Four things the GPhC is committed to doing to avoid another exam chaos – Back in June this year, GPhC faced so much criticism for the delays, IT disruptions and stress caused for many trainee pharmacists sitting their exam. The up coming exam is November is claimed to go ahead without a hitch according to a GPhC representative. They have held meetings with the exam provider, BLT, in August to discuss the measures they would be putting into place for future exams. Some of these measures proposed are:
- There will be a GPhC representative at every test centre: this will ensure GPhC have their own direct line of communication rather than relying on the candidates or BLT. The representatives will visit the test centres a day prior to the exam to ensure everything is ready – equipment and hardware will all be tested to ensure it is in working order. They will also complete a written report in the instance there are any issues experienced and reported by the candidates during the assessment.
- Simplifying the exam booking process: in June the exam was started with issues from the onset of booking the exam. BLT’s online portal was taking down due to IT issues preventing candidates to book their place at the test centres. To avoid this happening again for the next exams, GPhC will work with BLT to give candidates an allocated space at a test centre based on their own home address – candidates will no longer be required to book their place themselves. This should mitigate any IT issues.
- Finding more suitable test centres: some of the complaints from June’s exam were that the rooms were not suitable for sitting an exam. The rooms were noisy and crowded as described by some candidates. BLT have confirmed that they will only use test centres which have been permanently designed to accommodate assessments. Using spaces which are designed to deliver an exam setting will minimise any disruptions of not having the suitable hardware and equipment already in place.
- Improving IT: Junes exam faced a lot of criticism around IT failures where candidates experienced their systems and screens freezing, lagging and even crashing all together. It is still unclear why or how these IT failures occurred in June and GPhC haven’t clarified how these will be avoided for future but insist they are seeking additional support to see what checks are required to be put in place to address the IT issues. They are also working on having paper copies at the test centres in the event of any IT failure again.
Lets hope the November exam runs smoothly for all, especially the candidates as they will be more apprehensive than ever after learning about the June exam chaos. Not sure GPhC will manage to get away with another poorly organised exam. Good luck to them too!