The PEPEA is designed to assess the suitability of candidates seeking to participate in the Practice Experience Program (PEP), a self-directed educational support program for non-vocationally registered doctors. The PEPEA is a computer-based test with 100 questions.
The PEPEA consists of 2 sections:
- 75 Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) questions
- 25 Situational Judgment Test (SJT) questions
AKT questions aim to assess applied clinical knowledge in the context of Australian general practice, while SJT questions assess candidate’s judgement in a range of professional, ethical, and legal scenarios. Using a combination of SJT and AKT questions the RACGP assesses candidates against the five RACGP domains of general practice. To prepare for the PEPEA candidates should familiarise themselves with the RACGP’s domains of general practice as this will give a broad overview of the content of the questions that may appear in the PEPEA.
The AKT questions are of the single best answer type where you are asked to select the best answer from five or more possible options.
The SJT questions are multiple choice questions also where you are asked to choose the three best answers from eight possible options.
The SJT questions aim to assess your attitudes in a range of different general practice scenarios relating to communication, professionalism as well as ethical, legal, and organisational issues.
You must pass the PEPEA before progressing into the next step of the program.