The SCA exam day: the final 72 hours

72 to 24 hours before

1. Log in to the exam platform early. Your login link and details arrive by email about two weeks before. Log in, complete the device check (camera, microphone, internet) and the platform walkthrough, and look at your schedule. Copy and paste the link rather than typing it.
2. Set up the room you will sit in. Usually a room at your training practice. Clear the walls of clinical guidance, charts and posters, and clear the desk. Check the light falls on your face, not behind you.
3. Check your camera position. The platform checks that your face sits correctly in the frame. If your webcam is built into the monitor, you may be asked to use your phone camera as well for the room check, so keep it nearby (out of reach once the exam starts).
4. Find your ID. Government-issued photo ID, in date and in English (or a notarised translation), such as a passport or UK driving licence.
5. Plan the day, not more cases. Two or three light cases a day to stay warm. No new topics. Re-read your safety-netting and opening habits, then stop.
6. Arrange cover. Make sure nobody will need the room, and that colleagues know not to knock or phone during the session.

The night before

• Sleep is worth more than one more case. Stop revising early in the evening.
• Lay out ID, water bottle, and a whiteboard and marker if you want to make notes (pen and paper are not allowed).
• Charge your phone and computer, and plan to have your phone on silent with vibration and voice assistant switched off.
• Check your session: morning (registration from 08:45) or afternoon (registration from 13:20), and plan travel to arrive with time to spare.
• Eat a proper meal and decide what you will eat before the exam.

On the day: before you log in

• Arrive early and settle into the room. Use the toilet before registration.
• Desk: only a water bottle and an optional whiteboard and marker. No notes, books, tablets, smart watch or other devices.
• Phone: on silent, vibration and voice assistant off, placed out of arm's reach.
• Have the IT support number from your RCGP exam emails or day guide written down outside the room or saved where you can reach it if the platform will not connect.
• Log in at the start of registration and wait. The invigilator may take up to 30 minutes to appear for the ID and room checks: that is normal.

How the session runs

Times are from the RCGP's day guide. Candidates with reasonable adjustments for extra consultation time or breaks have a longer session; check your own schedule on the platform.

During the cases

• Reading time (3 minutes): the brief tells you if it is a telephone case. Notes typed in the notes box carry over into the consultation and are private.
• The first 30 seconds: the video link with the role player can take a moment to settle. Start calmly; if it does not settle, tell the invigilator.
• Telephone cases: the role player cannot see you, but you stay on camera for the invigilator.
• Timing: a one-minute warning appears before the end of each consultation. Use it to summarise and safety-net, not to start something new.
• Between cases (15 seconds): not a break. Wipe the whiteboard, take a sip of water, and leave the last case behind. One difficult station does not decide the exam.
• Use the hand-raise or message button if anything goes wrong; you do not need to stop the consultation to type.

The break and the end of the session

• Exam rules still apply in the 10-minute break: no phone, and no talking to anyone except exam staff.
• If you leave the room, message the invigilator when you go and when you are back.
• If something went wrong in cases 1 to 6 (connection, sound, disruption), tell the invigilator during the break so it can be reviewed for a rerun. For cases 7 to 12, tell them promptly at the end, as the guide sets out.
• After case 12 you stay logged in for the wrap-up and rerun period; morning candidates stay until released. Clear the whiteboard when asked.

A 30-second reset between stations

Breathe out slowly twice, put your shoulders down, and say to yourself the three things every case needs: their story first, their worry answered, a clear plan and safety-net. Then read the next brief fresh. Our model consultations show this shape in 100 real-feeling cases.

After the exam

Results are published at 17:00 on the RCGP results day for your diet (see SCA dates and fees). If you need to resit, the Feedback Statement Decoder turns your RCGP feedback statements into a four-week plan, and our resit advice covers choosing a new date.

More SCA guides