RACGP PESCI is a structured clinical interview about one proposed general practice job in Australia. The panel assesses whether your experience, clinical reasoning and communication suit that position and its supervision. A suitable report supports a registration application. The Medical Board of Australia makes the registration decision.
Start with the job, then build your preparation around it. Know the practice's patients, available services, supervisor arrangements and referral options. Practise explaining what you would do, why you would do it and when you would ask for help.
What is PESCI, and who needs it?
PESCI stands for Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview. It assesses suitability for a particular position rather than a general examination standard. It is separate from an AMC examination, a job offer and GP fellowship.
IMGs seeking limited or provisional registration for general practice on the Standard or Competent Authority pathway generally need a PESCI. Confirm your pathway and proposed role with the Medical Board before booking. The Board's Competent Authority guidance describes an exception for applicants concurrently seeking a general practice assessment through the Specialist pathway. Specialist routes have their own requirements.
RACGP eligibility includes a valid Australian general practice job offer, a primary medical qualification listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools, and either passing AMC CAT MCQ or qualifying for the Competent Authority pathway. AMC Clinical is not a universal prerequisite for PESCI. For provisional registration, RACGP asks for evidence of the completed AMC clinical component or eligibility for the Competent Authority pathway. Passing PESCI does not replace the remaining requirements of your registration pathway.
For limited registration for an area-of-need GP position, the Board requires three years of full-time equivalent general practice or primary care experience. Its guidance recommends applying for registration first so this experience can be assessed before you sit PESCI. Do not assume a general instruction to book the interview first applies to this group.
Use the RACGP eligibility checklist, Medical Board pathway guidance and AMC PESCI guidelines to check your circumstances.
RACGP PESCI interview format
RACGP currently conducts PESCI interviews through Zoom. Its FAQ specifies five clinical scenarios, with three minutes to read each scenario and ten minutes of questions. The panel may provide further information as a case develops. Check the instructions for your own interview before the day.
The RACGP panel has three members. At least two are GPs with current Ahpra registration, no conditions on their registration and RACGP Fellowship in good standing. The third may be another medical practitioner, a health professional or a lay person.
The panel considers your application and asks about your experience, the position and your understanding of Australian practice. Cases may involve urban or rural care and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Prepare for the responsibilities of the job and the support available to you.
The interview is closed book. RACGP permits blank paper and pens, requires a laptop or desktop with webcam and audio, and requires photo identification. Study materials are prohibited. Phones must be switched off and out of reach. You must not record the interview or share its questions and cases afterwards.
Read the current RACGP FAQ, PESCI policy, interview handbook and permitted and prohibited items.
Applying for RACGP PESCI
Start from RACGP's Apply for a PESCI page, which links to the current application service at applications.racgp.org.au. The GP-training Training Management System, or TMS, is a separate service. Use the application link on the official PESCI page.
You and the practice need to prepare the application together. The current checklist includes RACGP's CV template, applicable name-change evidence, examination or pathway evidence, a signed applicant declaration, a practice-signed position description and the SPPA-30 supervised practice plan and supervisor agreement. Documents not in English need the certified official endorsed translations specified by RACGP. Use its live checklist for the complete requirements.
| Item | Who prepares it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| CV, qualifications and pathway evidence | You | Names, dates and experience match across documents |
| Position description | The practice | Duties, hours, procedures and services describe the actual job |
| SPPA-30 | You, the practice and proposed supervisor | Supervision matches the position description and can be delivered |
| Final application check | You and the practice | No contradictory duties, locations, hours or supervision arrangements |
Before submitting, speak with the practice manager and proposed supervisor. Ask:
- Which patients and presentations will I see most often?
- What procedures, aged-care or home visits, after-hours work or hospital duties are included?
- When will my supervisor be on site, and how will I contact them at other times?
- What happens if the supervisor is unavailable, and how will we arrange regular feedback?
- Which pathology, imaging and allied health services can patients access?
- How does the practice arrange urgent transfer, specialist referral and results follow-up?
These answers help you check the application and choose useful practice cases. A document that promises support the practice cannot provide creates problems during the interview and after it.
Fees, scheduling and readiness
Check the current RACGP PESCI fees and withdrawal and rescheduling policies before paying. Agree any employer contribution in writing. Check the provider's current fees and booking terms before applying.
RACGP offers the next available date after reviewing a complete application. Apply when you are ready to sit. RACGP's current policy requires you to accept an offered interview date within five business days. Before submitting, confirm that your role and practice documents are settled, your pathway is clear and any required experience assessment has been addressed. Complete a timed mock and identify the areas you still need to improve.
What should you practise?
The assessment looks at interviewing and examination skills, clinical judgement, treatment and advice, communication, professionalism and relevant procedural skills. The position's scope, patient needs, supervision and available resources matter throughout.
Build your preparation around these tasks:
- History and examination: clarify the presenting problem, identify red flags and explain the focused examination you would perform.
- Clinical reasoning: prioritise dangerous and likely diagnoses, then explain which findings would change your assessment.
- Investigations and management: justify each test, explain a practical plan and recognise when the patient needs urgent care.
- Communication: explain uncertainty, risk and choices in plain language. Check understanding and agree a follow-up plan.
- Professionalism: recognise your limits, involve supervision, obtain consent and document decisions.
- Australian practice: understand referral pathways, results follow-up, prescribing resources and the services your patients can access.
- Cultural safety: ask about the patient's needs and preferences, avoid assumptions and use an appropriate interpreter when required.
Revise common primary care presentations across chronic disease, cardiovascular and respiratory symptoms, diabetes, the unwell child, women's health, mental health, older people, medicines, preventive care and emergencies. Include counselling, ethical dilemmas and practical procedures relevant to your position. This is a preparation checklist, not a prediction of interview questions.
Also practise consent, confidentiality, certificate requests, complaints, errors, handover and limited-resource situations. Discuss the Australian and state requirements that apply to each situation. Use teach-back, shared decisions and professional interpreters where appropriate. Consider transport and financial barriers, and involve family or carers with the patient's consent.
Use current Australian references such as Therapeutic Guidelines, the Australian Medicines Handbook and relevant preventive-care guidance. Verify clinical details against the current source rather than relying on an old summary or an AI-generated answer.
Turn the position description into case practice
Use the job to decide what to rehearse. This example is a fictional practice, not an official RACGP topic list.
| Practice feature | Revision focus | Spoken task |
|---|---|---|
| Many older patients with several conditions | Medication safety, falls and competing priorities | Explain how you would prioritise a review |
| Young families and vaccination appointments | The unwell child and vaccine conversations | Give a parent clear safety-netting |
| Pathology on site, imaging further away | Tests that change management and access barriers | Justify each investigation and its urgency |
| Supervisor on site only on some days | Limits and escalation arrangements | Explain when and how you would seek help |
For each case, ask yourself: what could harm this patient today, what information would change my decision, what can this practice safely manage, and what needs referral or transfer?
A spoken-answer approach
Read the task carefully and answer the question asked. A useful sequence is:
- Clarify the setting, immediate concern and what the patient wants today.
- Identify urgent risks and assess stability before routine tasks.
- Describe the focused history and examination you need.
- Give a prioritised differential and explain your reasoning.
- Choose investigations that answer a clinical question.
- Explain management, supervision and referral decisions.
- Give specific safety-netting and a follow-up plan.
Adapt the sequence to the case. An emergency needs immediate action; a counselling task needs a clear conversation. A framework should help you organise your reasoning, not become a script you recite regardless of the question. This is LearnMedicine preparation advice, not an official RACGP marking scheme.
Timed practice and useful feedback
Practise aloud using RACGP's current scenario timing. Rotate the candidate, panel and observer roles with a study partner. Ask the panel to give new information and follow-up questions rather than letting you finish a memorised answer.
Use a simple cycle: complete a baseline mock, identify one or two recurring problems, practise those skills, then repeat a similar case. You can record your own fictional practice with everyone's consent. Recording the actual PESCI interview is prohibited.
Before the day, rehearse on your permitted device, test the camera, audio and internet connection, and arrange a quiet private room. Check RACGP's technical instructions before relying on any backup connection or device.
After each case, check:
- Did I identify the immediate risks early?
- Did I explain my reasoning rather than list everything I know?
- Did each investigation have a purpose?
- Did I recognise my limits and describe appropriate supervision?
- Did I explain the plan in language the patient could understand?
- Did I make safety-netting and follow-up specific?
- Did I answer the panel's question within the time available?
Keep a short feedback log with the problem, the correction and the next practice task. For example, replace “improve management” with “state the referral urgency, explain who arranges it and confirm who follows up”. Specific feedback gives you something you can practise again.
An adaptable study sequence is to clarify the job and format first, map gaps in your knowledge, revise common presentations, practise mixed cases and then complete full mocks. Choose your preparation pace from your baseline, feedback and interview date.
Common problems include memorised answers, unfocused histories, long lists of tests, unclear escalation, weak safety-netting and talking past the question. Work on the recurring problem before adding more notes.
An original fictional practice scenario
You are working under supervision in a suburban general practice. A 58-year-old man attends for a repeat prescription of his blood pressure tablets. He mentions new chest tightness over the past two weeks when walking uphill, settling with rest.
The new symptom changes the priority. Clarify whether he has symptoms now, when the last episode occurred, whether symptoms are worsening or occur at rest, and the associated symptoms and risk factors. New exertional chest symptoms need assessment even when they settle with rest.
Explain your concern, involve your supervisor promptly and use the current acute coronary syndrome guidance to decide the urgency of assessment and transfer. If acute coronary syndrome is suspected, arrange urgent transfer to a facility capable of definitive assessment. Follow the practice's emergency procedures without delaying transfer for an ECG or a supervisor conversation. A normal ECG alone does not exclude acute coronary syndrome.
Finish by explaining the agreed plan, who will arrange and follow up assessment, and which symptoms mean calling 000. The point of the exercise is to show priorities, reasoning and escalation rather than simply renew a prescription.
This fictional educational example is adapted from the existing LearnMedicine guide. It is not a recalled interview case. Read the Heart Foundation and CSANZ acute coronary syndrome guideline for the clinical decision thresholds and current recommendations.
RACGP, IME and ACRRM: provider differences
The AMC accredited provider list includes RACGP, ACRRM and the Institute of Medical Education, also listed as METC Institute. LearnMedicine provides preparation and is separate from these assessment providers.
RACGP's five-scenario timing should not be applied to IME or ACRRM. IME's current online interview guidance describes a three-member panel, four clinical scenarios and an interview generally lasting 60–90 minutes. Its catalogue offers virtual and face-to-face options. Confirm the format, technical rules and booking terms for your selected interview directly with IME.
Choose a provider after checking the role, employer expectations, available dates and provider guidance. There is no supported basis here for promising an easier provider, a particular pass rate or a suitable result.
Read IME's interview guidance, IME's PESCI catalogue and ACRRM's PESCI information.
Results, registration and changing jobs
RACGP reports a suitable or unsuitable outcome for the proposed position. Its policy says results are normally emailed within 15 business days unless otherwise advised. Reports are valid for 12 calendar months from the report date. Check the current policy and the details supplied with your result.
A suitable report is one part of the Medical Board's registration assessment. The position and supervision arrangements still need approval. PESCI does not provide employment, a visa, a Medicare provider number or fellowship. Work rights, Medicare billing eligibility and specialist recognition follow their own processes.
If your supervisor, location, hours or duties change, discuss the change with Ahpra. The report is position-specific. The Board may approve its use for a changed position or location in some circumstances, including where the risk is the same or lower, but a new PESCI may be required. Obtain approval rather than assuming the report transfers automatically.
If your outcome is unsuitable, read the report and discuss the reasons with the provider and proposed practice. Check the current review, appeal and reapplication policy. Use the feedback to address specific gaps; avoid treating another booking as a substitute for improvement.
Questions IMGs often ask
Do I need a job offer before PESCI?
Yes. RACGP requires a valid general practice job offer and practice documents because it assesses suitability for that position. Check the area-of-need experience assessment sequence before booking if it applies to you.
Is PESCI the same as AMC Clinical?
No. They assess different things. PESCI considers a particular position and its supervision. AMC Clinical and workplace-based assessment have separate roles on the Standard pathway. A suitable PESCI report does not replace those requirements.
Where is the RACGP TMS login for PESCI?
Start from RACGP's current Apply for a PESCI page and follow its application service link. TMS is used for GP training.
How much does RACGP PESCI cost?
Use RACGP's current fees page and read its booking, withdrawal and rescheduling terms before paying. Agree any employer contribution in writing.
Can I use an IME format to prepare for RACGP?
Clinical reasoning and communication practice are useful across providers. Use the current RACGP format for RACGP mocks, and the selected provider's own instructions for an IME or ACRRM interview.
How do I find a study partner?
Another IMG, a colleague or a supervisor can help. Choose someone who will time the case, ask follow-up questions and give specific feedback. Respect interview confidentiality and use original fictional cases.
Further preparation
Explore the LearnMedicine PESCI preparation course and our patient communication guide. For pathway decisions, use our Australian registration overview alongside the official Board guidance.
This guide is published by LearnMedicine. Dr Roman Pathak is an Australian GP and educator. Read more about LearnMedicine.