The stepwise pathway for becoming a doctor in Australia. Specialist pathway for becoming doctor in australia
The aim of this article is to answer the following questions
– How to become a doctor in australia from overseas
– Australian immigration for doctors
– How to become a doctor in australia from overseas
– Overseas trained doctors working in australia
– Specialist pathway australia
– How to be a doctor in australia for international students
– Australian medical council
– International medical degrees recognised in australia
– Specialist pathway for becoming doctor in australia
Now read on….
To get on the Aussie pathway, you first need to be ECFMG (@ECFMG_IMG) certified, then proceed to take the AMC exams.
1. The AMC (Australian Medical Council) exam is in 2 parts, after obviously getting ECFMG certified.
AMC 1 and 2, AMC 1 can be written in UK, India and Europe, no place in Africa as at typing this. AMC 2 is always in Australia.
2. What does it take to be AMC certified? According to Wikipedia…….
“AMC certification is required for international medical graduates (IMGs) who wish to be licensed in Australia. To achieve AMC certification, an IMG must pass the AMC MCQ Exam and the AMC Clinical exam, as well as having the medical diploma verified.
- The AMC MCQ exam consists of 150 multiple choice questions (MCQs) organized through computer adaptive scoring. It is delivered in one 3.5 hour session.The pass mark is set to match the level of knowledge required by Australian medical schools for their final-year graduates.
- The AMC clinical exam consists of 16 stations. At each station the candidate has two minutes to read a presentation of a case and what tasks the candidate is expected to perform. Each station usually has three or four tasks. A task may include taking a focused medical history, performing a focused physical examination, suggesting differential diagnoses or further diagnostic procedures, or informing about treatments. A candidate then has eight minutes to perform the tasks, and is required to pass 12 out of 16 cases including one compulsory case in each of Gynecology and Pediatrics”.
3. Lately it had become extrememly difficult getting a job without acing both exams, some occasionally get jobs with AMC1
4. Most jobs placements for starters are as resident HMO or SHO public hospital based, usually allows for a limited registration, after which most can get full registration in a year or two.
5. There is a different pathway for those who want to go into GP training right after passing AMC 1 and 2, known as the PESCI, they dont have to get public employment. “PESCI is an objective assessment of your knowledge, skills, clinical experience and attributes to determine whether you are suitable to practise in a specific position. The PESCI consists of a structured clinical interview using scenarios”.
Generally, jobs are lot easier to come by after the first job, getting that first is the difficult part.
Most people with UK registration and have worked 1 to 2 years in UK, will get automatic employment in Australia without having to write anymore exams. Can we get an amen?
Getting residency spots depends on areas of choice specialties, it’s getting trickier but still possible.
In conclusion, there’s a direct pathway; pass AMC 1&2 and proceed to GP (via PESCI) or Residency. If you’ve worked in the UK (after PLAB) obviously, you can just hop in via direct entry.
Bottom line, get @ECFMG_IMG certified because you need it wherever you’re headed.
Big Big thanks to @ojayfemi who’s the Aussie Don, and has provided resources to make this article as accurate as possible. Please feel free to throw in your questions and read up where necessary.
Do have a great week guys.
Key Abbreviations
ECFMG: Educational Commission For Foreign Medical Graduates
GP: General Practitioner
AMC: Australian Medical Council
SHO: Senior House Officer
HMO: Health Maintenace Organization
PESCI: Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interview
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