The CCE explained
CCE exam format: two formats, one standard
The CCE runs nine cases over two days on Zoom, fifteen minutes each, in two formats: clinical encounters with a role-player and case discussions with an examiner. Each competency is rated on a four-point scale.
You consult a role-player for fifteen minutes
An examiner watches you open the consultation, draw out what the patient is really worried about, take a structured history, explain in plain language, agree a plan, and safety-net properly.
- Full simulated consultations with a role-played patient
- The hidden agenda is there to be found, or missed
- Consultation craft made explicit and repeatable
You reason aloud through structured questions
You are given a written case and record, and an examiner asks three or four questions. This format tests whether you can define the problem, rank a differential, justify investigations, and manage safely.
- Every examiner question played out, timed as in the exam
- Problem definitions and ranked differentials modelled, not described
- Management justified against the specific patient
Marking
In the exam, each competency you are assessed on is rated on a four-point scale. Every CCE Complete station is marked in front of you on the same kind of grid. See how the CCE is marked.
Practise both
The free sample station is a clinical encounter.