Apply

Eligibility

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

• current general AMC/MCNZ medical registration
• approved registration for the current training period
• an Educational Supervisor
• a minimum of 6 months completed and certified active Stage A training (1 training period)
• your most recent training period certified with all teaching and learning activities and assessments complete
• a complete Advanced Life Support course with certificate of completion provided to 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 the 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

Submit your application

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

Note: 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

15 min reading time | 3-hour exam | 120 multiple-choice questions (MCQs)

The exam is summative assessment designed by the Faculty Assessment Committee. It covers a cross-section of required areas of competence as defined by the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Advanced Training Curriculum (PDF).

To construct a fair and relevant exam, we developed a bank of MCQs covering a wide selection of questions. The questions are relevant and cover a broad range of topics across basic and general medicine.

The exam uses the One-Correct (Type A) Multiple-Choice format. Each MCQ includes 4 answer options with only 1 correct answer.

Skills assessed:

• clinical skills, as expected of a medical practitioner at completion of postgraduate year 2 (PGY2)
• critical appraisal of general medical literature
• professional qualities
• knowledge of basic physics, chemistry and microbiology
• knowledge of anatomy, pathophysiology and pharmacology as outlined in the curriculum
• knowledge of methods of clinical investigation and treatment as outlined in the curriculum

Exam content is weighted as follows:

See AFOEM Stage A Sample Questions 

See pages 296 to 297 in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Advanced Training Curriculum (PDF) for a list of references.

Exam day

Timetable

Bring

• printed or digital copy of your candidate allocation letter confirming your name, candidate number, 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 highlighter (optional)
• 1 x ruler (optional)
• basic analogue watch (optional)
• water in a clear plastic bottle (optional)

Some venues may not provide water. We highly recommend bringing your own water in a clear plastic bottle.

Tip: Wear additional clothing layers to adjust to the room temperature.

Not permitted during the exam

• written material (other than your candidate allocation letter)
• calculators
• food or beverages (other than water)
• ear plugs (unless special permission has been granted by RACP)
• all other belongings

During the exam, all mobile phones, digital watches, sport watches, smart watches (including but not limited to Apple watch, Garmin, Fitbit, Samsung), pagers and electronic communication devices must be switched off, placed on the floor under your desk and visible to the invigilators.

Devices that sound during the exam are subject to an incident report.

Seating arrangements

Seating lists showing your allocated seat number are displayed near the venue entrance.

Desks will be labelled with your name and candidate ID number.

Discuss seating enquiries with the Chief Supervisor as early as possible on exam day.

Apply for special consideration for exceptional circumstances by the due date.

Completing the exam

At your seat, you receive:

• an exam booklet
• a multiple-choice question answer sheet

When instructed, write your name, candidate number and exam city on both.

To answer each question, fill in the answer bubble corresponding to the option you think is correct. Use black or blue ballpoint pen only.

To change an answer, cross through the incorrectly filled bubble and then fill in the correct one. To reselect a previously crossed-through answer, circle that answer and cross through all incorrect answers. Out of the ordinary answers will be manually reviewed.

Your chosen response should be clear.

Leaving the exam room

Don't leave the exam room without an invigilator’s approval. If you need the toilet, an invigilator will escort you. If you want to leave before the end of the exam, stay seated and raise your hand. An invigilator will check your materials and release you.

You cannot leave in the first 30 minutes or last 10 minutes of the exam.

On completion of the exam, your exam booklet and answer sheet will be collected before you can leave.

The content of all documents is confidential and cannot be removed from the exam room. You’re not permitted to reproduce or distribute exam materials at any time or in any way. Doing so is a breach of the Academic Integrity in Training Process.

Issues on exam day

If you experience issues leading up to the exam or on exam day that prevent you from attending, contact us. This may include illness, natural disasters or personal/family issues.

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.

Results

Marking

We use the Modified Angoff method to set the pass mark. Several subject matter experts (SMEs) estimate a percentage of minimally competent candidates who would answer the question correctly. The SMEs’ ratings are averaged per question and this average rating is the Angoff score for each question.

The pass mark for the exam is then determined by averaging all Angoff scores for all questions. As a result of this process, the pass mark may vary across year according to the paper difficulty.

For each question answered correctly, 1 mark is awarded. Marks are not deducted for incorrect answers. To pass, you must get a score equal to or higher than the pass mark. The answer sheets are computer-marked.

We review the exam before results are released. All anomalies are reviewed. The performance for each question is analysed and the pass mark reviewed to determine each candidate’s result. All analysis is done without identifying candidates. During this process, questions may be removed from the exam and the pass mark adjusted. Once finalised, candidate results are calculated and final outcomes are assigned.

See previous exam pass rates.

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 will include a summary of candidate performance across the range of topic areas.

Next steps

To progress to Stage B training, you must pass this exam and complete all other requirements in the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Advanced Training Program handbook.