Need Advice Re: AustralianMedicalCouncil Examination

[bituin73]

Mabuhay
I am an overseas trained doctor who graduated last 2002 and my fiance is an australian citizen. He wants us to settle down in Australia.

Could anybody give me tips or good review materials to read for the AMC examination for overseas trained doctors?

and i read somewhere here in the internet that i have to undergo intership again even if i have graduated already from medschool in my home country. Is this true?
and AMC says something like "supervised training period" what does it mean? intership? or observership?

and i keep seeing the word registrar. Is it the same with internship or resident?
pardon me if my question sounds stupid


any info will be most appreciated.
Thank you

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[Winged Scapula]

It is indeed my understanding that you have to complete a year of clinical training, comparable to an internship.

The term registrar refers to a post-grad physician who is past the internship training period but has not completed all of his/her training (ie, it would be comparable to the term "resident".) It denotes that you have registered with the Medical Council. You might try a search on this site for more detailed information as this topic crops up from time to time here.

 

[bituin73]

Thanks Kimberli.

 

[Purifyer]

Thanks Kimberli.

I also read somewhere that overseas trained doctors, even when they pass the AMC exams and internship, are not given a provider number for 10 years. I'm not exactly sure what a provider number is; I presume that this prevents you from entering private practice.

This probably has zero relevance to your decision but I thought I'd try to make some helpful comment

 

[moondance26]

Mabuhay bituin!

To answer your questions in order:

1) there's a book that the AMC releases. it's a book of multiple choice questions, called AMCQ. can't remember off the top of my head what it stands for... it's a purple book, and retails for about 80 something aussie dollars. if you're in oz with your fiance, check out the med school bookstores. final year med students use it to study for their exams as our final exams are similar to the AMC MCQ exams. also, any of the other types of books on clinical problem solving should help.

2) yes, you need to undergo your internship again. that's the year of supervised training, i think. not sure about this. but, unlike the philippines, internship is actually after med school, not part of it. there are actually consultants from the philippines who are here in oz doing their internship, though one of them is here as a registrar.

3) a registrar is someone in a training program. so, yeah, a resident. to confuse the issue, a resident medical officer here in oz (or an RMO) is different from a resident in the philippines. they've finished their internship but have not yet entered a training program. or they are in a training program but they haven't passed their primary exams.

4) to address purifyer's issue of provider number. i think AMC doctors (which you will be) only get partial registration for 10 years, which means they can only practice in hospital, rather than get into private practice.

sana this helps you. good luck!

 

[bituin73]

Thanks Moondance!!
info i got from you is well appreciated.
Are you a filipino? i saw the word "sana" at the end of your post.
thanks for the info re: the AMC Questions. I saw it online the other day.
can the questions in USMLE step 2 be a substitute? i am still in the philippines and the AMCQ is not available here.

thank you again for giving me information God Bless You

 

[moondance26]

hi bituin.

yes, am pinoy. am final-year med student at Adelaide Uni.

Haven't seen the usmle 2 questions, so can't answer your question about similarities between the two exams. sorry.

good luck with the whole process!

 

[MPS]

Once you have passed the AMC exams, you can then undertake 12 months of supervised training approved by the medical board in the state where you're applying for membership. This isn't necessarily the same as an "internship" in the Australian sense. After you complete these requirements, you'll be registered unconditionally. There are other avenues open, for example if you already hold specialist of general practice qualifications from overseas.

As regards Medicare provider numbers, this is a separate issue, and has been for about 8 years or so. Under section 19AB of the Medical Insurance Act, (1973) overseas trained doctors are not eligible for an unrestricted medicare provider number until 10 years have elapsed since the date of their first registration as a medical practitioner in Australia (for doctors registered in, or before 2001) or 10 years after they have become a citizen (for doctors registered after 2001). This section effectively limits most overseas trained doctors to the public system for 10 years. This section can be bypassed if you work as a GP in an area of need.

 

[Leforte]

So if you are required to do the 10 years in the public sector, can you get any private patient priviledges? Or must all patients be public/Medicare? I know that the reimbursements are much better for private patients - as well as dealing less with the whole bulk-biling issue.

I've been looking a this for awhile now, and I've got varying info on the two pathways (AMC vs specialist college) - The AMC way can take years to get through vs. the specialist college pathway (in my case through the RACS) which I am told I'll be required to take Part II of the fellowship exam, and unless one has "inside" knowledge (ie did their training in Oz) can be seemingly insurmountable (ie essay questions on the embryology of the endolymphatic sac in ENT)....

Anyone gone/going through the process?

Also, if you go through the AMC pathway, is it difficult to get priviledges if your not recognized as a fellow of one of the specialist colleges?

Thanks

 

[bituin73]

moondance26, purifyer, MPS
thank you very much for the information

moondance26
its nice to know that you are a "pinoy".
maybe i can meet you when i get there.
we are thinking of moving to melbourne or adelaide (did i get the spelling right?) if circumstance will be on our side.
btw, i have a usmle questions in word format with answers and explanation.
so far, thats the one i am reading because i still dont have the AMC MCQ sample exam. Would you like a copy? it can serve as a practice exam too ( i guess hehehe)
ingat palagi

Leforte,
ill post something if i get any info re: your inquiry

Mabuhay!

 

[MPS]

So if you are required to do the 10 years in the public sector, can you get any private patient priviledges? Or must all patients be public/Medicare? I know that the reimbursements are much better for private patients - as well as dealing less with the whole bulk-biling issue.

I've been looking a this for awhile now, and I've got varying info on the two pathways (AMC vs specialist college) - The AMC way can take years to get through vs. the specialist college pathway (in my case through the RACS) which I am told I'll be required to take Part II of the fellowship exam, and unless one has "inside" knowledge (ie did their training in Oz) can be seemingly insurmountable (ie essay questions on the embryology of the endolymphatic sac in ENT)....

Anyone gone/going through the process?

Also, if you go through the AMC pathway, is it difficult to get priviledges if your not recognized as a fellow of one of the specialist colleges?

Thanks

Recognition from the colleges, registration and eligibility for a Medicare number are completely separate. You won't find it any easier to get a medicare number if you're a member of the RACS.

 

[bituin73]

to MPS or anyone else,

if i pass the AMC MCQ exam, can i work in any hospital while waiting/preparing for the AMC clinical exam? any hospital job would do i guess

 

[moondance26]

to MPS or anyone else,

if i pass the AMC MCQ exam, can i work in any hospital while waiting/preparing for the AMC clinical exam? any hospital job would do i guess

as far as i can tell, yes to a certain extent. we have some people working in emergency who have qualified in their own countries. however, you start as an intern and, in SA at least, get the last available places (5th round offers). don't know what it's like in other states. better check with the AMC though, as I don't fully understand the process, and wouldn't want you to get in trouble.

 

[MPS]

I think many people work before they sit the exam. In Queensland, for example, the medical board sometimes counts this as supervised training counting towards unconditional registration.

As has already been mentioned, OTD's are at the bottom of the list when it comes to allocating jobs. This goes for anyone, even if they were born and bred in Australia. This is a major factor that would put me off going back.

 

[bituin73]

thank you very much for answering my inquiries...thank you very much.
i am still rather confused about the medical practice there in australia besides from the terms they use like registrar etc..etc..which i dont encounter here in the philippines and US. but i guess, ill get the hang of it and understand them one way or the other. Thank you very much.
I plan to work while waiting and preparing for my exam whenever i get there possibly next year *fingers crossed*. Dont want to rely on my partner financially. if i can work in the hospital - it will be great!! - even part time will do. But if not, i have no other choice hehehe
i encountered one question in my search here in the internet and would like to confirm if it is really true: do they ask questions like the one below in AMC MCQ exam???
Q: The active ingredient of cannabis is delta-9-tetra-hydrocannabinol. Hydroponic cannabis:
a) has lower concentration of the above ingredient
b) has higher concentration of the above ingredient
c) has the same concentration of the above ingredient

http://www.hydroponics.com/archives/hydroponics.htm
the wife of the owner of the site was preparing for the AMC MCQ Exam.
anwer is: B

 

[BrissieMD]

Hi bituin73,

I was one of the role-play 'patients' in the AMC clinical exam earlier this year. Apparently, after you pass the written exam, you may have to wait up to 2 years to get a place at a clinical exam.

During that time (after the written exam) you can practice in Australia with 'supervision'. There was one candidate there who i recognised as a registrar at a private hospital that i was doing my rotation in. So he could obviously work before the clinical exam - and he could work as a registrar (rather than an intern/resident) probably because he had already worked for some years overseas.

The patient scenario i was doing was about amenorrhea related to too much exercise (ballet dancer) & very little body fat. You had to explain that, how to manage it, & what the long-term consequences were (osteoporosis)

 

[Purifyer]

Q: The active ingredient of cannabis is delta-9-tetra-hydrocannabinol. Hydroponic cannabis:
a) has lower concentration of the above ingredient
b) has higher concentration of the above ingredient
c) has the same concentration of the above ingredient

http://www.hydroponics.com/archives/hydroponics.htm
the wife of the owner of the site was preparing for the AMC MCQ Exam.
anwer is: B

... I think 90% of the NZ (? and Aus) population below 45 would find that a very simple question (and I've never even touched the stuff

 

[kumarraja]

i am from india could u help me abut amc exams ,i had no idea how to write ,where to write,what r the things to do there ,how much time it wil take for getting postgrad,what r the sites to be viewed to download amc books..........pls