Basic Training

Periods of defined basic training prior to an individual commencing the advanced training program are required by nine specialties. Table 4.4 and Table 4.5 provide data on trainees for these specialties. Surgery has an integrated program, the SET program, which does not distinguish between basic and advanced trainees. Data on these are reported in the sections dealing with advanced training. It should be noted that ACRRM only has two basic training posts recorded in this section. The reason for this is that the training program for ACRRM has three stages of training: Core Clinical Training (CCT), Primary Rural and Remote Training (PRRT) and Advanced Specialised Training (AST). In the MTRP report CCT is now defined as basic training and PRRT and AST as advanced training. ACRRM accepts posts accredited by State Postgraduate Medical Councils for CCT stage of training but also has standards to accredit posts if required. The number of State Postgraduate Medical Councils accredited posts is not included in this section, only posts accredited by ACRRM. Therefore the majority of posts accredited by ACRRM are included in Advanced Training.

There have not been any ACRRM Independent Pathway trainees recorded in Table 4.7 under basic training as doctors on this pathway are experienced and are awarded recognised prior learning for the first year of training. Therefore all data relating to ACRRM Independent Pathway trainees are reported in the sections dealing with advanced training.

Further information on the training requirements for each specialty is provided in Appendix B.

In total there were 6,056 basic trainees, representing 33.9% of all trainees in 2013 (Table 4.3). This represents a 5.4% increase on the 5,744 basic vocational trainees from 2012. Growth of over 350% from the 1,339 trainees undertaking basic vocational training in 2002 is mainly related to many colleges introducing additional basic training as a pre-requisite to entry to advanced training as well as the introduction of a requirement for RACP trainees in their first year of training to register with the college.

The specialty with the largest number of basic trainees was adult medicine with 2,475 (Table 4.4).

Of the total number of basic trainees, 1,669 were in their first year. Over one-third (585 or 35.1%) of these basic trainees were in their first year of adult medicine. Just under one-fifth (313 or 18.8%) were commencing their first year of basic training in psychiatry, and 14.4% were commencing in emergency medicine. The number of first year basic trainees in anaesthesia dropped by about 100 trainees compared to 2012 (314).

All current ACEM trainees in basic training are considered in the same year (provisional training year, at least PGY3). This shows trainees who registered with ACEM for this current calendar year.

In 2013, just over half (3,235 or 53.4%) of all basic trainees were female (Table 4.5). The specialty with the largest number of females was adult medicine, with 1,224 female basic trainees. However, the proportion of females was much higher in two particular specialties, obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics in which 80.6% and 71.4% respectively of all trainees were female.