The Royal Australasian College of Physicians is Australia’s largest (non-GP) specialist training college for physicians and paediatricians. The College has two Divisions - Adult Medicine, and Paediatrics & Child Health. It provides Basic Training Programs and Advanced Training Programs across 33 specialties. See their list of Fellowship Training Pathways here.
RACP trainees need to complete the Divisional Clinical Examination (DCE), which assesses clinical and interpersonal skills and determines if trainees have reached Basic Training standards. This article explores key dates for the 2024 Adult Medicine DCE and analyses past DCE pass rates and attendance numbers from 2016 – 2023.
2024 Divisional Clinical Exam (DCE) for Adult Medicine, delivery format:
The 2024 DCE for Adult Medicine will consist of 2 Long Cases and 4 Short Cases, held face-to-face on the same day.
2024 Divisional Clinical Exam (DCE) Key Dates:
|
Key dates |
Australia |
Aotearoa New Zealand |
|
Application opening date |
10 am AEDT, Friday, 15 March 2024 |
10 am NZDT, Friday, 15 March 2024 |
|
Application closing date |
5 pm AEDT, Monday, 25 March 2024 |
5 pm NZDT, Monday, 25 March 2024 |
|
Exam date |
Friday, 7 June to Sunday, 23 June 2024 Saturday, 29 June to Sunday, 30 June 2024 |
Friday, 7 June to Sunday, 9 June 2024 |
|
Results release |
Week commencing Monday, 8 July 2024 |
Week commencing on Monday, 24 June 2024 |
|
Special Consideration Key Dates |
||
|
Pre-examination applications close |
5 pm AEDT, Monday, 25 March 2024. Refer to Appendix A of the Special Consideration for Assessment Policy. |
5 pm NZDT, Monday, 25 March 2024. Refer to Appendix A of the Special Consideration for Assessment Policy. |
|
Exam day/post-examination applications close |
5 pm AEST, 5 business days from your exam date. Applications for technical and procedural issues. |
5 pm NZST, 5 business days from your exam date. Applications for technical and procedural issues. |
Source: https://www.racp.edu.au/trainees/examinations/divisional-clinical-examination/adult-medicine-dce
Past Divisional Clinical Exam (DCE) results for Adult Medicine, 2016 – 2023:
The RACP publishes pass rates for past DCEs, which helps to indicate how many trainees successfully pass the DEC each year.
|
Year and division |
Sat |
Passed |
% Passed |
|
2023 Adult Medicine |
792 |
606 |
76.6% |
|
2022 Adult Medicine |
933 |
687 |
73.6% |
|
2021 Adult Medicine |
831 |
681 |
81.9% |
|
2020 Adult Medicine |
874 |
695 |
79.5% |
|
2019 Adult Medicine |
762 |
531 |
69.7% |
|
2018 Adult Medicine |
905 |
640 |
70.7% |
|
2017 Adult Medicine |
743 |
521 |
70.1% |
|
2016 Adult Medicine |
747 |
546 |
73.1% |
Source: https://www.racp.edu.au/trainees/examinations/divisional-clinical-examination/divisional-clinical-past-examination-results > Australia > Adult Medicine.
When we look at the last 8 years, the average % Pass Rate is 73.78%. Interestingly, the last 4 years (2019-2023) have seen an above-average pass rate of 77.90%, while the 4 years prior (2016-2019), saw a below-average pass rate of 69.67%. This means, in the last 4 years, more trainees are successfully passing the DCE for Adult Medicine.
