PCM (Ordem dos Médicos)

The Prova de Comunicação is a communication assessment listed by the Ordem dos Médicos under its Área Médica, in the same area as registration in the Ordem, specialty colleges, subspecialty sections and competence colleges. It is intended for physicians and medical trainees who must evidence communication competence. The OM page does not state eligibility rules, so confirm them with the Ordem.

The official Ordem dos Médicos page does not publish a format, question count, duration or pass mark for the Prova de Comunicação. Communication exams of this kind are commonly practical or station-based rather than purely multiple choice, but do not rely on that assumption: check the current official notice from the OM before you prepare.

Neither duration nor sitting dates are given on the OM home page. The page does list a Congresso Nacional and other events with dates, but none relate to the Prova de Comunicação. Consult the Ordem dos Médicos directly, or check the Área Médica section of its site, for the current calendar.

The source publishes no pass mark, no validity period and no retake policy for the Prova de Comunicação. Do not assume a percentage or a fixed number of years from other exams. Ask the Ordem dos Médicos for the current regulation, since these conditions are set by the OM and can be revised.

No fee and no retake rules appear on the official page, so both should be treated as unknown until confirmed with the Ordem dos Médicos. Fees and retake conditions are administrative details typically published in the exam notice or regulations rather than on the association's home page.

Start with the doctor–patient relationship and ethics, because the OM frames ethics and deontology as one of its central purposes and publishes a Conselho Nacional de Ética e Deontologia Médica. Then work on clinical communication skills, followed by team and interprofessional communication and health literacy. All four domains carry equal weight, so none should be skipped.

The OM site points to several relevant resources: the Juramento de Hipócrates and ethics documentation, the Gabinete de Literacia em Saúde for health-literacy work, Choosing Wisely Portugal for appropriate-care discussions, and the Academia OM platform for continuing professional development. These support the four domains but are not a published PCM syllabus.

Candidates typically lose marks by talking over the patient, skipping agenda setting and signposting, ignoring the patient's own words, and failing to close with a clear plan and safety net. In ethics stations, failing to recognise a conflict of interest or a capacity question is a frequent weakness. Practise observed consultations with structured feedback rather than reading alone.

Divide study time evenly across the four domains, since the published weighting is 25% each. Alternate knowledge review of ethics and health literacy with rehearsed, observed communication scenarios, ideally recorded and reviewed against a checklist. Leave time to re-read the OM's ethics documentation and to confirm exam logistics with the Ordem.

No. This is independent study material and is not produced, endorsed or approved by the Ordem dos Médicos. It is based only on the OM's public home page as retrieved on 31 October 2026. For authoritative rules on eligibility, format, dates and fees, use the Ordem's own channels: +351 21 151 71 00 or the contacts listed on its site.