Apply

Eligibility

To be eligible to sit the examination, you must be an AFOEM trainee in Stage B training with:

• current general AMC/MCNZ medical registration
• approved registration for the current training period
• an Educational Supervisor
• a minimum of 18 months completed and certified active Stage B training (3 training period)
• your most recent training period certified with all teaching and learning activities and assessments complete
• a relevant University Graduate Diploma (or equivalent) and proof of completion received by the Faculty

You must also have:

• paid all College training fees
• applied by the exam due date

If you have outstanding training fees, you’re ineligible to sit the exam. See College Fees Terms and Conditions.

Exam attempt limit

You cannot continue Advanced Training if you exceed the examination attempt limit based on when you commenced training.

See Progression Through Training Policy for more information about examination attempts.

Overseas trained physicians: Check eligibility requirements with your overseas trained physicians case officer before applying.

Application process

Apply

The form will be available here closer to the application date.

One application form is used for all Stage A & B AFOEM exams. Ensure you select the correct exam/s.

Application confirmation

After submitting your application from, we email you to confirm it’s been received. If you don’t get a confirmation email, check your junk/spam folders and contact us if it’s not there.

Payment

Once applications have closed, we email you a link to pay the exam fee and any other outstanding fees.

Final confirmation

You receive a candidate allocation letter via email when your eligibility has been finalised. This confirms your exam registration and venue.

Withdrawal

Withdrawals are not counted as exam attempts. Contact us to withdraw up until the start of the exam. Refund rules apply. See College Fees Terms and Conditions for more information.

To request a refund for withdrawal on medical or compassionate grounds, submit an application form under the Special Consideration for Assessment Policy.

If you withdraw, you can re-apply to sit the exam the following year if you meet the eligibility criteria. Application fees will not be rolled over from one year to another.

Special consideration

Applications for special consideration must be submitted in writing using the application form.

We consider these circumstances before the exam:

• permanent and longstanding impairment
• temporary impairment with medical grounds
• non-medical compassionate grounds or serious disruption
• essential commitments (religious, cultural, societal or legal obligations)

Once you start the exam, only technical or procedural problems will be considered.

For more information on how to apply and possible outcomes, see Special Consideration for Assessment Policy.

Prepare

Exam format

The exam is a summative assessment that tests your clinical skills across domains 10, 20, 50, 60, 80 and 90 of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Advanced Training Curriculum (PDF).

It consists of:

• 2 x 20-minute Exhibit-Based Assessment (EBA) Stations
• 2 x 15-minute Clinical Stations
• 2 x 30-minute Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Stations

You are expected to:

• perform a competent clinical examination
• demonstrate competence in taking an occupational health history
• interpret general medical and surgical conditions in the context of occupational settings
• demonstrate competence in areas specific to OEM, such as workplace assessment, health surveillance and industrial hygiene.

Academic integrity

Some actions are seen as attempting to gain an unfair advantage. For example, attempts to:

• find out who examiners are
• contact potential examiners and seek guidance on improving performance
• contact examiners on exam day

These actions are a breach of the Academic Integrity in Training Policy, could lead to your disqualification and affect your progress through training.

Contact us with enquiries before or after the exam.

Exam day

Timetables

Bring

• printed copy of your candidate allocation letter confirming your name, candidate number, session time and venue
• current photo ID with your full name and signature, for example a passport or driver licence – digital IDs are not accepted
• blue or black ballpoint pens (no pencils, gel or felt-tip pens)
• 1 x stethoscope
• 1 x basic analogue watch

Tip: Dress appropriately. Consider the weather conditions, the venue and your comfort while examining patients. You don’t need to wear a suit, but you should look professional.

On sign-in, you receive an ID badge, ID stickers and timetable. You also get a notepad and pens for note-taking for the OSCE Stations.

Not permitted during the exam

• written material (other than your candidate allocation letter)
• calculators
• electronic devices (including ‘smart’ watches and communication devices)
• food or beverages
• all other belongings (for example, bags)

Clinical assessment equipment is provided at each station. You cannot bring your own equipment or aids into the assessment area unless you were granted special consideration before the exam.

During the exam, all mobile phones, smart watches, electronic devices etc must be switched off and placed in your bag. Your bag will be securely stored on-site. If you’re found with one of these devices on you during the exam, an incident report will be completed, you’ll be automatically disqualified and immediately escorted out of the venue.

Completing the exam

You rotate through the 6 stations, each one in a separate room. Your timetable indicates the order of your questions and exam invigilators guide you from station to station. Stations may occur in any order.

OSCE stations

The clinical scenario is printed on a laminated sheet, attached by a lanyard under your seat. After this announcement: 'You may now read the information sheet', you have 5 minutes to read it and familiarise yourself with the scenario. You can make notes. The same information is also available inside the station. When leaving the station, hand your notes to the examiners and take the notepad with you.

Clinical stations

A brief patient description is printed on a laminated sheet, attached by a lanyard under your seat. After this announcement: 'You may now read the information sheet', you have 5 minutes to read it. The same information is available inside the station.

EBA stations

There is no pre-reading material.

All stations

An invigilator instructs you when reading time starts and ends, and when to enter the room. Examiners time the station length however do not rely on them to keep pace of your answers.

Completing a station early

If you complete a station in under the designated time, an examiner will ask if you have anything to add. If not, you can leave and sit outside the same station until the invigilator instructs you to move on.

You can’t re-enter a station once you’ve left.

Schedule breaks

There are regular breaks in your exam schedule. You either sit outside your next station or an invigilator will lead you to a break room. If you need the toilet, an invigilator will escort you.

Inappropriate exams

If you perform an inappropriate physical examination and the patient is at risk of being hurt, the examiners will warn you to modify your technique. If you continue to conduct an inappropriate exam, they will stop you and move on to the next question.

The examiners can give the physical examination component of the station a zero score. All other questions are marked on their own merit.

Hand hygiene

To maintain health and safety standards, you must wash or sanitise your hands before and after physical examinations. Alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel is provided either outside or inside the stations.

Roles

Examiners

Two examiners assess you in each station. When you enter the station, the examiners check your ID and introduce themselves and the other people in the station (for example, co-examiner, patient).

In all stations, examiners give specific instructions. You can ask them to clarify instructions or repeat information. The examiners observe and score your performance while you undertake specific tasks.

The examiners notify the Chief Examiner of technical and procedural problems during the exam.

Note: For Clinical Stations only, an AFOEM Faculty Assessment Committee approved FRACP examiner may be assigned as the co-examiner.

Quality Assurers and Observers

An AFOEM-approved Quality Assurer (QA) or Observer may also be present. They’re not involved in examining or contributing in any way to your assessment.

The Quality Assurer’s role is to ensure that the examiners, actors and patients are conducting the assessment according to the calibration guidelines.

The Observer is there to learn about the exam process.

Leaving the exam

After the exam is finished and before you depart, the Chief Examiner provides a debrief and notes technical or procedural issues.

Notebooks are collected and personal belongings returned, and you are allowed to leave.

Misadventure

If you arrive up to 30 minutes late, you can attempt the exam, but you won’t get additional time.

If you arrive more than 30 minutes late, you won’t be permitted to enter the exam.

Variation in the exam day procedure is advised in the Chief Examiner’s pre-exam brief. If circumstances require a procedure change during the exam, we give clear instructions.

Conduct

Exam materials and content are confidential. You must sign a confidentiality agreement before the exam.

The following is considered academic misconduct:

• removing exam materials from the venue
• wilfully damaging or interfering with a station or equipment
• reproducing or distributing the contents of exam material
• discussing your performance or details of the exam with the ‘patients’, observers, examiners or exam organising member during or after the exam
• communicating exam content with candidates still to sit the exam

For more information see the Academic Integrity in Training Policy

Results

Marking

For each station, a score and professional qualities rating are awarded by consensus of 2 examiners. Scores are determined using a pre-determined marking guide.

For Clinical Stations, the pass mark is set at 12/20.

For EBA and OSCE Stations, the pass marks for the questions are determined using the Modified Angoff method which is based on the assessment of the exam by subject matter experts.

The stations also include a professional quality rating based on a defined rubric. Professional qualities ratings contribute to 30% of the overall station score.

Professional qualities ratings are determined using a pre-set rating scale for:

• interaction with patient/family
• examination or history taking technique
• examination or history taking accuracy
• interpretation and synthesis of physical or history findings
• investigations/management

Example Criteria for Assessment of Performance (OSCE) (PDF)
Example Criteria for Assessment of Performance (Clinical) (PDF)

To pass the exam, you must pass at least 4 stations, including:

• 1 x Exhibit-Based Assessment (EBA) Station
• 1 x Clinical Station
• 1 x Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) Station

Results email

You receive an email with your exam result. Ensure we have your current email address and contact number. Contact us if you don’t receive the email.

Results include a summary of feedback on general candidate performance.

See:

Feedback Report 2021 (PDF)
Feedback Report 2022 (PDF)

Next steps

To progress to Stage C Training, you must pass this exam and:

• pass the AFOEM Stage B Written Examination
• complete your year of training including all other training requirements in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Training Program handbook

Refer to the eligibility criteria and exam attempts set out in the Progression through Training Policy and the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Training Program handbook