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1.   Introduction

There are some anaesthetists who wish to upgrade their knowledge and clinical skills voluntarily before returning to clinical anaesthesia practice after a prolonged period of absence. This may have been due to a variety of reasons (such as family commitments, practice in another area of medicine, practice overseas in a volunteer capacity, or a long period of illness.)

ANZCA considers that in such circumstances, the anaesthetist should be advised to follow an agreed "retraining" or "refreshment of knowledge and skills" program before re-entering independent specialist clinical practice.

2.   ANZCA Practice Re-Entry Program

2.1   This program is an educational service by ANZCA for anaesthetists to re-enter specialist anaesthesia practice after an absence of more than 12 months from practising clinical anaesthesia. It involves participation in a program that offers a renewal of experience in current anaesthesia practice.

2.2   The program requires supervised experience in clinical anaesthesia in a hospital or practice for a duration that is appropriate for the participant. This duration would usually be at least four weeks for every year of absence from clinical practice, up to a maximum period to be determined by the supervisor in 2.3.3.

2.3   The participant must submit an individual program for prospective approval by the College. The program must:

2.3.1   nominate the hospital department or anaesthesia practice in which the anaesthetist wishes to undertake the Practice Re-Entry Program; and

2.3.2   provide details of the clinical experience to be undertaken, and

2.3.3   enclose an endorsement of the program and its duration by the Director of the nominated Department or a senior specialist anaesthetist in the nominated practice.

2.4   At the completion of the program, the Director of Department or specialist anaesthetist designated in 2.3.3 will confirm to the College in writing that the participant has satisfactorily completed the program. ANZCA will then endorse the participant as having satisfactorily completed a retraining program.

3.   ANZCA recognises that the circumstances of each anaesthetist wishing to follow this process will vary, and that the program should be tailored to the individual.

4.   The process described above is distinct from the Professional Practice Review component of the Maintenance of Professional Standards Program, and distinct from any process involving assessment of an anaesthetist’s practice at the request of a Medical Board, Council or Health Authority.

This document should be read in conjunction with the following College Professional Documents:

TE6 Guidelines on the Duties of an Anaesthetist

TE9 Guidelines on Quality Assurance

PS16 Statement on the Standards of Practice of a Specialist Anaesthetist

COLLEGE PROFESSIONAL DOCUMENTS

College Professional Documents are progressively being coded as follows:

TE Training and Educational

EX Examinations

PS Professional Standards

T Technical

POLICY – defined as ‘a course of action adopted and pursued by the College’. These are matters coming within the authority and control of the College.

RECOMMENDATIONS – defined as ‘advisable courses of action’.

GUIDELINES – defined as ‘a document offering advice’. These may be clinical (in which case they will eventually be evidence-based), or non-clinical.

STATEMENTS – defined as ‘a communication setting out information’.

This document has been prepared having regard to general circumstances, and it is the responsibility of the practitioner to have express regard to the particular circumstances of each case, and the application of this document in each case.

Professional documents are reviewed from time to time, and it is the responsibility of the practitioner to ensure that the practitioner has obtained the current version. Professional documents have been prepared having regard to the information available at the time of their preparation, and the practitioner should therefore have regard to any information, research or material which may have been published or become available subsequently.

Whilst the College endeavours to ensure that professional documents are as current as possible at the time of their preparation, it takes no responsibility for matters arising from changed circumstances or information or material which may have become available subsequently.

Promulgated: 2004

Date of current document: Feb 2004

© This document is copyright and cannot be reproduced in whole or in part without prior permission.

College Website: http://www.anzca.edu.au/