Abstract
Who’s it for?
The Diploma of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (DRCOG) is a recognised qualification for any doctor keen to demonstrate their knowledge and interest in women’s health (Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists [RCOG], 2020a). Along with the Diploma of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Health (DFSRH), this qualification is especially useful for GPs wanting to work as GPs with extended roles (GPwER) in women’s health.
When did you do it?
I sat the DRCOG exam a few months into my second year as a GP specialist trainee (GPST2), after my 6-month obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) rotation. It took me 3–4 months to prepare for the exam.
Why did you do it?
As someone who thoroughly enjoyed my O&G rotation and recently completed the DFSRH, I wanted to consolidate my knowledge in the women’s health component of the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and boost my CV. It also made sense to complete the DRCOG while the knowledge was still fresh in my mind.
How much effort was it?
As a GP trainee in the midst of preparing for the AKT, I found the content and level of difficulty of the DRCOG to be very similar to the AKT. It helped that as of 2020, the DRCOG consists entirely of single best answer (SBA) format to questions with no extended match questions (RCOG, 2020b), similar to the format of the AKT.
In addition, the DRCOG is the only Royal College qualification not requiring an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) component. Attainment is after passing a single SBA exam costing £476 (RCOG, 2020b). This makes the DRCOG the most cost-effective and convenient way to add accredited post-nominal qualifications and signals additional expertise in women’s health. For any GP trainee who has done O&G recently, wanting to cultivate a special interest in women’s health, sitting this exam is an obvious step to take.
Is there an exam?
As of 2020, there is a single 3-hour exam consisting of 120 SBAs (RCOG, 2020b). The exam is held twice a year, in spring (April) and autumn (October), and costs £476 (RCOG, 2020c). The exam is marked using a modified Angoff method and the pass mark for my sitting was 59%, but the pass mark generally ranges from 60–70%, depending on the difficulty (RCOG, 2020b).
Is there a course?
There is an optional 1-day DRCOG online revision course developed and run by DRCOG examiners remotely, and costs £201 (RCOG, 2020d). I attended the online course on Microsoft Teams, which was held 1 month before the DRCOG exam. It was an intense course with a challenging pre-course mock exam of 30 SBA questions followed by 6 hours of live teaching interspersed with at least 70 practice questions on the day itself. The course covered all the key curriculum topics with a particular focus on discussions about how the correct answers were derived. I found this very useful as it exposed my weak areas that I had previously neglected. It also woke me up to the fact that the exam was not as easy as I thought. In addition, the course being online made it convenient to attend, and recordings were provided after the course for attendees, which I found helpful.
Top tip
Take the exam during or right after your O&G rotation while your knowledge is still fresh. In addition to doing practice questions, be sure to pay attention to common guidelines. It will make your life a lot easier.
Contact for further information
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, 10–18 Union St, London SE1 1SZ. www.rcog.org.uk. Tel: 020 7772 6200.
Was it worth it?
Yes! Besides giving me a goal to work towards during my 6 months of O&G, the DRCOG allowed me to effectively cover the women’s health component of the AKT, giving me a much-needed morale boost for my AKT preparation.
