A common question for the RACGP exams is “what do I study - it seems so huge!” It is huge, but if you are wise and consider the evidence we have, there are some patterns to be found in the BEACH data to guide your study approach.
According to Cooke et al (2013) “General practitioners see the widest range of conditions of any specialty… But if you look at the common presentations, the 167 most frequently managed problems accounted for 85% of all problems managed by the GPs. At least one of these common problems was managed at 90% of all encounters. Only 1 in 10 consultations involved management of less common problems alone.”
The illustration below shows you what the 30 most common presentations are - these problems make up almost half of all GP consultations and should be where your focus lies. As for the rest? The authors state:
“Learning about all diseases is not possible. More than 11 000 conditions are currently described with approximately five new diseases being described each week…A GP must have good working knowledge of 167 problems to cover 85% of the conditions they will see most frequently”
My advice? Focus on the common things and know them REALLY well. Of course that isn’t everything – you should also have a good working knowledge of common red flags, conditions that are masquerades, and things that are serious, urgent or easily missed. But don’t waste too much time focusing on the rare things unless you are a master at everything else.
Hope this helps and please share with anyone sitting the exams. Need more help? Contact us on our website or message us here on the page <3 From Lyndal and the tutoring team at IMG SOS