Eligibility Criteria
Examination Application Forms
Venues and Critical Dates
Format of the Examination
Requirements for Passing the Examination
Awards
Examination Reports
Pre-Examination Short Course

Eligibility Criteria

In order to sit the FPM Exam, you must:

• Be registered as a Trainee with the Faculty;
• Be undertaking or have undertaken the mandatory period of training in a Faculty Accredited Pain Medicine Training Program.
• Pay the prescribed Examination Fee and have no other outstanding Faculty fees; and
• Apply on the approved form which must be received by the Faculty at least 45 before the commencement date of the examination.

Examination Application Forms 

• Examination Form (Aus) ( 352 kB)

• Examination Application Form (NZ) ( 352 kB)

Venues and Critical Dates

Fellowship Examination Dates 2008

Late applications and late documentation will not be accepted after the closing date for an examination.
 

Format of the Examinations

Guidance Notes for Candidates ( 42kB)

The Examination consists of:

• a written paper of two and a half hours' duration in which you must answer ten out of fifteen short answer questions;
• a clinical long case comprising an hour for patient history-taking and physical assessment, twenty minutes  preparation time and a thirty minute oral discussion with examiners;
• a series of short clinically-based interviews, comprising patients with acute, chronic and cancer pain, a station with diagnostic imaging, test results or other material and a role play station;
• three structured viva voce.

 
The subject matter for the Faculty of Pain Medicine Examination is defined in the Objectives of Training.

Requirements for Passing the Examination

To achieve a pass, candidates must obtain a mark of at least 50%.

Awards

Barbara Walker Prize for Excellence in the Pain Medicine Examination

The Barbara Walker Prize is awarded to the eligible candidate who obtains the highest total mark in the Faculty Examination. It can only be awarded when the top candidate achieves at least 70%.

If you present for only one subject area, you are not eligible for the prize. Eligible candidates must pass all sections of the examination and achieve a combined score of at least 75%.

The Prize takes the form of a medal and was initially established by the Faculty of Anaesthetists, Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, in 1956.

Merit List

Candidates who have shown excellence in the examination and achieved a mark in the top 10% will be eligible for inclusion in the Merit List.

Examination Reports

Examination Reports are prepared to provide candidates and Supervisors of Training with information about the faculty Examination and to assist with preparation for future examinations.

Answers provided are not model answers but guides to what might be covered. Some answers contain more information than could be covered in the fifteen minutes, but have been included as a teaching aid. The answers provided are considered current, but may be subject to change in the future.

Candidates should discuss the reports with their tutors so that they may prepare appropriately for future examinations.

Previous years' examination Reports:

2007/ 2006 / 2005 / 2004 / 2003 / 2002 / 2001 / 2000 / 1999

Pre-Examination Short Course

The Faculty conducts an annual Pre-Examination Short Course six to eight weeks prior to the annual examination.