9 March 2023
The British Medical Association has announced industrial action by junior doctors between 13 and 15 March 2023. The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association have also announced industrial action by junior doctors between 13 and 16 March 2023.
The College is holding an FRCEM SBA examination on 15 March 2023 and an MRCEM OSCE examination in Malaysia from 13 to 17 March 2023. These examinations will go ahead as planned, this has been discussed with the Exams Sub-Committee and Education Committee, Heads of School attending the Training Standards Committee (TSC) and with our Emergency Medicine Trainees’ Association (EMTA).
Examination dates are planned months in advance and cannot be easily moved. In this case, almost 700 candidates are booked into the upcoming FRCEM SBA examination with many of those being international candidates. We negotiate examination dates with our delivery partner Pearson VUE to ensure that, wherever possible, no other major examinations are taking place on the same date and as such it would not be possible to rearrange the examination date at short notice.
The College supports our members’ individual right to take industrial action as appropriate.
Any member taking industrial action will still be able to sit their examination if they choose.
Candidates who wish to take industrial action and choose not to sit the FRCEM SBA examination should email exams@rcem.ac.uk to withdraw by Monday 13 March 2023 at 10:00AM.
Any candidate who withdraws from the FRCEM SBA examination to take part in industrial action will receive a full refund and will be able to reapply at a later date.
Members have the individual right to take industrial action and withdraw from their examination without fear of consequence, penalty or cost.
Members who are not taking industrial action but who are either required to or choose to work on emergency cover may also withdraw from the examination by Monday 13 March 2023 at 10:00AM and receive a full refund.
There are no examiners involved in the upcoming FRCEM SBA examination and the upcoming MRCEM OSCE examination in Malaysia will be unaffected by these strikes.
If any candidates have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch by emailing exams@rcem.ac.uk.
