FFICM Examination Regulations

Published 19/12/2022

Introduction

The Regulations which follow govern the content and conduct of the examinations leading to the award of the Fellowship of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine. They specify:

eligibility requirements
application procedures
limitations on the number of attempts
the requirement for guidance in the event of failure
procedures for making re-calculation, representations and appeal requests
reasonable adjustments for disability and special arrangements for pregnancy and temporary medical conditions
the Faculty examination statement regarding Equality and Diversity and Equality Analysis
the policies for mobile phones and smart watches, complaints, misconduct, disability and candidate feedback.

The regulations have been approved by the Board of the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine.

Edition Date: April 2024

Replacing edition dated March 2024

List of amendments and revisions

Date	Amendments made
April 2024	Regulation 6.1.4.3 amended to clarify wording regarding the one year of ICM practice in the UK required for Member and Associate members to be eligible to sit the examination. These 12 months of ICM should be continuous or in blocks of at least 6 months with a maximum of 7 months in between…
March 2024	Regulation 6.1.2 amended to remove the tenure of core primary exam of 10 years and an update has been made to the RCEM exam. Sub item added to Regulation 6.2 - “6.2.3 if a trainee, has commenced Stage 2 ICM training by the date of the oral examination.” Wording amended in Regulation 6.1.4.1 and 6.2.2
November 2022	Revised Appendices 1, 2 and 12 to reflect what currently happens in practice in the examination as processes have been updated. Changes to include the extension to exam eligibility times in regulation 6.1 and 3.5 to specify the interval between the primary and final papers to ensure periods of maternity/paternity/adoption leave and LTFT are considered.
June 2022	The following sentence was added to Regulation 6.1.1 - ‘anyone who is currently suspended by the GMC cannot take the exam’.
March 2022	Regulation 7.5 amended to update withdrawal policy
September 2021	Regulation 6.1.2 amended to make the tenure of core primary exam from 7 to 10 years and an update has been made to the RCEM exam
October 2020	Regulation 6.2.2 amended to exclude any periods of maternity/paternity/adoption leave. For candidates who work or train on a less than full time basis, the time shall be calculated on a whole-time-equivalent basis
October 2019	Regulation 6.1.4.5 amended to mandate that an MTI doctor must be registered with the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine
January 2019	Appendix 1: MCQ structure amended to read 50 MTF and 50 SBA. Appendix 2: MCQ marks available amended to meet new structure
October 2018	Regulation 6 Eligibility Final amended to add full list of RCEM exams at subparagraph 6.1.2 New eligibility categories Member and Associate Member added to subparagraph 6.1.3. New subparagraphs: 12.8 Applications for FFICM exams will not be accepted whilst a matter under Review remains unresolved. 13.7 Applications for FFICM exams will not be accepted whilst a matter under Appeal remains unresolved. 16.5 Equality Analysis added
November 2017	Regulation 6.1.4.5 amended to allow a further year for exam completion for Doctors sponsored under MTI Regulation 6.1.4 added to include eligibility criterion for former UK ICM trainees. Regulation 7.5: 14 day rule for admin charges applied. Appendix 4: Normal exam judgements for dyslexic candidates removed. Appendix 4: New policy: Disability and Reasonable Adjustments Policy added. Appendix 9: Amended to include ‘Smart Watches throughout policy. Appendix 11: Disability Policy removed Appendix 11 reads: AET Feedback Form (moved from Appendix 12): Appendix 12 reads: Candidate Feedback policy (moved from Appendix 13).
June 2017	Paragraph 6.1.6: Have passed the following examinations ……. Within 10 years before the published start date of the sitting applied for. And …..