Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM)

Specialty Area

General Practice

College Description

ACRRM is one of Australia’s two Australian Medical Council (AMC) accredited medical colleges providing vocational training towards Fellowship in the specialty of general practice. The ACRRM programs are designed to prepare Fellows for the Rural Generalist model of practice. This incorporates a broad practice scope and special skills to deliver highest quality care in rural, remote, and, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. ACRRM has a special vision for ‘the right doctors, with the right skills in the right places providing rural and remote people with excellent healthcare’. ACRRM has been developed with recognition that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare is a core component of rural and remote medicine. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are a significant part of most rural and remote communities and caring for these people is core business for all rural doctors. ACRRM has been delivering AMC accredited Fellowship programs for over a decade and represents over 5000 rural doctor and medical student members across the country.

Fellowship Name

Fellowship of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (FACRRM)

Fellowship Description

The Fellowship of ACRRM (FACRRM) qualifies doctors to be Vocationally Registered as General Practitioners. This enables them to provide Medicare billable services as General Practitioners. The Fellowship qualification provides a nationally-recognised assurance to patients, government and international standards bodies, that the doctor has attained the competencies to practice safely as an unsupervised General Practitioner in any location. Over and above this, the FACRRM certifies that the doctor has been trained and formally assessed as having attained the skills to provide general practice services in the contexts of relative clinical isolation as occurs in rural and remote communities. This means they have attained high-level skills for providing such services as emergency care, hospital care, population-health based care and care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Additionally, the FACRRM certifies doctors’ attainment of advanced level skills to practice independently within their safe scope in at least one of 12 specialist areas. The specialist area options include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, obstetrics, emergency medicine and mental health.

For more information see: https://www.acrrm.org.au/training-towards-fellowship/overview-of-fellowship-training

Indigenous Entry Path

No

Locations

Level 2, 410 Queen Street
Brisbane QLD 4000
Australia

GPO Box 2507
Brisbane QLD 4000
Australia

Contact Information

Overview

The Fellowship of ACRRM (FACRRM) is a four-year program which can be undertaken by enrolling in one of three key pathways:

  • Australian General Practice Training (AGPT)
  • Independent Pathway (IP)
  • Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS)

All pathways lead to vocational recognition with Medicare Australia, specialist registration as a General Practitioner through the Australian Medical Council (AMC), and are recognised in reciprocal arrangements with other medical colleges.

Training is undertaken predominantly or entirely in rural and remote areas and can be based in a diverse range of workplace settings including in general practice clinics, Aboriginal Medical Services, retrieval services, hospitals and community health services.

Full information on program requirements for each pathway.

Admissions

The three training pathways to Fellowship have different eligibility criteria.  These are all based on candidate’s:

  • Residency/citizenship status
  • Primary medical qualifications
  • Medical experience

AGPT:

Check your eligibility by referring to the AGPT Program Eligibility Guidelines.

Independent Pathway:

Check your eligibility by referring to the Independent Pathway website.

RVTS:

RVTS has two streams of trainees:

  • The Remote Stream for doctors working in rural & remote Australia
  • The AMS Stream, providing training for doctors working in Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services

Eligibility criteria for each stream.

Pathways

Indigenous Entry Pathways Description

Not applicable.

Key Dates

For AGPT places – generally two intakes per year, with dates currently determined by the Department of Health.

For RVTS places.

For ACRRM Independent Pathway places – Applications for the Independent Pathway are open all year, with intakes occurring in December, March, June and September. These are advertised on the College website.

Placement Requirements

For information on training placements visit the website.

Assessment

To be eligible for Fellowship of ACRRM (FACRRM) you will need to have attained the following:

Successful completion of four years full-time training or equivalent part-time training consisting of:

  • 12 months Core Clinical Training (CCT) in accredited hospitals
  • 24 months Primary Rural and Remote Training (PRRT) consisting of:
  • at least six months experience in community primary care
  • at least six months experience in hospital and emergency care
  • at least 12 months experience living and practising in a rural / remote environment; and
  • 12 months Advanced Specialised Training (AST) in a range of settings, depending on the discipline, or 24 months if completing AST in Rural Generalist Surgery.

 Successful completion of these education activities:

  • an education program provided by ACRRM or a training organisation and in an accredited teaching post
  • at least four ACRRM online courses approved for training; and
  • the required emergency courses

Successful completion of these assessments:

  • Mini Clinical Evaluation Exercise (miniCEX) – satisfactory completion
  • Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) – satisfactory completion
  • Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) – pass grade
  • Case Based Discussion (CBD) – pass grade
  • Structured Assessment using Multiple Patient Scenarios (StAMPS) – pass grade
  • Procedural Logbook – satisfactory completion
  • AST assessments specific to each AST discipline

For further information visit the website.

Enrolment & Fees

  • AGPT is a government funded training program.
  • ACRRM Independent Pathway is privately funded, with some government support potentially available through the Non-VR Fellowship Training Support Scheme.
  • RVTS is government funded.

Other

Typically, around five to seven of the successful applicants for places in the ACRRM training program each year identify as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin.  Demonstrated capacity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcare and for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are identified competencies that are positively weighted in the selection process.   Also demonstrated capacity for work in remote communities.

Visit the ACRRM website for further information, or contact the college at acrrm@acrrm.org.au, or 1800 223 226.

Support

Indigenous Mentoring Programs, networks, support programs etc

The College has an active Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Members Group which is open to all Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander members.  The group meets regularly and provides peer support and networking as well as providing advice to the College on issues of importance to Indigenous people.

The ACRRM Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members group provides an informal mentoring program for its members.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members may also join the College’s broader Mentorship Program which is open to all ACRRM members.

The College is also committed to a Reconciliation Action Plan.

College Scholarships

The College offers opportunities to apply for the President’s Prize, to be awarded conference tickets, travel and accommodation to the annual Rural Medicine Australia (RMA) conference, hosted by ACRRM and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia with at least one prize per year awarded to an Indigenous medical student.

Students can also volunteer at RMA, which rewards them with free day delegate tickets.

Financial Assistance

It is a College strategic commitment to ensure its registrars that are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people are well-supported through to Fellowship. Individual registrar needs are supported on a case-by-case basis.

Stay informed

Discover the LIME Network Newsletter

July 2024 – Issue 49

Joining our network has its privileges

Becoming a member of the LIME Network will mean that you can keep in touch with what we are doing and have access to our latest resources and publications. We will let you know about upcoming LIME Connection Conferences and you will also receive our Newsletters four times per year.