ANZCA training program
Medical practitioners wanting to practice anaesthesia in Australia or New Zealand must register with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists and complete its training program.
The College provides a five-year anaesthesia training program leading to the Diploma of Fellowship. Assessment of clinical skills and competencies occurs throughout the training program, using various assessment methodologies – work-based in-training assessments undertaken by staff within the ANZCA-accredited training hospitals, examinations, simulation courses and learning modules that match specific learning objectives with clinical experience.
Training must be undertaken in hospitals approved by ANZCA for
training. The College regularly inspects these hospitals to ensure that
there are high standards of teaching, supervision and clinical care.
After
successfully completing all training program requirements, medical practitioners will be
awarded the Diploma of Fellowship and be entitled to use the
qualification of FANZCA – Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand
College of Anaesthetists.
An overview of the ANZCA training program is provided in the following diagram.
Prevocational medical education and training
In Australia and New Zealand, the initial 12 months of post-graduate training is spent as a hospital intern undertaking a specified range of hospital duties. This is referred to as prevocational medical education and training (PMET). Medical practitioners can enrol as a trainee at the end of this 12-month period, but must complete a further 12 months of PMET before they can begin approved training in anaesthesia.
The 24 months of PMET provides a basic grounding in medical practise upon which the specialist components of an anaesthetist’s training are built. Medical practitioners should have at least 12 months of general medical training and no more than 12 months experience in any combination of anaesthesia, intensive care and/or pain medicine.
In countries where internship is part of the medical degree, that
period cannot be considered as PMET. Any hospital experience after the
date of graduation will be deemed as valid.
The ANZCA training program
The training required of a specialist anaesthetist to the standards required for the Diploma of Fellowship of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists is detailed in ANZCA's Regulation 14 and Regulation 15.
NOTE: The clinical component of anaesthesia training must be undertaken at an ANZCA-accredited hospital. ANZCA is not involved in the selection or employment of registrars for the accredited hospitals. Medical practitioners must apply to them directly. Once employed as an anaesthesia registrar in a hospital, practitioners can participate in the selection process for all junior registrar positions on an ANZCA rotational training program. These programs vary by state and country. Please see the training section of the relevant ANZCA national/regional-office websites for further information.
The ANZCA training program includes 104 weeks of basic training and 156 weeks of advanced training. During the course of approved training, trainees are required to successfully complete:
- Five years of supervised clinical training at approved training sites.
- Both the primary and final examination.
- A program of 12 modules.
- An Effective Management of Anaesthetic Crises (EMAC) or Emergency Management of Severe Trauma (EMST) course or equivalent.
The hospital will be part of a rotation that will provide each trainee with
the broad clinical experience required of a specialist anaesthetist.
This means that each trainee will be required to work in more than one
ANZCA-accredited training facility prior to obtaining fellowship.
Basic training
Basic training comprises the first 104 weeks of supervised training. At least 52 weeks of basic training must be spent within the ANZCA regions.
During basic training, a medical practitioner must:
- Complete 104 weeks of approved training.
- Complete modules 1 and 3.
- Complete at least one of the clinical modules (4 through 10).
- Pass the primary examination.
While it is no longer required in basic training, it is desirable that the professional attributes component, module 2, be completed in this phase.
Once these training components have been completed, a medical practitioner can enter
advanced training. Trainees are required to remain in basic training until
all components have been successfully completed.
Advanced training
Advanced training comprises the final 156 weeks of supervised training. At least 104 weeks of advanced training must be spent within the ANZCA regions.
During advanced training, trainees must:
- Complete the remaining clinical modules (4 through 10) not completed during basic training.
- Complete module 11 (Education and Scientific Enquiry), including the formal project.
- Complete the Professional Attributes and Professional Practice module components (modules 2 and 12 respectively).
- Pass the final examination.
- Complete the EMAC or EMST course, or equivalent, if not already completed.
Fellowship
Upon completing all requirements of the ANZCA training program, a medical practitioner
may apply for fellowship of the College. While there are four ways to
become a Fellow (by examination, by assessment of international medical graduate specialists, by election, and by granting of honorary
fellowship), most Fellows obtain their fellowship by examination Regulation 6.
Program flexibility
The College understands that situations arise which may make it difficult for a trainee to undertake five years of continuous training. Trainees may need to interrupt their training for a number of reasons such as health, maternity leave or other family reasons. On the other hand, trainees may want to have previous relevant experience considered for accreditation, for example, relevant clinical experience obtained overseas in a non ANZCA-accredited hospital, research projects previously completed, or relevant module experience.
Application for these special requests will be considered by ANZCA's Director of Professional Affairs Assessor on a case-by-case basis.
For further information on each of the various components of the ANZCA training program, see the relevant section on this website.
Trainees
