Frailty and function
Revise frailty recognition, functional decline, falls risk, continence, nutrition, social support, care planning and when a comprehensive geriatric approach is needed.
MRCGP AKT older adults revision
Older-adult questions test whether you can handle complexity without losing safety: frailty, falls, dementia, delirium, multimorbidity, medication burden, care homes and capacity all interact.
Quick answer
For AKT older adults revision, prioritise frailty, falls assessment, dementia work-up, delirium, polypharmacy, medication review, multimorbidity, care-home medicine, safeguarding and decision-specific mental capacity.
What to revise first
Falls and syncope
Focus on multifactorial falls assessment, lying and standing blood pressure, medication review, vision, gait, balance, home hazards and fracture prevention.
Dementia assessment
Know how memory concerns are assessed, reversible causes, depression and delirium mimics, carer history, driving, safeguarding and memory-service referral.
Delirium
Cover acute confusion, fluctuating attention, infection, dehydration, medicines, pain, constipation, urinary retention and why delirium is not the same as dementia.
Polypharmacy and multimorbidity
Revise treatment burden, medication review, anticholinergic load, sedatives, NSAIDs, renal function, patient priorities and deprescribing discussions.
Capacity and care homes
Link decision-specific capacity, best interests, advance care planning, care-home communication, safeguarding and coordination with community teams.
Red flags to recognise quickly
- Sudden confusion, reduced consciousness, new neurological deficit, sepsis features or rapidly worsening function
- Fall with head injury, anticoagulant use, suspected hip fracture, inability to weight-bear or unexplained syncope
- New memory symptoms with rapid progression, focal neurology, seizures, severe headache or systemic cancer symptoms
- Delirium in a care-home resident, dehydration, urinary retention, constipation, pain or high-risk medication change
- Safeguarding concern, unexplained injuries, neglect, coercion, financial abuse or carer breakdown
- Medication toxicity, postural hypotension, recurrent falls, acute kidney injury or dangerous sedative burden
Why older-adult questions catch candidates out
The trap is answering a single disease guideline while ignoring frailty, function and treatment burden. In AKT stems, the safest answer often depends on the person's baseline function, medicines, cognition, capacity, carers and goals of care.
AKT older adults FAQ
Is older adults medicine high yield for the MRCGP AKT?
Yes. Older adults is a named RCGP curriculum topic and AKT questions commonly test frailty, falls, dementia, delirium, polypharmacy, multimorbidity, care homes, safeguarding and mental capacity.
What older adults topics should I revise for the AKT?
Prioritise frailty recognition, falls assessment, dementia work-up, delirium, polypharmacy, medication review, multimorbidity, anticholinergic burden, care-home medicine, advance care planning and decision-specific capacity.
How do falls come up in AKT questions?
Falls questions often test whether you look beyond the injury: lying and standing blood pressure, medication review, vision, gait and balance, home hazards, fracture risk, syncope, safeguarding and anticoagulant head-injury risk.
What is the AKT trap with dementia and delirium?
The trap is missing acute delirium or reversible causes. Dementia is usually gradual; delirium is acute and fluctuating, often driven by infection, dehydration, constipation, pain, urinary retention or medication changes.
Official sources
This is revision guidance, not official RCGP advice. Check current RCGP, NICE, local frailty pathways, care-home arrangements and BNF guidance for clinical decisions. Last reviewed June 2026.
October sitting
Oct 26
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days
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