Training Requirements for Paediatric Intensive Care

Eligibility for Fellowship of the Joint Faculty requires completion of a six year training program divided into three Basic Training years (BTY’s) and three Advanced Training Years (ATY’s). This program must include:

 ·                    Satisfactory completion of the JFICM or ANZCA Primary Examination, the RACP Written/Clinical Examinations, or other approved examination.

·                    A six year training program comprising three years of basic training and three years of advanced training, which must include:

-           24 months of core intensive care training (as Advanced Training).  18 months of this period must be spent in a Paediatric Intensive Care Unit approved for core training, of which 12 months must be spent in a C24 unit.

-           12 months exclusively in anaesthesia, not necessarily continuous, in any combination of paediatric or adult anaesthesia (which may be undertaken as basic training)

-           12 months of clinical internal medicine in an approved paediatric medical post (which may be undertaken as basic training). 

-           24 months of ‘other’ elective training (of which 12 months must be undertaken as Advanced Training)

·                     Satisfactory completion of the Fellowship Examination in Paediatric Intensive Care

·                     Satisfactory completion of a Formal Project

·                     Satisfactory In-Training Assessment

·                    Completion of the Medical ADAPT Course

 The elective component of training may be spent in any combination of:

 Research  (limited to one year).

 Adult or paediatric:      medicine

                                     emergency medicine

                                     surgery

                                     intensive care

                                     clinical anaesthesia

                                     other disciplines related to intensive care.

In-training Assessment

All trainees must have assessments completed by their Supervisor of Training.  For basic training, an annual assessment form should be completed, with six yearly assessments required for advanced training.

 Prospective approval of Advanced Training

Trainees must forward an application for approval of their proposed training post for assessment by the Training Committee within three months of commencing in the post, but preferably prior to their commencement date.

 Units approved for training

 A list of Paediatric Intensive Care Units approved for training is available on this site under Hospitals approved for training.

 Dual Certification

 It is possible by completing the training and examination requirements of both the JFICM and the FRACP to emerge with dual certification, namely JFICM (Endorsed in Paediatric Intensive Care) and FRACP (Paediatrics).  Trainees are urged to consult the Regulations of both JFICM and the RACP.  A possible training pathway is available here.

 Examination Requirements for the Paediatric Intensive Care endorsement

 Trainees must either pass or be exempted from the Primary Examination of the Joint Faculty.  Practitioners who have passed the written and clinical FRACP (Paediatrics) examination are exempt from the JFICM Primary Examination for the purpose of gaining certification in paediatric intensive care only.

 Candidates may present for the Fellowship Examination in Paediatric Intensive Care after completion of 36 months basic training, and 12 months of advanced core intensive care training.

 The Fellowship Examination in Paediatric Intensive Care consists of:

 - A written section of two 2.5 hour papers comprising short answer questions.

-  an oral section comprising 8 ten minute vivas covering investigations, communications, procedures and other intensive care related topics, and a clinical section comprising two 20 minute ‘hot’ paediatric intensive care cases.   Some basic science and therapeutic topics may be common to both adult and paediatric Examinations.  The Clinical component of the Examination will be held in a paediatric intensive care unit and the majority of examiners will be paediatric intensive care specialists.

 Not withstanding the above, the trainee must comply with all requirements for training and examination outlined in Regulation 7.

 Further details regarding exam dates are available here.