Upon completion of each of the ARTP Spirometry certificate assessments, candidates are sent a survey to provide feedback on each of the exam elements, and some feedback has been provided below. (last updated February 2024)
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The OSCE exam
Feedback comments to date: 237
Please rate the Assessor (1 poor - 5 excellent): 4.92 (Sep 23) / 4.94 (Feb 24)
Please rate your overall experience completing the OSCE: 4.62 (Sep 23) / 4.64 (Feb 24)
(0 difficult - 5 easy)
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OSCE Feedback Comments:
"I really appreciated the teams chat the week before. Good to meet the assessor and try to resolve any IT problems. I still found it more stressful though than face to face with other osce exams undertaken on other courses but that could an age related as I`m nearly 60!" - Helen (27 July 2023)
"I was very nervous prior to the OSCE. The Assessor was exceptional within seconds she was able to put me at ease. At no point did I dislike the OSCE, with a wonderful assessor who took her time to listen to me and allowed plenty of time for me to answer my questions. I was able to flow nicely and be myself without having fear of being wrongly judged. I though the whole experience was great. I have a passion for spirometry, pretending the assessor was the patient really helped me role play as if the assessor was an actual patient. The whole process has acknowledged again why I love spirometry and the importance of gold standard reports, care and outcomes for our patients" - Neil (12 Sept 2023)
"My assessor made me feel at ease which really helped as I was nervous. I thought that the online format worked really well" - Rebecca (27 Sept 2023)
"My OSCE assessor was very professional, warm & friendly. She made me feel at ease throughout the whole process." - Jennie (22 Dec 2023)
"I had internet issues at the start which made me panick but the Assessor was very understanding and patient or else would have panicked more!" - Simur (25 Jan 2024)
"I would like to express my great appreciation to the Assessor for the way she conducted the assessment and how easy she managed to dissipate the tension and exam related stress. She formulated clear questions, her patience and attitude toward the candidate was amazing. She demonstrated professionalism during the exam and I believe that exceeded all my expectations. Thank you for everything!" - Liliana (2 Feb 2024)
"I was very nervous but the assessor was very understanding and patient" - Unknown (9 Feb 2024)
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The MCQ exam
Feedback comments to date: 109
Please rate your overall experience completing the MCQ: 3.72 (Sep 23) / 3.79 (Feb 24)
(0 difficult - 5 easy)
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MCQ Feedback Comments:
"It was easy to book , I found the mock exam very useful so I knew what to expect . Thank you for giving the results so quickly!" - Rebecca (13 July 2023)
"I love the clear explanation and requirements to answer each question. I did not feel that I did not have enough information to answer. I liked that I was able to go back or mark a question for review before submitting. This gave me ample time to make sure I doubled read each question and reviewed my answer." - Neil (15 Sept 2023)
"I liked the flexibility of being able to the exam when I wanted to in a set window. I was therefore able to do the exam in my lunch break at work with one of my work colleagues as an invigilator." - Rosemary (29 Sept 2023)
"The exam was relevant, using ARTP and NICE to identify physiological changes / obstruction and /or restriction" - Fadi (15 Dec 2023)
"Overall the questions seemed fair, enough time and similar to the practice MCQ" - Unknown (18th Dec 2023)
"The traces arent what we see in practice and are much more advanced" - Unknown (1 Feb 2024)
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The Portfolio exam
Feedback comments to date: 85
How easy it was to access the portfolio (0 difficult - 5 easy): 4.48 (Sep 23) / 4.51 (Feb 24)
How easy it was to navigate through the portfolio: 4.29 (Sep 23) / 4.31 (Feb 24)
Please rate your overall experience completing the portfolio: 3.76 (Sep 23) / 3.78 (Feb 24)
(0 difficult - 5 easy)
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Portfolio Feedback Comments:
"I really enjoyed doing my logbook. It was easy to navigate around the peddle pad, explained really well, easy to use" - Nadine (26 May 2023)
"Was a bit harder than I expected but it did make me challenge myself" - Emma (21 April 2023)
"No issues regarding portfolio - for areas that were not successful at the first submission there was clear, concise feedback explaining the reason why the question had not been answered" - Lucy (14 June 2023)
"The portfolio was quite easy to navigate around and click to which section you needed" - Jenny (5 Sept 2023)
"I didn't find any specific areas too difficult, it was more the volume of tasks in the portfolio that made it difficult" - Unknown (18 Dec 2023)
"I was having some personal issues and upset during the assesment process and you were supportive and accommodating to help me through it. Thank you." - Unknown (31 Jan 2024)
"Great resource, ensured I had everything in place to compete spirometry in practice" - Unknown (6 Feb 2024)
Feedback changes made by the ARTP
ARTP take on board all feedback provided by candidates and you'll see below some of the ways in which ARTP has responded to these comments:
MCQ
"The Mock MCQ exam is not long or varied enough to reflect the real exams"
ARTP Action: In Nov 2022, ARTP changed the original mock exam, changing it from 5 questions to 10 and removing questions from the real exam and adding into the mock, using a variety of questions from each difficulty level. Whilst the mock exam is not a training exercise (it's designed so that candidates can test that the system works before the real exam), it has been completed by nearly 2500 people to date (Sept 2023) and continues to be a helpful resource. A paediatric version of the MCQ was also created in late 2023.
"Diagrams within the MCQ are hard to understand and differ greatly to the ones we use in the GP practice”
ARTP Action: ARTP have sourced a number of primary care traces which will be introduced into the MCQ in 2024.
“It is unfair that one of the questions in the MCQ exam is 4 questions within 1. Not only did it take a long time to answer but I feel it should be 4 separate questions with points for each section”
ARTP Action: ARTP reviewed the question and split it into 4 separate questions. ARTP Admin also went back over all the candidates who had this question and awarded points for each correct answer. This resulted in 9 candidates passing their MCQ.
"I would like to have been given individual feedback to help me understand & learn from the MCQ questions I got wrong"
ARTP Action: In the past, ARTP shared MCQ results to candidates who had failed which outlined the areas that were a fail and showed what the answer(s) should have been. This was obviously very helpful for the delegate however, a number of candidates misused this and shared the questions and answers on social media and whatsapp groups therefore, the decision to not share results was made. As a compromise, ARTP are now offering anyone who failed their MCQ the chance to call and run through the MCQ results over the phone which has resulted in positive feedback.
PORTFOLIO
"More support with assessors by email or a comments section on the portfolio, for students to be able to ask questions for more support"
ARTP Action: It is important that candidates understand that ARTP cannot provide training and that the spirometry certification is an examination process and training support must be sought from a training provider. There is however, a section within the portfolio that allows all candidates to email an Assessor directly if they require support during their portfolio.
"Due to my the heavy workload I am finding it very difficult to complete all the assessments within the 6 month timescale"
ARTP Action: In Nov 2022, ARTP changed the completion timeframe from 6 months to 9 months, to give candidates extra time to complete all of their assessments.
"There were marking inconsistencies by assessors between my 1st portfolio submission and my 3rd"
ARTP Action: ARTP take marking inconsistecies very seriously. Over the past 12 months, ARTP have met with all spirometry assessors to ensure they are following the marking scheme provided and regular meetings have been put in place so that assessors can continue to work together. In addition, all new assessors have their first few portfolios reviewed by a senior assessor before the results are released to the candidate, to ensure their marking is in line with the scheme and correct. Whilst we endevour to mark as consistently as possible, we would encourage anyone who feels their portfolio has been marked incorrectly to get in touch with us immediatley, so the issue can be looked into further.
Other changes
- The Spirometry section of the ARTP website is constantly being updated to ensure candidates are fully prepared in advance for what the certification process involves
- Paediatric certification levels were introduced in 2023 and a paediatric mock MCQ exam was set up in late 2023.
- An easy to use booking system was introduced in 2023 to allow candidates to choose their OSCE and MCQ dates for the whole year which has allowed them more control of their own booking and the ability to cancel and rebook at ease
- More assessors have been recruited to cut down on waiting times for portfolio exam results. More assessors are still needed and ARTP will continue to advertise for more experiened assessors to come forward to assist
- The MCQ Exam Pass Rate was reviewed in November 2023 from 80% to a 70% pass rate. All those who had previously scored between 70-79% were contacted and awarded a Pass.
Plans for improvement
ARTP are constantly looking for ways to improve the Spirometry Certification process and we welcome all feedback on the process (good or bad). A number of plans are underway for 2024 which include:
- Reviewing areas of the portfolio that have a higher fail rate and working at making these areas better. A 2nd version of the portfolio is currently being developed for launch in 2024.
- More variety of MCQ traces, particularly ones used in Primary Care
- A new customer portal area on the ARTP website is currently being developed which will allow all candidates, new and old, the ability to log in and view their status. They will be able to track their cerification progress easily and once passed have access to their certificate and pay for their annual renewal
- We continue to work in partnership with NHS England and organisations such as ARNS & PCRS to find ways in which we can make the process better
Your feedback
If you have any feedback on the current ARTP Spirometry Certification process, please drop us an email to spirometry@artp.org.uk and we will ensure your email is sent to the Spirometry Committee for review. If you wish for your name to remain anonomous when proving feedback, please state this within your email and we will ensure your comments are sent to the committee anonomously.