[1] Trainee anaesthetists in the United Kingdom are required to pass this examination during ST3-5 (6 months through ST5), otherwise training may be delayed or stopped.
Candidates who pass both the MCQ and the SAQ are invited to the Structured Oral Examination (SOE) ("Viva voce"), in Churchill House, London, the headquarters of the Royal College of Anaesthetists.
This part of the examination can now be passed independently, leaving the candidate to attempt the SOE without the need to resit the written paper.
At the end of each day of SOE examinations, Successful candidates are listed on a board in the lobby of the college by RCoA reference number.
Negative marking (the deduction of a point for an incorrect answer) has been removed from the Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) component of the examination from the October 2008 sitting.