European Exam in General Cardiology 2018 (Formerly the KBA)

Date: Thursday 14 June 2018
Venue: Pearson Vue Exam Centres across the UK
Registration:Will open at the beginning of October.

About the course

The European Exam in General Cardiology (formerly known as the Knowledge Based Assessment or KBA in the UK) is administered by the European Society of Cardiology, in conjunction with UEMS Cardiac Section and the national cardiac societies. 

It is an obligatory part of Cardiology Training in the UK. The EEGC assesses the knowledge of the core areas of cardiovascular medicine of a cardiology specialty registrar (STR). The required knowledge is set out in the ESC Curriculum for the General Cardiologist. 
The EEGC exam is only one part of the assessment of UK Cardiology STRs and sits alongside the workplace based assessments (WPBAs) as part of the annual review of competence progression (ARCP). 

What the EEGC is

The EEGC Guide has been created to give candidates sitting the exam an overview of what the exam is for, how it fits into their training programme, what the exam will look like and how to prepare. There are also 10 sample questions supplied that candidates can review.
Download the Full EEGC Guide Here
Further important information for candidates sitting the exam - including information on reasonable adjustments and appeals etc. can be found here.

How to prepare

The cardiology curriculum prepares trainees for a career in cardiology and hence an aptitude for lifelong learning is essential. There is not a limited list of appropriate sources of information. Trainees are encouraged to read widely and use whatever means they prefer for keeping up-to-date. 

The following is not intended as an exhaustive reading list, just as examples. Trainees will be expected to have developed their knowledge using the wide variety of sources available.

Examples of good sources of knowledge include: 

Training courses e.g. BCS & Mayo Clinic Cardiology Review Course 
Textbooks e.g. ESC Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine (free access available to BCS Members)
Educational articles e.g. Education in Heart
Guidelines e.g. from ESC, NICE, AHA, ACC etc
Online reviews e.g. theheart.org 
Online educational material e.g. Cardiosource, ESC webinars
Academic journals e.g. Heart (Free/discounted for BCS Members), NEJM, EHJ, Lancet, Circulation, JACC
 
How EEGC fits in with UK cardiology training

The Curriculum defines the necessary knowledge , skills and behaviours that need to be acquired in order to achieve a CCT in Cardiovascular Medicine.

Cardiology training is divided into core and advanced modules. The EEGC is an assessment - to be taken in ST5 - of the core cardiology knowledge set out in the curriculum. The EEGC sits alongside the WPBAs and is only one of the range of assessments used for ARCP.
Trainees will sit the EEGC before entering ST6 and passing the exam will not be an absolute requirement for progression which will be based on satisfactory confirmation of core competences using WPBAs. The EEGC score will not be used to aid decisions around allocation to advanced modules.
A satisfactory performance in the EEGC is expected during core training and satisfactory performance is mandatory before attainment of the CCT. Trainees who fail to achieve the required standard in the EEGC in ST5 will not be prevented from proceeding to ST6 and ST7 provided their other elements of performance are judged adequate at the ARCP. The EEGC will be offered on an annual basis, thus a trainee will, if necessary, have further opportunities to re-sit the EEGC in ST6 and ST7. Hence, the total number of times that a trainee can sit the EEGC will be determined by the length of their training programme which will be determined by their deanery.

NB - The exam is only open to UK cardiology trainees in their ST5 year. It is the responsibility of the candidates to provide BCS with the correct personal information including GMC number and National Training Number and other requested details at the point of registration for the exam.

Contact us
If you have any queries about the exam contact Anna Kassai at the BCS by email education@bcs.com or call 0207 380 1914