www.amcexams.com

ESSENTIAL DETAILS 

  The Australian Medical Council administers the national examinations of overseas trained medical practitioners seeking to practice medicine in Australia.

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 recognized 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 2001 AMC examinations (from July 2001) consist of two sections:

• The multiple choice examination (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 in each discipline also has a focus on general practice. The MCQ is two written papers, each of three hours duration. Each paper contains 125 questions. Papers are administered on separate days.

• 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. This stage takes 4 to 5 hours. Stage 2 will be a multi-station assessment of clinical skills, known as the Multidisciplinary Clinical Assessment Task Scenarios (M-CATS). Stage 2 takes 2 to 3 hours. Candidates must pass Stage 1 before proceeding to Stage 2.

The examinations are designed as a comprehensive test of medical knowledge, clinical competency and performance. Both MCQ and clinical assessments are multidisciplinary and integrated. The written MCQ examination focuses on essential medical knowledge involving understanding of the disease process, clinical examination, diagnosis, investigation, therapy and management, as well as on the candidate's ability to exercise discrimination, judgment and reasoning in distinguishing between the correct diagnosis and plausible alternatives. The clinical examination also assesses the candidate's capacity to communicate with patients, their families and other health workers.

In addition to these components, each practitioner must also meet the AMC's English language proficiency requirement.

The range of topics covered in the AMC examination is based on the clinical curricula of Australian medical schools with an emphasis on common conditions in the Australian community. The patients used in the clinical examinations are drawn from the same pool of patients used to assess final year medical students.

The AMC’s Board of Examiners ensures that the format and content of the AMC examinations are consistent with undergraduate medical courses and the standard of examinations in Australian medical schools. Members of the Board have broad expertise over the full range of disciplines covered in the AMC and medical school examinations.

For more information, please see the Information for Exam Candidates section.