AMC and MCNZ accreditation
Background
Specialist medical colleges are accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) to deliver specialist medical education and training, and professional development programs. Information about the standards which all specialist medical colleges are assessed, as well as the accreditation process more generally, is available on the AMC website.
Reaccreditation Process
The College started the reaccreditation process in 2017. As part of this process, the College's Reaccreditation Submission was lodged with the AMC in late June 2017. Following a Preliminary Team Meeting held between the AMC Assessment Team and the College in late September 2017, and subsequent receipt of the Report of the Assessment Team in early October 2017, the College’s Supplementary Submission was lodged with the AMC on 3 November 2017.
In July 2018, the AMC determined that ACEM be granted accreditation for four years until 31 March 2022, subject to satisfying AMC monitoring requirements including provision of progress reports and addressing accreditation conditions. The comprehensive Accreditation Report outlines conditions applied by the AMC to the training, education and continuing professional development programs under the accreditation standards that must be addressed by the College and provides timelines for their completion. The AMC monitors that the College is meeting the conditions on its accreditation through progress reports and will also conduct a follow-up review in line with AMC processes, particularly to review the outcomes of the EAG Action Plan and the new selection process.
Accreditation Submissions
Since its reaccreditation in July 2018, the College has provided two progress reports to the AMC (2018 and 2019). In May 2021, the College submitted its Accreditation Submission to the AMC for its scheduled 2021 follow-up assessment. The submission focuses on the work undertaken by the College on the accreditation conditions remaining after consideration by the AMC of the College’s previous Progress Reports. The submission also provides a Summary of Significant Developments for each of the ten accreditation standards, as well as work conducted on Quality Improvement Recommendations that had not been fully addressed in the progress reports. The submission also provides a Summary of Significant Developments for each of the ten accreditation standards, as well as work conducted on Quality Improvement Recommendations that had not been fully addressed in the progress reports. Following a Preliminary Team Meeting held between the AMC Assessment Team and the College in mid-June 2021, the College’s Supplementary Submission was lodged with the AMC on 14 July 2021.
The 2021 Assessment and Accreditation Outcome
As per its processes, the AMC Assessment Team conducted surveys and meetings with stakeholders in relation to the College’s submission, culminating with a range of meetings with the College during the period 10 – 12 August 2021. Following this, a draft report of the Team’s findings was forwarded to the College for comment, followed by a Final Report that included the outcome of the College’s accreditation. As a result of the process, the training, education and Continuing Professional Development Programs of the College are now accredited until 31 March 2026, subject to the normal monitoring processes that are part of the processes of the AMC.