The Australian
Medical Council Incorporated (AMC) is a national standards advisory body for
basic medical education. One of the functions of the AMC is to assess overseas
trained doctors who wish to practice medicine in Australia.
Australian Medical Council Examinations
The AMC
examinations are designed to assess, for registration purposes, the medical
knowledge and clinical skills of overseas trained doctors whose basic medical
qualifications are not recognised by State and Territory Medical Boards, that
is, doctors trained in medical schools that have not been formally reviewed and
accredited by the AMC.
The standard of the AMC examinations is defined
as, "the level of attainment of medical knowledge, clinical skills and attitudes
required of newly qualified graduates of Australian medical schools who are
about to commence intern training."
The examination consists of two
parts, being a multiple-choice questionnaire and a clinical examination.
The Multiple Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) is a test of the principles and
practice of medicine in the fields of internal medicine, paediatrics,
psychiatry, surgery and obstetrics and gynaecology. A number of questions on
each discipline also have a focus on general practice.
The clinical
examinations evaluate clinical competence in terms of medical knowledge,
clinical skills and professional attitudes for the safe and effective clinical
practice of medicine in the Australian community.
The exams consist of
two linked stages:
Stage 1 is an assessment of consulting skills in medicine and surgery,
obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics.
Stage 2 is a multi-station assessment of clinical
skills.
The examinations are designed as a comprehensive test
of medical knowledge, clinical competency and performance. Both MCQ and clinical
assessments are multidisciplinary and integrated.
In addition to passing
the MCQ and the clinical examinations, each practitioners must meet the
Occupational English Test (OET) set by Language Australia or sit the IELTS.
Further
information should be sought from the AMC or from their website.
