Circumstances change. If you need to withdraw from the FACEM Training Program but wish to continue a career involving Emergency Medicine with a formal qualification, you may transition to either the Emergency Medicine Certificate (EMC) or Emergency Medicine Diploma (EMD) Programs. Recognition of prior learning means you will be rewarded for the milestones you have already achieved in the FACEM Training Program. These qualifications allow you to apply for membership as an ACEM Certificant or Diplomate and participate in an ACEM CPD Program.
Depending on the training requirements and assessments completed, you may receive Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) for various components of the EMC or EMD.
The self-assessment tool, indicates the modules and assessments to be completed to achieve the EMC or EMD. The self-assessment tool is a guide only, and the result may differ upon submission of an application form when a full assessment and verification process is completed.
For further information, see the Policy for the transition from the FACEM Training Program to Non-Specialist training programs.
How do I apply?
The FACEM Training Program record is used as the basis for assessing and verifying the amount of RPL to be awarded. Supporting documentation must also be submitted to assess RPL for procedures and workshop requirements of the EMC and EMD.
Procedures
If you wish to have any of the procedures on the EMC and EMD Procedural Checklist assessed for RPL, you must submit the checklist, with the date and signature of your most current Director of Emergency Medicine Training (DEMT) for each procedure, with your application. Any individual procedures that are not signed by the DEMT will need to be completed once you are enrolled in the EMC or EMD.
Workshops
To be assessed for RPL for the Advanced Skills workshop requirement you must submit current and valid certificates of competency with your application form for two of the following emergency skills workshops:
- Advanced Paediatric Life Support (APLS), or Advanced Paediatric Emergency Medicine (APEM).
- Early Management of Severe Trauma (EMST), or Emergency Trauma Management (ETM).
- Advanced and Complex Medical Emergencies (ACME).
- Effective Management of Anaesthetic Crisis (EMAC).
Incomplete applications will not be processed. If any supporting documentation cannot be provided at the time the application form is submitted or, if further documentation is required, it must be received within one month of the date originally requested. If not, the original application will be withdrawn, and a new application must be submitted.
You cannot be enrolled in the FACEM Training Program and the EMC or EMD concurrently. After receiving your RPL outcome, you will need to formally withdraw from the FACEM Training Program before being enrolled in the EMC or EMD.
How do I Apply?
Step 1: Submit an online application form for assessment, including all supporting documentation. Before beginning the application process, please make sure you have the relevant supporting documentation ready.
Step 2: ACEM verifies the requirements of the EMC and EMD against your FACEM Training Program training record and supporting documentation. Your application is then presented to the Council of Education (COE) approved delegate/s for consideration.
Step 3: The COE approved delegate/s determines the RPL to be awarded and any outstanding requirements to be completed.
Step 4: ACEM notifies you of the outcome and provides an enrolment form for the relevant program.
Step 5: Complete and submit the enrolment form and pay the enrolment fee. Withdrawal from the FACEM Training program must have been received prior to enrolment being processed.
Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS)
Verification of the completion of an individual DOPS during the FACEM Training Program is the DOPS Work-based Assessment (WBA) assessment form in your ACEM Training Record. No additional documentation is required to be submitted.
For more information visit our DOPS page.
Fees
-
Application Fee
There is no fee to assess and determine the RPL awarded. The application for assessment is not an enrolment into the program.
-
Enrolment Fee
The enrolment fee payable will vary depending on the amount of RPL awarded into the relevant program. In summary, the following levels of training completed will usually result in a FACEM trainee being categorised as follows:
Category A refers to a trainee who either:
- Has not met the requirements of Provisional Training
- Has not been reviewed by a Regional WBA Panel.
Category B refers to a trainee who either:
- With the exception of the Primary Examination, has met all requirements of Provisional Training as verified by the trainees most recent Regional WBA Panel review
- Is undertaking Early Phase Advanced Training, but has not yet met the standard expected at the end of Early Phase Advanced Training.
Category C/D refers to a trainee who either:
- Has met the standard expected at the end of Early Phase Advanced Training as verified by the trainees most recent Regional WBA Panel review
- Is undertaking Late Phase Advanced Training, but has not yet met the standard expected at the end of Late Phase Advanced Training.
| |
Emergency Medicine Certificate |
Emergency Medicine Diploma |
Fee
Australia |
Fee
New Zealand |
Fee
Australia |
Fee
Aotearoa New Zealand |
| Category A |
$2362 |
$2147 |
$6075 |
$5514 |
| Category B |
$1181 |
$1073 |
$3038 |
$2757 |
| Category C/D |
$475 |
$428 |
$1215 |
$1103 |
RPL for individual components of the EMC or EMD within each category are assessed on a case by case basis and dependent on the training requirements and assessments completed during the FACEM Training Program. The components required to be completed will be provided in a letter for each applicant together with an enrolment form after review by the COE approved delegate.
If you do not enrol within 60 days of receipt of your outcome, you will be required to submit a new application form for assessment.
If you have completed additional FACEM Training Program requirements since your last assessment outcome letter, you will be required to submit a new application for assessment.
RPL into Non Specialist Program Application Form
FAQs
-
Q. How will I know how much RPL I can have?
A. There is a self-assessment tool available that will give you an idea of what may be granted, what may conditionally be granted and what is likely to be outstanding. Find the link self-assessment tool.
-
Q. Do I need to print my assessments?
A. Assessments completed as part of FACEM training will not need to be extracted, but you will need to provide records of workshops and procedural checklists.
-
Q. Do I have to withdraw from FACEM training before I apply?
A. No, but you need to withdraw from FACEM training prior to enrolling in the Diploma or Certificate.
-
Q. How do I maximise the RPL I can get between programs?
A. If you are considering withdrawing from FACEM training, review the requirements of Certificate/Diploma and work out what your gaps are, especially around the DOPS requirement. Work out what is outstanding which you may be able to complete in your current ED placement as a FACEM trainee to be included as part of your application for RPL. Make sure these are recorded on your portal.
-
Q. What if I withdrew or was removed from FACEM training prior to 2015?
A. This RPL process can only be applied for trainees who have undergone training from the commencement of the 2015 training curriculum. This RPL process is mapped against this particular curriculum and would not be applicable to those trainees who have withdrawn prior.
-
Q. I haven’t done the DOPS required for RPL but my supervisor has seen me do it, do I need to still complete them in the Diploma or Certificate program?
A. Only the DOPS that have been recorded in the member portal can be considered for RPL as part of the application. If your supervisor has seen you do them make sure they are recorded. DOPS that are not recorded cannot be considered. If you have DOPS outstanding, you will need to complete them once you are enrolled in the Diploma/Certificate.
-
Q. Can I submit paper DOPS completed as part of the FACEM training program?
A. No, all records must have been entered online in the members portal in order to be eligible for consideration for RPL.
-
Q. I have received my outcome to my RPL application and I want to start the Emergency Medicine Certificate/Diploma and have outstanding DOPs but I am not working in ED.
A. You can complete outstanding DOPs during an ED shift provided that the supervisor is a FACEM or a currently certified Diplomate of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine. This includes casual and locum shifts.
-
Q. In Advanced Training I met the Critical Care requirement. Can this be recognised towards the Critical Care requirement for the Diploma?
A. You will receive recognition for the six month Critical Care requirement for the Diploma if you have met the Critical Care requirement in Advanced Training.
-
Q. In Provisional Training I completed some Critical care time, can this be recognised towards the Critical Care requirement for the Diploma?
A. You will receive recognition for the six month Critical Care requirement for the Diploma if you have completed six FTE months in anaesthetics terms; or a three FTE month anaesthetics term and a three FTE month ICU term.
-
Q. Do I need to have a primary supervisor?
A. If you are required to complete further ED time for the Diploma, you will be required to find a primary EMCD supervisor.
An approved primary EMCD supervisor is:
- a Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (FACEM); or
- a currently certified Diplomate of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine who has satisfactorily completed the ACEM Clinical Teaching Course.
-
Q. Where can I find information about the exams?
A. Once enrolled, you will be sent information regarding the online modules and examinations.
Contact
For more information, please contact the College office on:
Phone: +61 3 9320 0444
Email: [email protected] or [email protected].