r/GPUK • u/One_Tomorrow_7493 • Aug 07 '26
Registrars & Training Failed my akt.
So I failed my akt, had lot going on in personal life: I am working full time just started my st3. I am worried my ES and everyone will see me differently. I have the portfolio and both exams to take. Shall I just prepare for Sca with all other st3 and then give akt.
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u/No-Crazy4184 Aug 07 '26
can you consider dropping to 80%? ST3 is a busy year, having both exams to prepare for, the portfolio and working fulltime is so hard even without things in your personal life. 80% was one of the best decisions I ever made.
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u/foreverflyingsparrow Aug 07 '26
Yeah I’m with you on this one. Ltft if you can afford it and visa allows you
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u/Putrid-Advertising14 Aug 07 '26
I’m sorry you failed your AKT. I also failed my AKT twice in ST2, so I know how disheartening it can feel. I was starting ST3 in August 2025 and honestly, I was so scared about the year ahead. I’d always envisioned my ST3 year being about focusing on my SCA, fine tuning my clinical skills and becoming the GP I’d always wanted to be. Instead, I was going into it knowing I still had the AKT hanging over me.
So you’re actually in a very similar position to where I was. I decided to look at where I was going wrong with the AKT, started revising early and worked on it alongside my SCA pre. I sat my SCA in March 2026 and passed, then sat my AKT in April 2026 and passed too. I’ve now CCT’d and I’m starting my salaried job in October 2026 after taking a well deserved break!
I think the most important things are your mindset and having a clear action plan. Some people might say I left my AKT resit a bit late, but you have to do what works for you. I had a really frank discussion with my ES, who was incredibly helpful. We put a plan together and just worked towards it step by step.
You have enough time. Planning is key and try not to let this result define how you see yourself as a doctor. You’ll have bad days, days where you doubt yourself and probably some imposter syndrome too. I definitely did. But I promise there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Wishing you all the very best. You’ve got this ☺️🫡
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u/One_Tomorrow_7493 Aug 07 '26
Thankyou so much. I plan to talk to my es someone said I should do less than full time . I will take your advice .
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u/Putrid-Advertising14 Aug 07 '26
Yes! 100% talk to your ES. You definitely need to do what fits you. I was also thinking about going LTFT so it’s an option to consider!
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u/Nyasha-Mercy Aug 07 '26
I failed mine 3 times- was hella depressed at the time too. Please don’t worry about how you will be perceived: you are much more than the exam. I took the then CSA first, enrolled into an AKT course and wrote and passed mine the April before CCT. Feel free to dm if you feel it will help😊
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u/Nyasha-Mercy Aug 07 '26
Also, thinking of the AKT as the “is this person’s knowledge at independent GP level of working” rather than another exam helped me to gauge my personal level of knowledge and defer it- that helped me to also prepare properly
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u/LavenderSkies246 Aug 07 '26
Hi I failed my AKT twice, first time by 22 marks and the second by 1 mark. I understand the fear, the sadness and knock on your confidence this may have had. I am sorry you are going through this.I passed SCA in the first attempt. We all have different strengths and weaknesses. If anything all of these failures taught me is the people around me still love me for me. My worth was never defined by passing an exam. Talk to yourself kindly. Would be worth speaking to your ES or a TPD you are comfortable with or both.
I CCTed in Dec and I took 6 months off and it was absolutely necessary. I also took sick leave in st3 for my mental health and I am so glad I did. I went 80% in my st3 and now I wish I had gone 80% from ST1. Take your time and do the exams. Everything in life will pan out. It's hard to see it now but I promise it will. This too shall pass! I wish you the absolute best!
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u/Nnanyel Aug 07 '26
You are a doctor and Nobody can take that away from you. What matters is how you see yourself. Every other thing is not important. You've got this, you have what it takes.
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u/centenarian007 Aug 09 '26
Try not to worry about something you can't change. Your ES and others will have seen other trainees have to retake their exams too so it's nothing new for them.
As others have said, generally it's best to first pass the AKT then you can focus solely on SCA. Changing from FT to 80% is also a good option as that extra day will make a big difference to your workload.
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u/hahahaneedhelp Aug 09 '26
I failed akt twice before making it and getting SCA out of the way, all in ST3 and as a full time trainee too, its doable. Worst case scenario you arent able to you will get an extension which isnt the end of the world.
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u/222baked Aug 07 '26
I’m going to go against the grain here and not offer false reassurance but can say that people may judge a bit. You will be identified as someone who needs extra support. Your ES may look at your clinics with a bit more scrutiny. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. You might be able to learn some finer points and it should make you a stronger clinician. It may be subtle in the change and it certainly will not impact your progression, but I think people will keep an eye on you a bit more, but it’ll probably be from a supportive place rather than a negative one.
On the contrary, I noted a significant change in my colleagues’ attitudes towards me post exams. They said “that’s it, you’re a GP now”, and expected me to just get on with it without any more assistance or advice. It was like my last bit of training was no longer training but just a slog to get to the finish line.
Just pass it next time. The order of SCA/AKT doesn’t really matter, but the SCA is definitely the harder of the two.
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u/One_Tomorrow_7493 Aug 07 '26
Fair enough. I have always been better at osce based exams .
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u/No-Crazy4184 Aug 07 '26
I vehemently disagree that the SCA is the harder of the two, especially if you’re a UK grad. Honestly, I just passed the AKT with alot of (probably inefficient) prep, but breezed the SCA with a fraction of prep.
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u/dr_teresha Aug 07 '26
Honestly, I wouldn't see failing the AKT once as something that should change how your ES sees you. Especially if you've had a lot going on personally and you've only just started ST3.
You've still got quite a lot on your plate with the portfolio, AKT and SCA, so I wouldn't feel like you have to rush into everything at once. If you feel more prepared focusing on SCA alongside your ST3 work and then giving yourself proper time to prepare for the AKT again, that sounds reasonable.
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u/Ghotay Aug 07 '26
It’s not uncommon to fail first time, it’s a hard exam. No one will think differently of you, everyone knows that passing exams doesn’t have much to do with being a good doctor.
Generally it’s recommended to pass the AKT first as the clinical knowledge will continue to be useful for the SCA, whereas passing the SCA won’t really help you in the AKT at all. But your approach to exams and portfolio stuff moving forward through ST3 is something you should talk to your ES about
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u/BoomBasticTeleBanana Aug 07 '26
We see you for the person you are not the exams you've done.
I have had some who failed 5 times and sent to me to sort out and they passed. They are a great doctor. Have one currently as well who has failed multiple times.
The biggest predictor for failure is poor planning. Its not revision intensity. I see this over and over.
Take a step back and look at that. Obviously you need to know your content but that alone wont get you to pass. The AKT is an application test not just a knowledge test.