The online practice exams are a series of progress tests for General Practice (GP) Registrars.
The software is designed to assist in medical exam preparation and focuses on building the awareness, confidence and exam-taking skills of doctors-in-training.
The progress tests are formatted in a similar way to medical examinations, with each set of tests consisting of multiple-choice questions, extended match question and clinical scenarios.
The multiple choice question activities include 30 scenario-based questions with a selection of five possible answers. Registrars are presented with a hypothetical clinical case study and asked common questions to determine diagnosis and/or treatment.
The Extended Match Question activities are multiple-choice questions with an extended range of 12 possible answers. Registrars are presented with a set of 30 medical case studies and asked common questions around diagnosis and treatment.
In the Clinical Scenario activities Registrars are asked to answer questions related to seven clinical scenarios. This allows Registrars to consider the depth of their knowledge and clinical reasoning. The questions are designed for learners to prioritise their answers rather than writing everything they can think of.
The tests help Registrars identify their strengths as well as gaps in learning, giving them an opportunity to reflect on their progress.
Within the multiple-choice question activities, the learner is asked to weight each of the five answers according to the likelihood of it being correct. The multiple-choice options are sometimes all possible but some are more likely or correct than others. The ability to weight the likelihood of each option gives a more nuanced insight into the learner’s knowledge strengths and gaps.
For both multiple-choice and extended match questions, Registrars are asked to rate their confidence in the answer they have selected. This confidence measure is an important part of exam technique and supported learning. The learner can review their confidence scores at the end of each activity, which provides further insight into their knowledge strengths and gaps.
Registrars are provided with immediate feedback and references related to the question they have answered to assist them with further study as required.
On submission of their clinical scenario answers, Registrars are given the opportunity to write brief reflective notes on what they have learned from their answers and the feedback provided.
The simple interface includes a progress bar with indicators of correct / incorrect answers at the top of the screen. Registrars can easily see where they are up to and how they are going in the tests.
The progress testing software sends a detailed record of the Registrar’s interactions and answers to the client’s LMS. The data can be extracted for medical educators to gauge their students’ progress and provide assistance where it is needed most.
The progress testing software was developed for General Practice Training Queensland (GPTQ) to support GP Registrars in the successful completion of their College assessment requirements.
GPTQ has rolled out the Online Practice Exams over the last three years with over 1000 tests completed. Medical educators have found the data captured by the software very helpful in determining which topics require more attention.
