Hospital joins respected cohort of organisations offering prestigious examination

THE Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) has been selected to join a respected cohort of organisations offering a prestigious examination for trainee doctors.

A dedicated team from across the hospital delivered the Royal Colleges of Physicians Practical Assessment of Clinical Examination Skills (PACES) exam for the first time at the Princess Alexandra Hospital on 16 and 17 November.

The candidates – 15 on each of the days – travelled from locations across the world to complete the examination. It is designed to test the clinical knowledge and skills of trainee doctors who hope to enter specialist training.

The exam sets rigorous standards to ensure that trainees are competent across a range of skills and ready to provide a high standard of care to patients. Approximately 60 patients with a variety of conditions for the trainees to diagnose also attended to help with the practical scenarios.

Teams from across the hospital supported the planning and delivery of the PACES exam, including the medical education, library, outpatients and clinical team. The host clinician was Dr Ranjna Garg, consultant in endocrinology (pictured, left, with colleagues preparing for the examination), and two of the 11 examiners were PAHT doctors, Dr Muthiah, consultant in care of the elderly, and Dr Abu Bakar, consultant in sexual health medicine.

Margaret Short, medical education manager, said: “It was fantastic to be able to offer this prestigious and well-respected exam to candidates from across the UK as well as overseas destinations such as Dubai.

“We aim to be a centre of excellence for medical education, and we are proud to have delivered the PACES exam at our hospital.”

Andy Morris, chief medical officer, said: “The PACES exam is a milestone in a clinician’s career, with success qualifying them to work as medical registrars.
“Medical registrars are vital to providing effective care to patients and we are delighted to have supported trainees to achieve this qualification.”