The RACS GSSE: exam format, structure and what each exam asks
The Generic Surgical Sciences Examination (GSSE) tests anatomy, pathology and physiology, and every surgical specialty training board requires it for selection. Here is how it is built, so you can aim your study at what is actually marked.
Two online exams over two days
The GSSE is two exams of 150 minutes each, sat online on consecutive days. There is no reading time, and no negative marking: a wrong answer does not cost you marks.
Each exam is worth about 50% of the total GSSE mark. Within the Pathology and Physiology exam, Pathology and Physiology are each worth about 25% of the total.
Exam 1: Anatomy
The Anatomy exam has 60 multiple-choice questions, all Type X: a stem with four statements, each judged true or false and worth one mark, so a question is worth up to four marks. It also includes 20 anatomy spot test questions, which can come from anywhere in the anatomy syllabus.
RACS publishes how the 60 multiple-choice questions are spread: abdomen 9, head and neck 10, lower limb 9, upper limb 9, thorax 9, pelvis 7, central nervous system 3, development 2 and histology 2.
Exam 2: Pathology and Physiology
The Pathology and Physiology exam has 125 multiple-choice questions. Pathology has 65: 20 Type A and Type B questions worth one mark each, and 45 Type X questions worth up to four marks each. Physiology has 60: 12 Type A and Type B questions and 48 Type X questions.
Pathology is spread across general pathology 11, infection 11, tissue response to injury 11, neoplasia 12, immunology 6, antibiotics 4, pharmacology 4, statistics 4 and blood 2. Physiology is spread across cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory and urinary 10 each, and blood, endocrine, metabolism and nutrition, and neurophysiology 5 each.
Who sits the GSSE, and how often
Every specialty training board requires the GSSE as a selection criterion, and trainees in any surgical education and training (SET) program must complete it. Passing does not guarantee selection onto a program.
RACS runs the exam three times a year, in February, June and October. Prevocational doctors who meet the eligibility criteria can sit any of them and have unlimited attempts. SET trainees can sit only the February and June sittings, must complete the exam within two active clinical years of starting any SET program, and have a maximum of four attempts.
What the format means for how you study
Most of the marks are in Type X questions, which ask you to judge four separate statements. That rewards precise, statement-level knowledge over a general sense of a topic, and it means a single question can be partly right.
Because the blueprint publishes how many questions each category carries, it is worth weighting your practice to it rather than spreading time evenly. Head and neck carries ten Anatomy questions; histology carries two.
How ClintixPro fits
ClintixPro covers the multiple-choice questions in both exams, in Type A, Type B and Type X formats, with timed mock papers marked the way RACS marks them. It does not currently cover the anatomy spot test.
Where to check the official details
The format, sittings and eligibility rules can change. RACS publishes the current information on its GSSE pages, and those pages are the authority. ClintixPro is independent of RACS and is not endorsed by it.
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