AMC Accreditation in Australia

Background

The Australian Medical Council (AMC) is a national standards body for medical education and training. One of its functions is to advise and make recommendations to the State and Territory medical boards on the accreditation of Australian and Australasian providers of specialist medical training and of their specialist medical training and professional development programs.

The AMC issues guidelines setting out the educational principles, institutional processes, training settings and resources required for specialist education and training and professional development programs. The guidelines provide standards that a provider of specialist medical education must meet to be accredited.

The primary objective of the AMC accreditation process is to provide external assurance of the quality of medical education, based on explicit standards. It also aims to encourage improvements in postgraduate medical education in Australia that respond to evolving health needs and practices, and educational and scientific developments.

More information on Review and Accreditation of Specialist Medical Education and Training programs in Australia can be found at: www.amc.org.au/index.php/ar/sme

Accreditation of the RACP

In Australia, all providers of specialist medical education must be accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC). In New Zealand the process of accreditation is managed by the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ).

The Royal Australasian College of Physicians is accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) as a provider of specialist medical education. At the last review the RACP was granted accreditation until December 2014. Between accreditation visits, the AMC monitors developments through annual reports.

2011  Annual Report to the AMC

In September 2011 the College was required to submit its 2011 Annual Report to the AMC detailing significant changes to RACP education programs that have occurred since the 2010 AMC Accreditation Review, and describing the College's progress in addressing the recommendations made by the AMC's accreditation visit in November 2010. The 2011 Annual Report was considered by the AMC's Specialist Education and Accreditation Committee in late October.  The AMC will notify the College of any outcomes relating to the RACP 2011 Annual Report.

2010 Comprehensive Report to the AMC

The College submitted a Comprehensive Report to the AMC in September 2010, including a detailed response to each of the AMC's recommendations from their 2008 Accreditation Report and a five-year strategic vision in line with the AMC Standards for Medical Education and Training.

The 2010 Comprehensive Report was considered by the AMC's Specialist Education and Accreditation Committee, who resolved to extend the College’s accreditation until December 2014, which is the maximum possible accreditation period. The AMC commended the College’s substantial progress in initiating and implementing substantial changes to its education and training processes.

2009 Annual Report to the AMC

In September 2009 the College was required to submit an Annual Report to the AMC detailing significant changes to RACP education programs that have occurred since the 2008 AMC Accreditation Review, and describing the College's progress in addressing the recommendations noted in the AMC's 2008 Accreditation Report. The 2009 Annual Report was considered by the AMC's Specialist Education and Accreditation Committee, who accepted the report and commended the extensive work undertaken by the College to meet the 2008 recommendations.

2008 Comprehensive Report to the AMC

During 2008 the education programs offered by the College underwent another comprehensive review by the AMC. The AMC's Accreditation Report on the education and training programs of the RACP was published in February 2009 and includes a set of recommendations for the College.

• Adult Medicine, and Paediatric & Child Health Medicine (3MB)
• Occupational & Environmental Medicine (378KB)
• Public Health Medicine (1.3MB)
• Rehabilitation Medicine (647KB)
• Addiction Medicine (128KB)
• Palliative Medicine (176KB)
• Sexual Health Medicine (413KB)
• Supplementary RACP Submission to Australian Medical Council (01 July 2008) (330KB)