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Vocational Training
Nuclear Medicine
Supervising Committee
Joint Specialist Advisory Committee (JSAC) in Nuclear Medicine.
This is a joint Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians
(RACP) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists.
(RANZCR).
Definition of Specialty
Nuclear medicine is the medical specialty that utilises the nuclear properties
of radioactive nuclides to make diagnostic evaluations of the anatomical
and/or physiological conditions of the body and to provide therapy with
unsealed radioactive sources.
General Principles of Training
- The purpose of advanced training in nuclear medicine is to produce
a physician competent to provide unsupervised comprehensive medical
care in nuclear medicine.
- Entry to the advanced training program in nuclear medicine
can be made via RACP or RANZCR.
- RACP
For trainees who have completed basic training and passed the FRACP
Examination (Written and Clinical), advanced training in nuclear
medicine is a three year program. The program will include at least
two years of core training and up to 12 months of non-core or elective
training. Non core training may be permitted in non-nuclear medicine
training posts (including radiology training), provided that this
training is shown to be relevant and adds value to a trainee’s
core nuclear medicine program.
- For Fellows of RACP, advanced training in nuclear medicine is a
two-year program of core training.
Trainees in Nuclear Medicine are permitted to enrol in FRANZCR Part
I courses and sit for the FRANZCR Part I (anatomy + physics) during
their training in Nuclear Medicine. It should be noted that this
does not guarantee a training position in radiology.
FRACP trainees who completed advanced training in Nuclear Medicine
and have passed the FRANZCR Part I, may apply to have their Nuclear
Medicine training counted as an elective year towards FRANZCR Fellowship.
- RANZCR
For trainee radiologists who have passed the RANZCR Part 2 Examination,
advanced training in nuclear medicine is a two-year program of
core training. In this case, training in nuclear medicine comprises
the elective year before awarding the FRANZCR diploma plus the
subsequent year. Trainees from RANZCR do not qualify for FRACP.
Trainees in Radiology are permitted to enrol in ANZAPNM Basic Sciences
Course prior to completion of the FRANZCR examination commitments.
- Periods spent in nuclear medicine positions before success at the
FRACP Examination (Written and Clinical) or the RANZCR Part 2 Examination
cannot be accredited towards advanced training in nuclear medicine.
However, if a trainee of RACP is occupying a training position in nuclear
medicine during the year in which the examination is passed, and if
the training was prospectively approved and satisfactorily completed,
the year can be accredited as an elective year of advanced training.
- Trainees shall spend the equivalent of 5 full days per week in nuclear
medicine over the two-year period (excluding holidays). This training
may include clinical nuclear medicine, nuclear medicine research, QA
activities related directly to nuclear medicine and teaching of nuclear
medicine. Activities that are not directly related to nuclear medicine
- for example, general or other specialist medical training, general
or other specialist radiology training such as ultrasound, and private
medical practice for remuneration - are excluded.
- It is preferable that training is undertaken on a full-time and continuous
basis. However, the JSAC will consider approving part-time training
in certain situations if the proposal has been submitted prospectively.
Training, however, should be at least 0.5FTE in a 12 month period.
Interrupted training of periods less than one year but more than 3
months will also be considered prospectively.
- At least one year of advanced training must be undertaken in Australia
or New Zealand.
Components of Core Training
Approved Training Program
- Trainees must submit a prospective application for approval of advanced
training to the JSAC at the commencement of each year of training.
A supervisor’s report must be submitted at the end of each year
of training. These documents must be completed satisfactorily before
any training can
be accredited.
- Training must be at a site that is accredited for advanced
training. (See Training Sites below.)
- The learning outcomes and the
desired skill levels to be achieved in nuclear medicine training
are listed in the Syllabus for Advanced Training
in Nuclear Medicine, which is published by the Australian
and New Zealand Association of Physicians in Nuclear Medicine (ANZAPNM).
The Syllabus will be sent
to each advanced trainee at the commencement of advanced training.
- During
the advanced training program, trainees are expected to gain
core training experience in at least two approved training sites. This
will require training at each institution to be of 12 months duration.
Periods shorter than this will only be considered under exceptional
circumstances.
- Paediatric trainees may complete up to 12 months of core training
at a site approved for paediatric nuclear medicine. Trainees who take
up this option must complete the remainder of core training at a site
which is accredited for adult nuclear medicine and which offers a high
level of cardiac stress testing. It is also recommended that these
trainees gain a third year of adult nuclear medicine experience.
Procedural Skills
Trainees are expected to gain proficiency in cardiac stress testing.
Proficiency in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the management of conditions
that may arise during cardiac stress testing are also required.
Paediatric Training
Trainees need to have exposure to paediatric nuclear medicine. This may
be achieved by two methods:
- First, an advanced trainee may be attached to a training site that
is accredited for “paediatric training”. Trainees in departments
that have a paediatric nuclear medicine caseload of more than 25 studies
per month, and who spend 12 months training in this department, will
be considered to have completed their paediatric requirement for advanced
training in nuclear medicine.
- Second, for trainees not attached to a site that is accredited for
paediatric training, a 20-day rotation to a site accredited for “paediatric
rotations” is considered necessary.
Please contact the ANZAPNM Secretariat for a current list of sites accredited
for “paediatric training” or “paediatric rotations”.
Continuous Assessment Program (CAP)
Trainees are expected to participate in the Continuous Assessment Program
(CAP), which is administered by ANZAPNM. This program includes a series
of written, on-line and oral assessment tasks that are sent to trainees
during their two years of core training. These tasks assess the trainee’s
knowledge of various aspects of nuclear medicine practice. Satisfactory
completion of all CAP assessment tasks is required by the JSAC to indicate
completion of the program.
Please contact ANZAPNM for more details.
Basic Sciences Module
All trainees are required to complete the Basic Sciences Module. ANZAPNM conducts
a course each year on the basic sciences in nuclear medicine. Following the course,
ANZAPNM holds an assessment of the trainee’s understanding of the material
covered in the course. Satisfactory completion of the assessment and the practical
component of the course are required by the JSAC to indicate completion of training
in the basic sciences.
Attendance at an equivalent course (as determined by the JSAC) is acceptable
as long as the course is prospectively approved by the JSAC.
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