What is the Practice Experience Program Specialist Stream?

Practice Experience Program specialist stream is an Australian Medical Council (AMC) funded 3GA program that provides structured education and peer support for International Medical Graduates (IMG) with overseas specialist qualifications. The specialist stream is the pathway to gain fellowship with the Royall Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) for Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs).

The Practice Experience Program Specialist stream has replaced the Specialist Recognition Program (SRP) since the end of 2019.

Specialist International Medical Graduates will be provided a PEP 3GA provider number upon gaining fellowship through the PEP Specialist Stream.

Benefits

The benefits of the Practice Experience Program include Australian Government co-funded program support; capacity to bill for services under the highest value Medicare Benefits Schedule item; access to a suite of comprehensive educational resources as well as peer support and feedback while transitioning into Australian general practice.

Comparability Assessment

The RACGP has assessed training qualifications and categorised them to be Substantially comparable, Partially comparable, and not comparable. Comparability is about the extent to which a Specialist IMG’s recency, continuity of practice, continual professional development, assessment methods, training, qualifications and clinical experience are assessed as equivalent to an Australian-trained general practitioner at the point of attaining Fellowship.

As per the RACGP, the assessed qualifications are classified as follows:

If your qualification is not included above, the RACGP has not assessed your training curriculum. Therefore, you cannot apply for a comparability Assessment until it has been assessed.

If you want a curriculum to be assessed by the RACGP, you must provide;

a)       an official copy of the curriculum of your training organisation

b)       an official letter from your training organisation confirming the curriculum is theirs, curriculum year, the specialist general practice qualification it leads to and the year you obtained this qualification.

The signed documents and the comparability form should be emailed to educationsupport@racgp.org.au. You can access the curriculum comparison form via https://www.racgp.org.au/FSDEDEV/media/documents/Education/Curriculum/Curriculum-comparison-form.pdf.

For more information refer to the Guide to completing the comparability assessment.   

PEP Specialist Stream Eligibility

To apply for the PEP Specialist Stream, the applicant

-            must complete a comparability assessment

-            must hold a recognised specialist qualification in general practice

To be eligible for the PEP Specialist Stream, your qualification must be categorised as substantially or partially comparable.

If your comparability outcome is:

• Substantially comparable – you’ll be required to achieve Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP) within 12 calendar months if working full-time.
• Partially comparable – you’ll be required to achieve FRACGP within 24 calendar months if working full-time. This includes successful completion of the RACGP Fellowship examinations.

Workplace Based Assessment (WBA)

The WBA should be successfully completed between 3 to 6 months of commencing work in Australia. It aims to support the professional development and transition to Australian General Practice.

WBA consists of the following components:

• Online core learning units and reflective activity
• Colleague and patient feedback using a Colleague Feedback Evaluation Tool (CFET) and Doctors’ Interpersonal Skills Questionnaire (DISQ), together known as multisource feedback (MSF)
• A clinical assessment visit that will involve a medical educator observing you in practice during four consultations (direct observation) and a clinical case analysis. The clinical case analysis involves the assessor selecting patients seen by you in the preceding week with oral questioning about aspects of the case. You will be provided with feedback on your performance
• Supervisor reports are a requirement by the Medical Board of Australia and must be submitted to the RACGP at three, 12 and 24 months.

Medical Graduates who do not successfully complete the Workplace Based Assessment will be required to complete further assessment to demonstrate their eligibility for Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP).

For more details see AMC’s Workplace Based Assessment Practical Guide.

Practice Location

The Australian Government requires IMGs with overseas specialist qualifications to work in a Distribution Priority Area (DPA) to access Medicare rebates under 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973.

Specialist IMGs will be issued Provider Numbers only if your job offer meets the RACGP definition of comprehensive general practice and if the practice is located in a Modified Monash Model (MMM) 2-7 location. You can check the MMM classification of a location via http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/.

If your job offer is not approved, you must submit another job offer that meets the criteria.

To have a discussion on the PEP Specialist Pathway or any other fellowship pathway, reach out to Medfuture via feed@medfuture.com.au and we would guide you through. If you’d prefer, email your contact details so we can get in touch with you.

Useful resources:

https://www.racgp.org.au/education/imgs/fellowship-pathways/fellowship-programs-for-imgs/practice-experience-program/practice-experience-program-specialist-stream/about-the-program

https://www.racgp.org.au/education/imgs/fellowship-pathways/fellowship-programs-for-imgs/practice-experience-program/practice-experience-program-exam-preparation-term

https://www.racgp.org.au/education/imgs/fellowship-pathways/fellowship-programs-for-imgs/practice-experience-program

https://www.racgp.org.au/education/registrars/fellowship-pathways/policy-framework/guidance-documents/general-practice-experience-assessment

https://www.racgp.org.au/education/imgs/fellowship-pathways/fellowship-programs-for-imgs/practice-experience-program/practice-experience-program-specialist-stream/comparability-assessment