What happens in the MRCGP SCA exam

The Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA) is 12 consultations with trained role-players, each lasting 12 minutes after 3 minutes of reading time, sat online from a local GP surgery. Some cases are video consultations and some are telephone (audio only), with a 10-minute break after the first six. Each case is recorded and marked later by a different examiner in three domains, and the result depends on the aggregated mark across all 12 cases.

Checked against the official sources on 24 September 2026.

The parts, in order

How it is marked

Each case is marked by a different examiner (12 in all) after the exam day, and each examiner marks the same case throughout the exam. Each case is marked in three domains - data gathering and diagnosis, clinical management and medical complexity, and relating to others - each graded clear pass, pass, fail or clear fail against the standard of a newly qualified, independent GP; the clinical management and medical complexity domain is weighted more heavily than the other two. Overall marks are reported out of 126.

Passing

The result is based on the aggregated mark for the 12 cases, and candidates do not have to pass a certain number of stations. Examiners also judge overall performance in each case, and this is used to set each case's pass mark by borderline regression, so there is no fixed pass mark for each case.

Worth knowing

• Candidates are eligible to sit the SCA from ST3 onwards.
• The RCGP runs nine sittings of the SCA a year.
• The SCA permanently replaced the Recorded Consultation Assessment (RCA), which had temporarily replaced the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sources

• MRCGP: Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA) (RCGP)
• Introducing the SCA (RCGP)
• SCA Examination Day Guide (RCGP)
• Marking and results for the SCA (RCGP)
• MRCGP regulations: Marking and results (RCGP)
• Applying for the SCA (RCGP)