A second AKT mock is worth paying for when it answers a question your existing material cannot: how you manage current-format timing, whether a repaired weakness transfers to unseen questions or what happens across a sustained paper. It is less useful when it merely supplies another reassuring percentage. Start by checking the access you already own.
This article is published by iatroX and includes iatroX as a possible remediation resource between assessments. Public information was reviewed on 24 September 2026. The planning sheets and examples below are original educational tools, not results from a comparative mock trial.
The current AKT sets the rehearsal conditions
The RCGP describes the AKT as 160 questions in 160 minutes. Its current examination introduction, reviewed on 24 September 2026, is the authority for that format. Older descriptions of a longer paper should not determine your practice conditions.
The GP SelfTest FAQ explains that its timed and untimed mocks were changed to 160 questions. That matters because an otherwise useful question collection can still require a different setup for a realistic pacing rehearsal.
A minute per question is an average implied by the total, not an instruction to spend exactly the same time on every item. Your practice should reveal where longer interpretation tasks affect the remaining paper and whether your review strategy causes unnecessary delay.
Which resources do you already have?
On 24 September 2026, the RCGP Learning page stated that GP SelfTest is free for RCGP members and GP registrar members. Non-member access was advertised at £70 for six months or £120 for twelve months. Membership-linked access should therefore be checked before treating GP SelfTest as a new purchase.
PassMedicine's AKT page, checked on the same date, described its bank, teaching material, mock and timed practice functions. Someone who already owns that package may have unused assessment material without realising it. Confirm the available mock, prior exposure and access period within the account.
Your inventory should record the product, expiry, unused papers, whether mock questions overlap with ordinary practice and the modes available. A bank being familiar does not mean every question is familiar; a paper being newly opened does not mean its constituent items are unseen.
Do not count a friend's shared login, an unauthorised copy or recalled examination material as legitimate access. The planning problem is how to use your own available resources well.
Give every mock a defined job
A familiarisation paper teaches you how to approach instructions and organise the session. A pacing rehearsal tests whether your decision process fits the available time. A content sample helps identify domains to revisit. An independent check asks whether recent improvements hold on material you have not already learnt.
One paper can contribute to several purposes, but you should choose the primary purpose before starting. Otherwise, an interruption may be ignored when discussing timing, while a repeated question may be ignored when discussing knowledge. The result then looks more precise than the conditions justify.
For a fictional registrar, Rachel, the problem is spending too long reconsidering initially sensible answers. Another fictional registrar, Hassan, finishes comfortably but repeatedly misinterprets statistics. Rachel needs a pacing and decision-review exercise. Hassan needs targeted skills work before paying for another complete assessment.
Their next resource can differ even if their overall mock percentages happen to match. The error mechanism, not the headline score alone, should determine the purchase.
A mock-planning sheet
Use the following before and after each paper. The entries are questions to complete, not a validated readiness scale.
| Field | What to record | Why it changes interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Date and purpose | The rehearsal date and the learning question | Prevents a mock becoming an unfocused ritual |
| Product and paper | Exact bank, paper and version where visible | Separates different resources and formats |
| Prior exposure | New, partly familiar or repeated | Distinguishes assessment from retrieval practice |
| Conditions | Timing, interruptions and permitted study aids | Makes the result interpretable |
| Pacing findings | Where time was lost or rushed | Identifies a process to practise |
| Content findings | Specific concepts, not only specialty labels | Supports a bounded remediation task |
| Uncertain correct answers | What you could not explain confidently | Captures hidden learning needs |
| Next action | The exercise, source or teaching session | Turns assessment into a plan |
| Follow-up evidence | What happened on a later new question | Checks whether the change transferred |
Keep the sheet short enough to complete. A detailed spreadsheet that is never revisited is less useful than a concise record connected to the next study session.
Was the paper genuinely unseen?
There are several degrees of familiarity. You may remember the entire stem, recognise a distinctive image, recall the answer options or simply have practised the same concept. These are not equivalent.
Concept familiarity is an intended consequence of learning. Recognition of the exact answer from a previous attempt limits what a repeat score can tell you about applying knowledge to new material. A repeated paper can still be excellent review, but label it as review.
Suppose Rachel repeats a mock and finishes sooner because several stems are familiar. That observation does not isolate an improvement in pacing. To investigate pacing transfer, she needs a later set with unfamiliar wording under comparable conditions.
Likewise, a lower score on another provider's paper does not prove deterioration. The content mix, question construction and exposure differ. There is no justified universal conversion between a GP SelfTest percentage and a PassMedicine percentage in the public evidence reviewed here.
Debrief mistakes by mechanism
Separate a knowledge gap from a misread instruction. If you knew the relevant principle but answered the wrong question, copying a longer explanation may not fix the problem. Practise identifying exactly what is being requested before choosing among the options.
For statistics, separate selecting the measure, setting up the calculation and interpreting the result. For administration-related material, identify which assumption or source determined the answer. For clinical decisions, record the case detail that distinguishes the preferred option from the nearest alternative.
Do not ignore correct answers reached through unsupported certainty or pure guesswork. Add a brief note about what would need to be explained before considering the concept resolved.
For Hassan, the useful debrief might identify confusion between relative and absolute effects rather than simply "statistics weak". He can then work through original datasets and check his arithmetic before using another full mock to investigate transfer.
When another paid mock adds value
Buy additional assessment when you have exhausted suitable unseen material, need a particular current-format rehearsal or require a fresh sample after a meaningful period of remediation. The intended output should be an observation that can change the plan.
Do not buy solely because the previous result was disappointing. An unresolved explanation, an unreviewed error log or an inconsistent study schedule will not necessarily improve when the next paper comes from a different company.
Also allow time for the debrief. A sequence of paid papers with no opportunity to act between them may provide more measurements of the same problem rather than better preparation. The additional purchase is most defensible when there is a clear before-and-after learning question.
What to do between assessments
Per iatroX product information, September 2026, its AKT question practice, adaptive sequencing, spaced repetition and question-linked Socratic Tutor can support targeted work on a recognised gap. These functions should be used as learning tools, not described as a validated AKT pass predictor. The Tutor and examination catalogue describe the relevant learning routes.
Ask-iatroX and free question access have no trial expiry or verification gate. Where the wider paid workflow is useful, the September 2026 price is £99 paid upfront annually, equivalent to £8.25 a month billed annually, or £29 monthly, covering question banks, Tutor, study planning, simulations and CPD tools together. Buying that bundle is unnecessary merely to obtain another score when existing member access already meets the need.
For Rachel, the next step may be disciplined timed practice within her present bank. For Hassan, it may be guided explanation and a later unfamiliar statistics task. Neither needs every study session to function as an examination-readiness test.
A verdict for each situation
Use GP SelfTest first when membership gives you suitable unused assessment access. Keep PassMedicine as the main practice resource when its current package and your review process are working. Buy an additional mock when its format or question pool answers a remaining assessment question. Add iatroX when remediation, rather than another paper, is the missing part of the plan.
A good preparation sequence alternates assessment with action. It does not measure the same unresolved weakness indefinitely.
Frequently asked questions
Is GP SelfTest included in RCGP membership?
The RCGP Learning page stated on 24 September 2026 that it is free for members and GP registrar members. Check your own membership and account access before purchasing separately.
Should an AKT mock now contain 160 questions?
For a current full-format rehearsal, use the RCGP's 160-question, 160-minute structure. Shorter sets can still support focused practice when labelled appropriately.
Is repeating a mock a waste of time?
No, it can support review and retrieval. Just do not interpret the repeat percentage as though the questions were unseen.