Have you been wondering about the renewal of our Advanced Training (AT) curriculum?
On Friday, 28 February 2025, the College Education Committee (CEC) approved our draft PHM curriculum. This is a major achievement and testament to the hard work of the Curriculum Review Group (CRG) namely Professor Phil Hider (Deputy Chair), Dr Elly Layton, Dr Evelyn Wong, Dr Francesca Kelly, Dr Finn Romanes, Dr Rhea Psereckis, Dr Anu Anuradha, A/Professor Liza Edmonds, Dr Marlene Kong, Professor Rod McClure, Dr Steph Munari and Dr Simon Crouch.
 
This followed earlier endorsement in January 2025 of the curriculum by OOS vote by the AFPHM Council.  Individual responses had also been received by ELA from members of FEC and FTC who submitted their views through a survey.  The College Assessment Committee also endorsed our AT curriculum via an endorsement survey. 
 
Although yet to receive formal notification of this curriculum approval decision from the CEC, I have been advised by staff via email that this approval includes the caveat that the AFPHM Oral Examination is subject to the findings of the Cross-College Examinations Review. There is already a report from the Cross-College Examinations Review which might be useful to those with a sustained interest in the curriculum roll-out.  
 
On behalf of the CRG, I have conveyed my appreciation to the CEC and ELA team for their support and genuine recognition of the differences between our medical specialty and the others within the RACP.  
 
While this marks the end of the CRG's work, your Faculty holds a continuing commitment to progress the two co-designed learning goals to ensure our curriculum equips trainees with the skills they need to work effectively with Aboriginal, Torres Islander and Māori peoples. It is critical that the Faculty holds true to this commitment and role-models best practice in this regard. Māori Health Committee endorsed codesign as the way forward last year in November 2024 and advised us in February 2025.  We are waiting for a decision from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Committee.  

There is also more work to plan implementation of the new curriculum. Through Greg Stewart, the existing Faculty Training Committee with additional members will guide ELA to secure the smoothest transition from our existing curriculum.  Issues of immediate focus include the changes to eligibility criteria, upskilling FAFPHM supervisors in the new requirements, especially but not only the new assessment procedures and how best to organise and support new entities such as Progress Review Panels.  As we heard through feedback on evolving versions of the AT program, ours is very different to those significantly resourced in hospital-based training with larger trainee numbers and much greater health system support.  Once these details become clearer for our AT program, information will be provided via the AFPHM newsletter.