Candidates
97 candidates appeared for the oral section, held over 2 days in October. Candidates are required to attempt both components on the first occasion, but if they are successful at one component, are required to resit only the failed component. Of the 97 candidates, 13 had a prior pass in the OSCE section and 15 had a prior pass in the SOE section.
OSCE
The OSCE had 84 candidates, of which 54% passed. Of the 15 candidates who had previously passed the SOE, 33% passed the OSCE. The pass mark for this section is set by the OSCE sub-group of examiners, using Angoff referencing for each question. The pass marks for each of the OSCE papers were 163, 163, 160 (each out of a maximum of 240).
SOE
82 candidates appeared for the SOE, with a pass rate of 74%. Of the 13 candidates who had previously passed the OCSE, 85% passed the SOE on this occasion. The pass mark was set using borderline regression, with the Hofstee method used to cross-reference the result. The pass mark was 25/32.
Overall
Overall, 51.6% of 97 candidates passed the examination and achieved the Fellowship of Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine. This compares to a 60% pass rate in March 2019.
