Core Revision
The DGM clinical exam: the four stations and how they are marked
Since the Royal College of Physicians split the qualification, the Diploma in Geriatric Medicine (DGM) is the clinical exam alone: four live stations at the RCP Assessment Centre at The Spine in Liverpool, open only to candidates who have passed the Certificate in Geriatric Medicine (CGM). The next sitting is 9–11 November 2026; then 1–4 June 2027 and 2–5 November 2027. This post sets out what happens in each station, how the examiners mark it, and how to prepare. Checked against rcp.ac.uk, the RCP’s candidate guidance and its published marksheets on 24 September 2026.
Dates and fee
| Sitting | Applications | Exam | Results |
|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 1–14 September 2026 (closed) | 9–11 November 2026 | 16 December 2026 |
| June 2027 | 30 March – 12 April 2027 | 1–4 June 2027 | 7 July 2027 |
| November 2027 | 31 August – 13 September 2027 | 2–5 November 2027 | 8 December 2027 |
Sitting the CGM or the DGM clinical exam?
The DGM package has 1,000 best-of-five questions across fourteen modules, timed 50-question mocks, a revision guide and an OSCE module for the clinical stage. It is £49.99 for 12 months, which covers both stages. Try ten questions first, free and with no sign-up.
The fee for November 2026 is £642; for the June and November 2027 diets it is £668. You have four years from passing the CGM to pass the DGM. From 1 January 2027 the clinical exam follows the RCP’s new CGM & DGM curriculum (January 2027), the same curriculum as the CGM.
The four stations
Each station is 15 minutes, with five minutes of reading time beforehand and a warning at 13 minutes: 80 minutes of stations, roughly an hour and a half door to door. The instructions for each station, setting out the clinical background and your tasks, are posted inside and outside the room. Two examiners sit in every station. They agree the standard together before the exam, then mark you independently, without conferring.
| Station | Who is in the room | What you do | Marked on |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Integrated Clinical Assessment | A patient and two examiners | Take a relevant history, do a focused physical examination, interpret your findings and explain them and a management plan to the patient (13 minutes); then 2 minutes discussing your findings and plan with the examiners | Clinical assessment · Clinical judgement · Patient wellbeing |
| 2. Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment | Two examiners, no patient | Up to 5 minutes gathering the missing information by asking the examiners, then 10 minutes of discussion and questions | Information gathering · Synthesis · Management |
| 3. Ethical and legal principles in practice | A patient or the patient’s representative, and two examiners | 10 minutes with the patient or representative, then 5 minutes of discussion with the examiners | Interpersonal skills and relationship management · Case management · Ethical and legal principles |
| 4. Integrated Clinical Assessment | A patient and two examiners | As station 1, with a different clinical problem | Clinical assessment · Clinical judgement · Patient wellbeing |
Each domain is graded Clear pass, Pass, Fail or Clear fail by each examiner, and the pass mark is confirmed by the examination board for each sitting.
What the marksheets tell you
- Two of the four stations are the same kind of station. Integrated clinical assessment is half the exam, and one of its three domains is patient wellbeing: how you treat the person in front of you is marked alongside what you find.
- The CGA station has no patient. You gather information by asking the examiners, so the marks are for knowing what to ask, putting it together and turning it into a plan, not for bedside manner.
- The ethics station is a conversation first. Ten of its fifteen minutes are with a patient or relative, and relationship management is one of the three things marked.
- Every station ends with the examiners. Whether it is two minutes or ten, you will be asked to justify what you did. Practise saying your reasoning out loud.
How to prepare
- Rehearse against the clock. Thirteen minutes goes quickly with a frail patient. Time full stations with a colleague playing the examiner, and stop at 15.
- Practise the examination you will actually do: a focused, explained examination of an older person — gait, lying and standing blood pressure, cognition — done with dignity and safety in mind, not a full systems examination.
- For the CGA station, drill the domains: medical, functional, psychological and social. You have up to five minutes to ask the examiners for what is missing, then ten minutes to discuss your synthesis and plan.
- For ethics, practise the law on capacity and best interests aloud, in the words you would use with a relative, not the words you would write in an essay.
How this fits the platform
The DGM package includes an OSCE module for the clinical stage: a station-by-station guide to integrated clinical assessment, the CGA station and the ethics station, with what each domain rewards, the common ways candidates fail, and nine worked scenarios across the three station types. It comes with the question bank for the CGM, at £49.99 for 12 months — long enough to cover both stages. See the DGM hub for everything included, or try ten questions free.
Quick answers
How long is the DGM clinical exam?
Four stations of 15 minutes, each with five minutes’ reading time: 80 minutes in all.
What are the four DGM stations?
Two integrated clinical assessments, a comprehensive geriatric assessment and a station on ethical and legal principles in practice.
Is there a patient in every station?
No. The comprehensive geriatric assessment station has no patient: you gather information from, and discuss it with, the examiners.
How is the DGM marked?
Two examiners per station each grade three domains as clear pass, pass, fail or clear fail, marking independently. The pass mark is confirmed by the examination board for each sitting.
Where is the DGM held?
In person at the RCP Assessment Centre at The Spine in Liverpool.
Can I sit the DGM without the CGM?
Usually not. You need to pass the CGM first and then have four years to pass the DGM. The exception is the old written paper: if you passed the old DGM Part 1 knowledge-based assessment before November 2026, the BGS says you can take the new clinical exam directly and have four years from the date your result was published to pass it. The RCP’s DGM page does not mention this route, so check with the RCP before you apply.
