For twelve years, I sat on the other side of the examiner's table for the MRCGP International South Asia Board. Over that time, I watched hundreds of talented, hard-working doctors walk into their exam and I watched too many of them walk out having fallen short, not because they lacked knowledge or dedication, but because of gaps that had nothing to do with how good a doctor they actually were.

That distinction has stayed with me. A high failure rate isn't just a statistic. Behind every number is a doctor who has given years to their training, and a patient population that deserves confident, competent primary care. So I started paying closer attention to why candidates were struggling — not just to help them pass an exam, but to help them become the clinicians their patients need.

What I Kept Seeing.

Three gaps showed up again and again, across candidates from very different backgrounds and levels of experience.

1. No clear guidance on the curriculum itself.

Many candidates were studying hard, but studying blind without a real map of what the exam was actually built to assess. Without that clarity, even strong clinicians can end up over-preparing in the wrong areas and under-preparing in the ones that matter most.

2. No structured training in the clinical skills the exam is designed to test.

Passing the OSCE isn't about knowledge alone. It requires master special skills in consultation , data-gathering , examination counselling, and safe clinical management brought together in a way that allows a doctor to manage a patient safely, holistically, and comprehensively. Most candidates had never been formally trained to integrate these skills under exam conditions, even when they used them instinctively in daily practice.

3. No accessible, reliable resources for evidence-based learning.

Good primary care depends on staying current ,but candidates often had nowhere reader-friendly to turn for evidence-based knowledge they could actually apply, rather than dense material that was hard to translate into real consultations.

A fourth gap sat underneath all of these: a lack of structured, ongoing opportunities to practise and build clinical skill over time, rather than cramming in the final weeks before an exam.

Why I Decided to Do Something About It.

Having examined for as long as I did, I understood these gaps from a vantage point most trainers don't have I had seen exactly where candidates lost marks, and just as importantly, I had seen what genuinely safe, confident, well-rounded candidates did differently.

That's what led me to step away from the examiner's table and into the role of mentor and trainer. MRCGP Fast Track grew out of a simple belief: doctors preparing for this exam deserve more than exam tips. They deserve proper guidance through the curriculum, structured training in the clinical skills that keep patients safe, and accessible resources that build real competence not just exam readiness.

My goal has never been only to help candidates pass. It's to help them become the kind of primary care clinicians who manage patients safely, holistically, and with genuine confidence in the exam room, and for the rest of their careers.

That's the work MRCGP Fast Track continues today with proven great success.