Australasian College of Physicians apologises to 1,200 trainee doctors in Australia and New Zealand after online test fail

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians has conceded it did not have a complete backup plan for a crucial trainee doctor exam that crashed while being held online for the first time.

Hundreds of trainee doctors will have to resit the exam, even if they managed to complete it before a “technical glitch” kicked participants out of the online test on Monday.

In exam centres across Australia and New Zealand about 1,200

trainees, or registrars, sat the basic training written exam, which is a requirement to enter a specialist area of medicine, but a “technical fault” left a number of them locked out and unable to complete the second half.

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All will now be required to take a paper-based exam on 2 March, at no extra cost.

The exam itself costs more than $1,800 to sit and requires intensive study, often performed around hospital shifts. As well as the exam fee and other related costs of studying medicine, the trainee doctors also pay about $3,000 a year to be members of the college.

The test was administered by computer-based test developer Pearson Vue, which has experienced errors in the past, Pedestrian reported.

In a webinar earlier this month, those taking the exam were informed there were “a number of different contingency measures” in place should the system fail.

However, according to the college president, Dr Catherine Yelland, the extent of the backup plan appears to have been the preparation of an alternative paper exam. No backup date for a resit had been prepared, even though “it wasn’t possible to have a written exam in place at the same place,” she said

She thanked staff for reorganising a new exam date within 24 hours, and said all 1,200 trainees would be contacted personally on Wednesday.

“I think we need to understand 1,200 people sit the exam across the whole of Australia. The logistics of reorganising it are complex.”

The college has apologised but has said it can’t accept papers from those who managed to finish it before the glitch.

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“Many of us have had to put important life events on hold, sacrificed our time with family and put social events on hold. We followed all of the stringent college requirements, paid close to 5K in fees, not to mention study courses etc ” wrote one student on the college’s Facebook page.

“To then be told that because of no fault of our own we will have to resit the exam again, with no acknowledgment of today’s results is a very hard to swallow and extremely demoralising.”

Trainee doctors, senior physicians and medical organisations have expressed concern at the impact the incident will have on the mental health of affected registrars, who spent up to two years studying for the exam.

A NSW-based trainee told the Guardian she felt “broken” and in limbo after “running on empty” for almost 18 months preparing for the exam.

She said they were given little information at the Sydney CBD testing centre where she sat the exam, and were at one point “quarantined” in a room under exam conditions because of concerns those who had finished the exam elsewhere were calling colleagues.

She was among many to have booked annual leave and holidays in anticipation of completing the exam, and was now rescheduling hospital shifts.

“I’ve said no to weddings, to friend’s birthdays, I have a sick grandmother I haven’t seen because I have been studying for this exam. That was the purpose of flying next week.”

Since the exam’s cancellation, directors at individual hospitals had been “fantastic” in their support, but the college had responded inadequately to student distress and mental health, she said.

“Everyone is devastated,” she said. “I’m very lucky I have a good network of friends and family to count on.”

Yelland said the college understood trainee doctors had a lot of stresses and the exam cancellation had added another.

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“We’re very aware of the distress of the trainees… and our first priority is that they want some certainty about what happens now.”

She said they had access to a counselling line, and that hospital directors were quickly fully informed. They also had friends, family, and a trainee Facebook group for further support, she said.

The NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association told Pedestrian it had requested the state’s health department advise local health districts of the incident and that those affected “may be understandably distressed and may need support”.

“If you know anyone who is involved, please take the time to make sure they are OK.”

Other doctors have raised the issue of high rates of mental illness and suicide among medical students and trainees and called on the college to contract emergency psychologists to assist students.

Chris Elliot (@drcelliot) For any trainee who doubts the ability of senior staff to get really angry on their behalf - this is a copy of an email just sent to the College that I was cc'd into: pic.twitter.com/fEoxQ358EV

• Crisis support services can be reached 24 hours a day: Lifeline 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467; Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800; MensLine Australia 1300 78 99 78; Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636