifications please see here: http://avicenna.ku.dk/database/medicine
What is the structure of the exam?
The MCQ paper is made up of four papers. The following changes to the Membership (MCAI) examination will be introduced on a phased basis between January 2018 and January 2019:
-
Paper
Jan 2018
June 2018
Sept 2018
Jan 2019
1 to 3
90 x MTF – 3 hours
90 x MTF – 3 hours
90 x MTF – 3 hours
90 x MTF – 3 hours
4
40 x SBA – 1.5 hours
40 x SBA- 1.5 hours
40 x SBA- 1.5 hours
50 x SBA- 2 hours
-
MTF=Multiple Choice True/False questions. 1 Question= 5 responses
- SBA=Single Best Answer questions. 1 Question =1 response
-
Is there negative marking?
One mark is awarded for each correct answer. Negative marking is not used in the MCAI MCQ i.e. a mark will not be lost for an incorrect answer. A question booklet and an optical mark sheet will be provided to record your answers; Candidates who make ambiguous marks on their optically read sheet will not be given the benefit of the doubt.
How long is the result valid for?
A pass in the MCQ is valid for 6 attempts towards the OSCE/SOE.
The successful candidate’s exam numbers are published on the College website within 3 weeks of the examination.
All candidates receive their results by post.
What are the eligibility criteria for the MCAI Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) and the Structured Oral Examination (SOE)?
An individual is eligible to sit the MCAI OSCE/SOE who fulfils the following criteria:
Is a medical practitioner with a primary medical qualification acceptable to the Irish Medical Council (IMC) will be eligible to sit the OSCE/SOE. Is registered with the Irish Medical Council or other national medical registration body.
- Has been employed as an anaesthetists for 12 months, prior to the date of the particular exam applied for.
· Has been successful in the MCAI MCQ.
If successful in the Membership exam can I work in Ireland?
No. You must be registered with the Irish Medical Council to work in Ireland. The CAI cannot help with this process. The IMC can be contacted at http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/
If successful in the Membership exam can I join the CAI training programme?
No. You must be registered with the Irish Medical Council to work in Ireland. The CAI cannot help with this process. The IMC can be contacted at http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/ Applications open in Autumn for posts in July. Please visit our website www.anaesthesia.ie/training for information on how to apply for the training programme.
Do I need to be in a training post to sit the Membership exam?
You do not need to be in a training post. You must be employed as an anaesthetist for 12 months prior to your exam application.
I passed the Primary/OQE examination; can I use MCAI after my name?
Anyone successful in the Primary/OQE FCAI from 1998 onwards is eligible to apply for the award of MCAI. You must be conferred before you can use the post nominal MCAI.
I have an exempting qualification (e.g FCPS) for the Final FCAI, can I be awarded the MCAI?
No. The MCAI is awarded by examination only.
Structure Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
The OSCEs are held twice a year in Dublin and once a year in our overseas centres in Muscat, Oman and Perdana, Malaysia.
You can apply online for this exam here
Who is Eligible?
An individual is eligible to sit the MCAI OSCE/SOE who fulfils the following criteria:
Is a medical practitioner with a primary medical qualification acceptable to the Irish Medical Council (IMC) will be eligible to sit the OSCE/SOE.
Is registered with the Irish Medical Council or other national medical registration body.
Has been employed as an anaesthetists for 12 months, prior to the date of the particular exam applied for.
Has been successful in the MCAI MCQ.
Structure of Exam
Structure Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE):
The OSCE comprises up to 18 stations in approximately 2 hours (5 minutes per station) this includes 1 rest station and 2 pilot stations.
The OSCE includes the following topics: resuscitation, technical skills, anatomy, history taking, physical examination, communication skills, anaesthetic equipment, monitoring equipment, measuring equipment, anaesthetic hazards, clinical anaesthesia, airway management scenarios and management of critical incidents, interpretation of radiological images, ECGs and biochemistry/haematology results.
Marking Scheme:
Each station is marked out of 20.
The pass mark for a station is 12.
Up to two additional stations may be included in an examination to pilot new questions for use in future examinations.
Neither the candidates nor the examiners will know which stations are pilot stations and the results from these stations will not contribute to the candidate’s final mark.
Structured Oral Examination (SOE):
The SOEs are conducted over a 25 minute period with 2 examiners in each subject
Each SOE consists of 5 x 5 minute sections
25 minutes comprising four questions in pharmacology and one question in physics
25 minutes comprising four questions in physiology and one question on clinical measurement
Marking Scheme:
Each SOE is marked independently by two examiners
The minimum grades necessary to pass the examination are: 3, 3, 2.
A candidate who obtains a 1 in any part of the examination will receive an outright fail in the examination.
Is there a Preparation Course?
The preparation course is designed to prepare candidates for the OSCE/SOE section of the Membership examination in Clinical Skills and Scholarship.
This is a Consultant led course giving trainees SOE and OSCE practice for the examination
It takes place approximately 2 to 3 weeks before the exam.
The course application forms will not be available until approximately a week after the exam application date has opened.
Application forms for the course can be downloaded from the attachment provided here
Please see timetable for exam application opening dates for OSCEs https://anaesthesia.ie/index.php/examinations/timetable-a-fees
Please note that closing dates are indicative, as course will close when full.
Exam Resources:
Here we have compiled a number of resources trainees have found useful for the MCAI and a number of optional exams that you may sit during training. We hope this helps a little with your initial preparation for exams:
Pharamacology for Anaesthesia and Intensive Care – Peck, Hill **Essential**
Basic Physics and Measurement – Kenny
Essentials of Anaesthetic Equipment – Al-Shaikh **Essential**
Respiratory Physiology – West
The Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Anaesthesia: Practice Papers for Teachers and Trainees – Mendonca, Balasubramanian
The Physiology VIVA- Kerry Brandis (Australian book, need to order online http://www.anaesthesiamcq.com/vivabook.php) **Highly Recommended**
Dr Podcast Scripts for the Primary FRCA – Leslie, Johnson
Q Base Anaesthesia Series – for MCQs
Websites
http://www.wfsahq.org/resources/anaesthesia-tutorial-of-the-week
http://www.frca.co.uk/default.aspx
http://www.dr-podcast.co.uk/podcasts.php?id=2
http://www.anaesthesiamcq.com/AcidBaseBook/ABindex.php
http://cvphysiology.com/index.html
Question banks