How the AFRM exams are marked
Each AFRM exam turns your answers into a pass in its own way. Knowing how it is marked, and how much time each question gets, changes how you should answer.
Fellowship Written Exam
How it is passed: The real paper needs at least five of eight scenarios plus the overall mark.
On the clock: 8 questions in 3 h 30 min: about 26 minutes each.
How it is passed: Paper B is passed on its own; fail it and you resit only Paper B.
On the clock: 130 questions in 3 h: about 83 seconds each.
Fellowship Clinical Exam
On the clock: 10 stations, 4 min reading and 10 min each.
Entry Phase Exam
On the clock: 10 stations, 4 min reading and 10 min each.
What that means for how you answer
Written answers are marked against a fixed list of points. A point you do not write earns nothing, however obvious it seemed; a long answer that misses the points earns nothing more.
Single-best-answer papers reward the best option for this patient, not a true statement. Read the last line of the stem first, and do not let one hard question eat the time of three easy ones.
Clinical stations are marked against a station guide. Do what the task asks, in the time given, and say your reasoning out loud so the examiner can credit it.
Where marks are most often lost
- Generic answers: marking guides reward specific points only.
- Applying a stroke template to another condition, e.g. motor neurone disease answered as recovery rather than anticipated decline.
- Answering a neighbouring question, e.g. "cognition" when asked about "cognitive communication", or general management when asked about return to work.
Pass marks and formats change. Always confirm the current rules on the AFRM website before you sit.
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