Phase 2 | RANZCR

Health Professionals & Consumers

The information on the Phase 2 Examinations in this section refers to the Phase 2 Examinations as applicable to trainees who will be commencing the training program from February 2022. Trainees transitioning into the Training Program 2022 must refer to transition arrangements information provided to them and also available within The Clinical Radiology Learning Outcomes.

Eligibility & More on Phase 2 Exams 2023

For clarity on terms used in this section:

The College plans to facilitate two examination sittings per year, each sitting is considered an opportunity.
When a trainee first registers and sits for an examination, this is deemed as a first opportunity and counts towards an overall maximum of six consecutive opportunities.
Once a trainee commences sitting the Phase 2 Examinations, not sitting at an opportunity is considered a missed opportunity and is counted towards the maximum of six consecutive opportunities.

The Phase 2 Examinations include:

Pathology Examination
Clinical Radiology Examinations, made up of:

- MCQ Examination
- Case Reporting Examination

Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Radiology (OSCER).

Trainees must successfully pass the Pathology Examination and the Clinical Radiology Examinations (collectively, ‘the Phase 2 Written Examinations’) before they can present to sit the OSCER examination.

Trainees may apply to sit both the Pathology Examination and Clinical Radiology Examinations together or independent of each other. For clarity, the MCQ Examination and the Case Reporting Examination (which together form the Clinical Radiology Examinations), must be sat together.

In order to successfully complete the Phase 2 Examinations, trainees are provided with six consecutive examination opportunities from the commencement of their first sitting, in Phase 2 of training, with a maximum of three consecutive opportunities for each examination.

Pathology Written Examinations – maximum three opportunities
Clinical Radiology Written Examinations – maximum three opportunities
OSCERS – maximum three opportunities

This rule will start from a trainee’s first sitting in Phase 2 of training and applies regardless of the trainee’s FTE status. Not sitting an opportunity is considered and recorded as a missed opportunity unless the trainee is on College approved remediation or interrupted training or has been approved by the College to defer or withdraw from the examination under the Consideration of Special Circumstances Policy.

Once an examination has been successfully passed, only the remaining examinations need to be completed. For example, if a trainee fails one of the two Clinical Radiology Written Examinations (either the MCQ Examination or the Case Reporting Examination), they are only required to sit that failed examination at their next opportunity.

Trainees who are unable to successfully pass the ‘Phase 2 Written Examinations’ within the stipulated maximum number of opportunities, will not be able to present for the OSCER examination and will be withdrawn from the training program.

Trainees who are deemed to have been unable to successfully pass the OSCER examination within the stipulated maximum number of opportunities will be withdrawn from the training program.

For more information on Phase 2 Examinations refer to:

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for the Phase 2 Examinations candidates must be:

within Phase 2 of training (at time of sitting the examination),
be a trainee in a RANZCR accredited training position,
a financial member of the College.

All Phase 2 Written Examinations must be successfully completed before a trainee is eligible to present for the OSCER.

For more information on eligibility refer to RANZCRs Clinical Radiology Handbook.

Phase 2 Written Examinations

Examination Format and Structure

The Phase 2 Written Examinations include:

Pathology Examination
Clinical Radiology Examinations
- MCQ Examination
- Case Reporting Examination

Pathology Examination

One three-hour examination to assess trainee’s core and advanced knowledge of pathology as applied to current radiological practice.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

100 Qs, worth 1 mark per question

Short Answer Questions (SAQs)

10 SAQs, worth 6 marks per question. There will be two general questions and one question per topic area.

Clinical Radiology Examination

MCQ Examination

One two-hour examination to assess trainee’s core and advanced knowledge of diagnostic radiology as applied to current radiological practice.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

100 MCQs, worth 1 mark per question

Case Reporting Examination

One three-hour examination to assess trainee’s competencies in perception, interpretation, diagnosis and communication via the written report.

Short Cases

20 questions, worth 3 marks per question

Medium Cases

10 questions, worth 6 marks per question

Long Cases

5 questions, worth 12 marks per question

Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Radiology

Examination Format and Structure

The OSCER is a capstone assessment to assess the trainee’s competence to practice autonomously as a clinical radiologist, incorporating clinical reasoning, clinical judgement, medical skills and knowledge as well as broader intrinsic roles including communication and professionalism.

There will be seven OSCER stations across seven topic areas. The stations are:

Abdominal
Neuroradiology/Head and Neck
Thoracic and Cardiovascular
Breast
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Musculoskeletal
Paediatrics

Each question is mapped to one of the following domains:

Intrinsic Roles
Observation
Interpretation
Management
Pathology
Anatomy
AIT/ Patient Safety

There will be 25 minutes for each station, with 8-10 cases per station. The number of cases will be dependent on the topic area, modality and complexity. Trainees have three consecutive opportunities at the OSCERs.

For more information refer to: The Clinical Radiology Handbook

Preparing for Part 2 Examinations

Demonstration Site and Online Practice Exam (OPE):

The RANZCR Clinical Radiology Written Examinations are now being delivering on a new digital platform. The instructional video below should be watched by all candidates before practicing on the accompanying demonstration site. It is essential that candidates watch the video and familarise themselves with the new platform on the demonstration site before attempting the examination.

Candidates should be aware the “Question Type Demonstration” consists of one sample question from each of the following written examinations:

Part 2: e-Radiology MCQ Exam
Part 2: e-Pathology MCQ Exam

Please note, the ‘Question Type Demonstration’ is not intended to be a study tool, but instead a method for candidates to familiarise themselves with the new platform. The platform will include a countdown timer for the RANZCR examinations so that candidates know how much time remains during the live exam. This has intentionally been disabled for the demonstration so that candidates can spend as much time as they desire in the demonstration.

Candidates can now access the Part 2: e-Film online practice examination through the links and login below. The online practice examination replicates the real examination with use of tools and question navigation.