Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM)

ACEM encourages Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori medical students and graduates to consider a career in emergency medicine. The FACEM Training Program is for medical practitioners who wish to specialise in emergency medicine. Successful completion qualifies practitioners for registration as a Specialist Emergency Physician in Australia and New Zealand and the award of Fellowship of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. The minimum five year training program can be undertaken on a full-time or part-time basis and includes structured training and education, workplace-based assessments, research requirements and examinations.

The four Training Stages comprise:

• Minimum 42 FTE months training in emergency medicine;
• Minimum 6 FTE months training in disciplines other than emergency medicine;
• Minimum 6 FTE months training in Critical Care (intensive care medicine and/or anaesthesia); and
• Minimum 6 FTE months elective in the final training stage

ACEM also provides a program in paediatric emergency medicine in collaboration with the Royal Australian College of Physicians, RACP. This pathway allows you to streamline training in both specialties to achieve joint Fellowship.

Further details regarding FACEM training.

For selection into FACEM training, there are no interviews or entry exams, and applicants are no longer required to sit a Situation Judgement Test (SJT).

The ACEM selection into FACEM Training process consists of three components:

• Structured Curriculum Vitae Form
• Selection References (four)
• Institutional Reference.

To be eligible to apply for selection into FACEM Training, you must satisfy all the following requirements and supply associated supporting documentation by the closing date for your application round.

• You must have one of the following:
  • An Australian or New Zealand primary medical degree, or
  • Successfully completed the requirements necessary to obtain the Australian Medical Council(AMC) Certificate or general registration with the Medical Board of Australia via the Competent Authority Pathway, or
  • Be a graduate in Medicine and Surgery of a Medical School recognised by the Medical Council of New Zealand.
• You must have one of the following for the country of application (Australia or Aotearoa / New Zealand):
  • Citizenship, or
  • Permanent Residency status, or
  • Necessary visas to undertake training.
• You must have one of the following:
  • Full general registration* with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency(AHPRA) if applying for training in Australia, or
  • Full general medical registration* with the Medical Council of New Zealandif applying for training in New Zealand.

*Your registration must have no suspension, condition, restriction or undertaking imposed that limits you having unconditional medical registration in Australia or New Zealand as applicable. If you cannot meet this eligibility criteria, you may apply via the Exceptional Circumstances and Special Consideration Policy to have your application for Selection into FACEM Training considered.

• You must be able to fulfil the requirements of the training program.
• You must be in at least your third postgraduate year (PGY3) at the time of application.
• You must have completed the following as a minimum:
• One 6-month (FTE) ED placement that must have been completed:

• • in a single* Emergency Department where the applicant assesses and manages all types of patients in that Emergency Department (i.e. not only fast-track patients)
  • in Australia or New Zealand
  • entirely within the date range relevant to the round in which you are applying (please refer to the ACEM website for up to date information)
  • during or after PGY2
  • at a minimum of 0.5 FTE
  • if undertaking the placement at part-time, you will need to ensure that you have completed the required 6 FTE months. This can be calculated by multiplying your FTE by the total calendar months in the placement e.g. 0.75 FTE x 9 months worked = 6.75 FTE months
  • applicants can combine split-placements in the same ED to meet this requirement, please refer to the FAQ section on the ACEM website for additional information

*Please refer to the Selection into FACEM Training Policy for further information regarding what defines a single Emergency Department

• Your ED placement must NOT IN ANY PART be completed:

• • at an Australian Urgent Care Centre
  • of your six months FTE ED placement, no more than five weeks can be leave

• Three placements in three different disciplines other than emergency medicine, each of which must have been completed:

• • as a minimum of eight weeks full time equivalent (FTE) of clinical work at a single site, exclusive of any leave
  • at a minimum of 0.5 FTE
• At least one of your non-ED placements must have been completed during or after PGY2. Non-ED placements may have been completed in PGY1 and/or overseas.

Please refer to the ACEM website for current information on details of requirements for Selection into FACEM Training.

Indigenous Entry Pathways Description

Our selection into the FACEM Training Program includes Indigeneity and rurality as key considerations.

Applicants are able to self-identify if they are from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. We do not require any supporting documentation in relation to Indigeneity.

• When applications are reviewed by the Selection into FACEM Training Subcommittee, all information is presented in a de-identified format.
• Should an applicant indicate Indigeneity, this information is never shared with the applicant’s workplace. It is only used for the purposes of the Selection into FACEM Training application.
• We have community and Indigenous representation on the Selection into FACEM Training Subcommittee.

Rurality is also considered as part of the Selection process. If an applicant has completed 12+ months of post-graduate medical work or 5+ years of schooling in a rural location, they can indicate this on their application. Please see our website for further information about rurality and the supporting documentation required.

Key Dates

There are two application rounds each year. Applicants for Selection into FACEM Training who intend to commence training in Australia may apply in either Round 1 or Round 2. Applicants may submit one application per year only.

It is strongly recommended that applications to commence training in New Zealand be submitted in Round 1 to ensure that your enrolment can be completed before the start of the training year.

If you intend to commence training in New South Wales, we recommend applying in Round 1 to ensure that you receive your outcome before state recruitment ends.

All applicants must commence training at the start of the relevant medical training year.

Applications for Round 1 generally open in May and applications for Round 2 generally open in September.

Specific dates for Selection into FACEM Training.

The FACEM Training Program assessments underscore each of the eight domains of the ACEM Curriculum Framework available here.

• Communication
• Health Advocacy
• Leadership and Management
• Medical Expertise
• Prioritisation and Decision Making
• Professionalism
• Scholarship and Teaching
• Teamwork and Collaboration

Trainees complete a broad range of assessment activities progressively throughout the FACEM Training Program. The assessments ensure the continuous development of knowledge, skills and attributes, leading to attainment of the FACEM.

The FACEM Training Program assessments and requirements include:

• In-Training Assessments
• Structured References
• Workplace-based Assessments (WBAs)
• Research Requirement
• Paediatric Requirement
• Critical Care Requirement
• Special Skills Logbook/Learning Portfolio
• Primary Examinations (Written Examination and VIVA)
• Fellowship Examinations (Written Examination and OSCE).

Further information regarding FACEM Training Program assessment is available on the College website.

Details of College Fees can be found here.

In addition to the Fellowship of ACEM, other emergency medicine training programs that are also available for those wishing to practice in emergency departments include:

• Emergency Medicine Certificate (EMC)
• Emergency Medicine Diploma (EMD)
• Emergency Medicine Advanced Diploma (EMAD)
• Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine (PHRM)

Further details on the above programs is available on the ACEM website.

Indigenous Mentoring Programs, networks, support programs etc

The ACEM Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander trainees to progress through the ACEM training and assessment programs.

Manaaki Mana Strategy: The vision of this strategy is that emergency departments will provide excellent, culturally safe care to Māori, in an environment where Māori patients, whānau and staff feel valued, and where leaders actively seek to eliminate inequities.

ACEM has an Indigenous Health Committee which is responsible for:

• Advising ACEM’s role in advocacy for issues that impact Indigenous health;
• Promoting the need for emergency medicine practitioners to provide culturally safe care to Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori patients, and for emergency departments to be culturally safe environments;
• Collaborating with the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA)
• Collaborating with TeORA (Māori Medical Practitioner’s Association of Aotearoa/New Zealand);
• Monitoring and promoting ACEM’s role in providing training and professional development in cultural competency;
• Ensuring ACEM representation on external bodies involved in Indigenous health and cultural competency;

College Scholarships

ACEM Foundation Joseph Epstein Scholarship

This scholarship aims to increase the number of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori specialists in emergency medicine in Australia and New Zealand.

• Eligibility: Advanced FACEM trainees who are identify as Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Māori
• Purpose: Encourage and support Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori doctors undertaking Advanced Training in the FACEM Training Program.
• Scholarship: Fees of the Advanced Training Program, including the Fellowship Exam (Written and Clinical).
• Completion period: 10 years while the awardee remains an advanced trainee of the College.
• Number of Grants available: unlimited
• Applications open: Always open

Further details on the ACEM Foundation Joseph Epstein Scholarship may be found here.

ACEM Foundation Conference Grant

ACEM acknowledges that increasing the Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori health workforce is an essential step in reducing the current health disparities experienced by Indigenous people.

• The grant aims to provide professional development, encourage sharing of current knowledge and expertise, strengthen relationships and facilitate leadership development for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori health practitioners. Eligibility: Medical practitioners, medical students, ACEM trainees, and other health professionals of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Māori descent.
• Purpose: To support attendance of either the ACEM Winter Symposium or the ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM).
• Grant: Up to $5,000.
• Number of Grants available: up to three awarded annually.
• Opening date: See College website for details.
• Closing date: See College website for details.

Further details on the ACEM Foundation Conference Grant may be found here.

ACEM Foundation Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori Health Research Award

Made in respect of a published research paper or conference presentation to be most significant in the field of emergency medicine as it relates to Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander or Māori health, the award will achieve this by:

• Fostering collaborative research partnerships that improve the cultural safety of emergency departments (EDs).
• Recognising the importance of participatory action research.
• Encouraging ACEM trainee interest (thereby increasing trainee exposure) in Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori research.
• Eligibility: ACEM trainees and FACEMs
• Purpose: Support, encourage and promote research into Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Māori health.
• Grant: Lump sum payment of AUD$1,000
• Number of Awards available: one per annum
• Opening date: See website for details
• Closing date: See website for details.

Further details on the Research Award can be found here.

Financial Assistance

ACEM Foundation Joseph Epstein Scholarship for training and examination fees. Please see information above.