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MRCGP AKT → Ear, nose and throat, speech and hearing

Ear, nose and throat, speech and hearing for MRCGP AKT

Ear, nose and throat, speech and hearing accounts for roughly 3% of the MRCGP AKT blueprint. This bank has 1 item tagged to it.

How much of MRCGP AKT is ear, nose and throat, speech and hearing?

Around 3% of the paper, per RCGP GP curriculum (2025). That weighting is why the DocPasser mock builder samples sections in proportion rather than shuffling everything into one pile — practising a flat distribution trains you for a paper that does not exist.

Verification status. All 3 published figures on this page have been read in the source document and dated above. Source of truth: RCGP GP curriculum (2025), Royal College of General Practitioners. How we verify.

Sample ear, nose and throat, speech and hearing questions

A 58-year-old man has had a hoarse voice for 4 weeks. He smokes and has a 30 pack-year history. He drinks 30 units of alcohol a week. He has no trouble swallowing and no neck lump. His mouth looks normal. Which is the most appropriate action?

  1. Arrange a chest X-ray and do nothing more if it is normal Wrong. A chest X-ray is reasonable, because a lung tumour can damage the left recurrent laryngeal nerve. But a normal film does not rule out laryngeal cancer.
  2. Refer on a suspected cancer pathway for laryngoscopy correct Correct. NICE says consider a suspected cancer referral for anyone aged 45 or over with persistent, unexplained hoarseness. His smoking and drinking add to the risk.
  3. Give a course of oral antibiotics Wrong. Nothing suggests a bacterial infection, and four weeks of hoarseness is not acute laryngitis.
  4. Give a proton pump inhibitor for reflux and review in 8 weeks Wrong. Reflux can cause hoarseness, but waiting two months in a heavy smoker delays a cancer diagnosis. A PPI can go alongside referral, not instead of it.
  5. Advise voice rest and reassure him Wrong. Reassuring a high-risk smoker without anyone looking at his larynx is unsafe.

The point: Laryngeal cancer: consider a suspected cancer pathway referral in people aged 45 or over with persistent unexplained hoarseness or an unexplained neck lump. Oral cancer: mouth ulcers lasting more than 3 weeks, or a persistent unexplained red or red and white patch.

Source: NICE NG12: Suspected cancer, head and neck cancers NICE · tier 1, national regulator or guidance

The other sections of MRCGP AKT

Cardiovascular health · Metabolic problems and endocrinology · Gastroenterology and nutrition · Children and young people · Mental health, alcohol and substance misuse · Women's health: gynaecology, pregnancy, contraception and breast · Respiratory health · Dermatology · Musculoskeletal health · Neurology · Eyes and vision · Renal and urology · Men's health · Haematology · Allergy and clinical immunology · Infectious diseases, travel and sexual health · Therapeutics and safe prescribing · People at the end of life · Organisation, management and administration · Evidence-based practice and data interpretation

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DocPasser is exam preparation material, not clinical guidance. Nothing here should be used to make a decision about a real patient. Always work from your own local guidelines and seniors.