Helix FRCA
Initial Assessment of Competence · evidence-based safety knowledge · free in full

Starting anaesthesia?
The IAC, in 29 Rounds.

The knowledge behind the IAC, ordered the way your first months run: machine, patient, induction, airway, wake-up, emergencies. Free with no daily limit, no card required, and a certificate to save for your training portfolio when you finish.

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Built by anaesthetists. Written to current UK guidelines.

01 · What the IAC is

Your first sign-off in anaesthesia

The Initial Assessment of Competence is the first milestone of the RCoA 2021 curriculum, worked towards across the novice period, usually your first three to six months. It is not an exam: your department's trainers make a collective decision to entrust you with preoperative assessment (EPA 1) and general anaesthesia for ASA 1–2 patients (EPA 2), drawing on supervised learning events, consultant reports, your logbook and simulation.

All of it assumes knowledge: the machine, monitoring, fasting, airway prediction, induction drugs, the DAS algorithm, laryngospasm, QRH emergency management, and adult life support. That knowledge is what this Helix IAC path teaches.

02 · The path

29 Rounds, in the order your first weeks run

Five blocks in clinical order. Follow the path from the top or dip into whichever area you need. A Round is a short question session on one topic, with an explanation for every option and an AI tutor in the voice of an FRCA examiner.

  1. The anaesthetic environment & monitoring5 Rounds
    Anaesthetic machine pre-use checkMinimum monitoring standardsCapnography · interactiveRespiratory critical-incident triadAseptic practice & infection prevention
  2. Preoperative assessment & consent5 Rounds
    Pre-anaesthetic assessment & historyAirway examination & RSI indicationsASA & risk stratificationFasting, reflux & aspiration riskConsent for anaesthesia
  3. Induction & airway8 Rounds
    Airway anatomyBag-mask ventilation & basic airwayPre-oxygenationIV vs inhalational inductionSafe GA for ASA 1–3 (pharmacology)Tracheal intubation & laryngoscopyRapid sequence inductionDifficult / failed intubation → CICO & FONA
  4. Emergence & recovery4 Rounds
    Extubation & laryngospasmRecovery: oxygen therapy & complicationsPostoperative analgesiaPONV: risk, prevention & treatment
  5. Recognising & managing emergencies7 Rounds
    AnaphylaxisLAST & high / total spinalAdult ALS algorithmReversible causes (4 Hs & 4 Ts)Capnography in resuscitation & ROSCRecognising the deteriorating adultHuman factors & knowing your limits
03 · Free in full

No daily cap, no card, not a trial

The whole IAC path is free for everyone, permanently: all 29 Rounds, 253 questions, the guided path and the tutor. The wider Primary FRCA bank sits on the free plan of five questions a day, with memberships from £35.

04 · The certificate

Finish the path, save the evidence

Your certificate carries your name, your progress through the five blocks and your full question record; unfinished areas simply show as unfinished. Save it as a PDF and upload it to the RCoA Lifelong Learning Platform (LLP) as evidence attached to a personal activity, ready for your educational supervisor.

The IAC itself is awarded by your department through supervised assessment; what Helix certifies is the knowledge work underneath it.

05 · After the IAC

The Primary FRCA is the same journey, continued

The IAC path is the start of the Primary FRCA curriculum, so nothing is thrown away: your progress and weak topics carry straight into the full Primary bank when the exam comes into view.

See the memberships
06 · Common questions

Asked by most novices

Is this the actual IAC?
No. The IAC is awarded in your department clinically. This path teaches and tests the knowledge that decision assumes, and certifies that you have completed it.
Who is it for?
Anyone in the anaesthetic novice period: anaesthetics and ACCS trainees, and locally employed doctors starting in a department. It also works as a refresher before returning to theatre.
Do I need to pay anything?
No. The IAC path is free in full, with no daily limit and no card details required.
How long does it take?
A Round is ten questions, ten to twenty minutes once you use the teaching in the feedback. A Round or two a day finishes well inside the novice period.
Is there an exam at the end of the IAC?
No. The knowledge is assessed in the workplace, case by case, which is why steady question practice pays off.
How does this fit with e-LA and the Novice Guide?
Use them together: they are the official pathway, and this is the active question practice alongside them, with spaced repetition built in so you never need to think about what to learn next or which areas need focus.

Day one is soon enough to start

Create a free account, choose IAC, and the path is waiting on your home screen.

Start the path free