Practice that changes the consultation, not just the evening

Practise under the clock, from the first session

The single most common regret candidates report is practising untimed. Untimed practice teaches a consultation you will never be able to run in the exam: unhurried openings, exhaustive histories, and management plans explained at leisure. Twelve minutes forces prioritisation, and prioritisation is a skill that only develops under the constraint. Put the clock on from your very first case, accept that early attempts will overrun, and let the discomfort do the teaching.

• Timed consultations from the first session, not once you feel ready
• One target behaviour per case, so the review has something to measure
• Honest review immediately after, while you can still remember what you were thinking
• Immediate repetition in a different clinical context, to prove the behaviour transfers

A practice session that is worth the hour

Volume is a poor target. A focused hour, structured like this, moves a candidate further than an unstructured evening of cases.

• Minutes 0–5: choose one target behaviour and one clinical area you find uncomfortable.
• Minutes 5–17: run the consultation to time, out loud, without pausing or restarting.
• Minutes 17–30: review honestly against the three domains; write down one behaviour to change.
• Minutes 30–45: run a second, different case with the same target behaviour, to test transfer.
• Minutes 45–60: note what still felt effortful. That is tomorrow's target.

• Find cases to rehearse with
• How the SCA is timed and marked

Useful practice blocks

Rotate through these so a rehearsed behaviour has to survive different clinical contexts.

• Example virtual patient cases
• Communication skills practice
• Timed consultation practice
• Prescribing practice