Assessments and Requirements - FACEM Trainees Enrolled Prior to 2022

Trainees complete a broad range of assessment activities progressively throughout the FACEM Training Program. The assessments ensure the continuous development of knowledge, skills and attributes, leading to attainment of the FACEM.

The FACEM Training Program assessments and requirements are:

• In-Training Assessments
• Structured References
• Workplace-based Assessments (WBAs)
• Research Requirement
• Paediatric Requirement
• Critical Care Requirement
• Special Skills Logbook
• Special Skills Learning Portfolio
• Primary exam (Written exam and Viva)
• Fellowship exam (Written exam and OSCE).

Learning and Development Plan

A Learning and Development Plan (LDP) is a trainee’s individualised plan for pathway to fellowship. It guides a trainee’s discussions with their DEMT or Supervisor about their development goals for each placement.

The LDP is separate to the assessment process of the FACEM Training Program and focuses on the learning needs and goals of the individual trainee. All trainees are encouraged to create, regularly review, and update their LDP as it provides a framework to better identify areas for development and growth as you progress through training.

Please read the LDP User Guide for step-by-step instructions how to create an LDP in the My ACEM portal and LDP section in the Trainee Support Guide.

In-Training Assessments (ITAs)

Structured References

What are Structured References?

Structured References are:

• The mechanism used (by the Trainee Progression Review Panel) to determine if you are ready to progress to Advanced Training
• Requested by you and completed by three different Fellows
• Due for completion during specific timeframes and at the same time as In-Training Assessments.

How are the Structured References completed?

You must receive a set of Structured References from three FACEMs, one of which must be a DEMT. All three must have directly supervised you during your six-month Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) period of ‘core’ emergency medicine (EM) training that you did at a single accredited emergency department (ED) within a 12-month calendar period.

Structured References are completed for your six months FTE ED placement during Provisional Training.

Structured References are completed and submitted in confidence. The References are not shared with you, only with the College.

The College's Trainee Progression Review Panels review Structured References and decide on the outcome. You may be able to progress to Early Phase Advanced Training but only if you have already completed the Primary Exam (Written and Viva), 12 months of Provisional Training and Satisfactory Structured References.

You may be remediated if you fail to complete Structured References when you are eligible to do so, or if the Structured References are unsatisfactory.

For more information on Structured References, visit Regulation B.

What you need to do

1. Log into the Member Portal three weeks before the end of your cumulative six month FTE ED training period
2. Submit your request for Structured References
3. Liaise with your referees to ensure your Structured References are completed by the due date. All three referees must complete the Structured Reference by the due date, which is within one week after the Time Check date
4. Keep in mind that Structured References deemed satisfactory are valid for up to 12 months from the end-date of the referenced training period.

What are the due dates?

   

Advanced Training Assessments

Workplace-Based Assessments (WBAs)

What are WBAs? 

WBAs are observational assessments of your performance in EM as an Advanced Trainee. They are conducted by different assessors at various phases of your EM program, and involve discussions, structured feedback and ratings.

WBAs help you to learn and develop your own practice to become the best possible EM physician you can be.

ACEM Workplace-based Assessment Modules
 
Find out more

New WBA Forms - 26th August 2020

Find out more

WBAs are specifically four instruments:

All Advanced trainees are strongly encouraged to complete at least one WBA per month to demonstrate continuous progression towards the standard required for that level of training, while they are in ED placements.

How are the WBAs completed? 

1. Each of your assessors have five days to submit the assessments, after which you then have 48 hours to submit your comments. In total, you both have seven days to complete an WBA.
2. The Member Portal has instructions on how to complete WBAs plus key dates and much more.

What you need to do and when

Trainees are expected to complete five unique core DOPs by the time they have completed Advanced Training. Refer to core DOPs Procedure List as set out on the ACEM webite or on your member portal.

For information on levels of complexity please refer to:

• Appendix B of Regulation B - FACEM Training Program
• Modifiers List, p.81 of the Curriculum Framework

+ Trainees are expected to complete five unique core DOPs by the time they have completed Advanced Training. Refer to Core DOPS Procedure List as set out in the ACEM Curriculum Framework.

~ A Shift Report ‘in charge’ is to reflect what a consultant would be expected to do when in charge of a shift at their respective site. For further information, please refer to the In- Charge User Guide.

Research Requirement

What is the Research Requirement?

The Research Requirement helps you develop skills in applying best evidence and academic knowledge to your practice in EM. The requirement is aligned to the Scholarship and Teaching domain of the ACEM Curriculum Framework.

You can complete the requirement in either Provisional or Advanced Training, by either coursework (University subjects) or research (paper, project or thesis).

You can receive a credit transfer for your Research Requirement. See the ACEM Policy on Recognition of Prior Learning and Credit Transfer.

How is the Research Requirement completed?

How the Research Requirement is completed depends on which pathway you choose. Both pathways, described below, require you to submit paperwork to ACEM.

What do I need to do and when?

You can submit your research requirement to the College at any time. However, if you want to present a research paper, you must send it to ACEM no less than six weeks before the start of the Symposium, or ASM at which you are planning to present

Pathways

1. I have already completed a PhD or research thesis

A completed research thesis in biomedical sciences can fulfil the Trainee Research Requirement. You can apply for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) however, to be eligible for consideration, your thesis needs to have been completed within ten years of your application to the College.

PhDs completed in Australian or Aotearoa New Zealand universities

A PhD completed through an Australian or Aotearoa New Zealand university will automatically satisfy the Research Requirement.

Please post a certified copy of the transcript to:

ACEM, 34 Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003

PhDs completed at other universities

A PhD completed at a University outside of Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand must be assessed for academic equivalence before consideration. You will need to make a submission for assessment to the relevant government department in your current country of residence. Please see the relevant links for details and how to apply:

Aotearoa New Zealand

Australia

How to apply

Please post the following to the College:

• a certified copy of the academic transcript
• a copy* of the assessment of academic equivalence to ACEM. *You will need to provide certified, translated copies if the original documents were in a language other than English.

ACEM, 34 Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003

If a PhD has been assessed as not meeting Australian or Aotearoa New Zealand academic equivalence, it may be eligible for consideration as a research thesis.

Non-PhD research thesis (e.g. Master’s)

Any non-PhD research thesis will be subject to adjudication by three FACEM adjudicators to determine whether it meets the criteria of the Trainee Research Requirement.

To be eligible for adjudication, your research thesis must comprise at least 50 per cent of the assessment component of the relevant degree. This should be evident from your submitted academic record or university transcript.

Any documents in a language other than English will need to be submitted with a certified translated copy.

How to apply

Please email the following:

• Application Form
• Supervisor's Confirmation Form 
• University transcript or results
• Manuscript
• Other relevant documentation. For example, approval from the relevant ethics committee.

e [email protected]

2. I have completed (or am planning to complete) University subjects

The Coursework Pathway requires two postgraduate units of study completed within the same course at the same Australian or Aotearoa New Zealand university, incorporating any two or more of the following four subjects:

1. Clinical Epidemiology
2. Biostatistics
3. Research Methods
4. Evidence-Based Medicine

Please see the table of Approved Coursework Pathway Units below to ensure your chosen units are approved. If you have already completed university units, you may meet requirements for Recognition of Prior Learning. Units must have been completed within five years of your application to the College. Again, see below to check whether your units are approved.

Keep in mind:

• No single unit can represent more than 50 per cent of the entire learning
• Two different units of the same subject will not satisfy the Research Requirement
• If you want to take a unit that is not on this list, you must submit a completed a New Coursework Pathway Unit application form
• Units may not necessarily be approved. Please do not enrol in a unit until the College notifies you that it has been approved.

Approved Study Units

View the list of Approved Study Units.

How to apply

On completion of two postgraduate units, please post the following to the College:

1. The original or a certified copy of your University transcript. The marks and grade for each unit must be legible. If you have completed each unit at different times, both transcripts are required.
2. Attach the Submission Form to your transcript before posting.

ACEM 34 Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne, Vic 3003

Email: [email protected]

Keep in mind:

• If sending by email, please ensure that the University Transcript has been certified or the original can be shared via My eQuals (if available).
• Your completion date of the Research Requirement is the date the transcript is received at the College.

3. I have already published a paper

Key criteria

• Your paper must have been published in a peer-reviewed biomedical science journal within ten years of application date, or accepted for publication in its present form with no further editing or revision to be completed
• You must have made at least a 50 per cent contribution in three of the four categories of Study Design and Planning, Study Work, Data Analysis and Writing Up.

How to apply

• Complete the Supervisor's Confirmation Form with your DEMT or Supervisor of the paper. Ensure you indicate the categories in which you have contributed (Study Design and Planning, Study Work, Data Analysis and Writing Up)
• Submit the Application Form - Published Paper
• Submit a document addressing the relevant reporting guidelines from the EQUATOR Network with your manuscript. The EQUATOR Network is a global organisation that has produced reporting guidelines for research. Each study type has specific guidelines and your research project should be reported in line with the relevant guidelines. If you are uncertain about the type of study you are conducting, we strongly recommend discussing this with your supervisor.

4. I am planning to complete a research project

Key criteria

• You will need to have either:
  • Previously published a paper
  • Have a paper accepted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal, or
  • Have presented (orally or by a poster) at an approved ACEM forum.
• The project scope excludes:
  • Case reports
  • Case series
  • Study protocols
  • Book chapters
  • Letters to the editor
  • Correspondence
  • Discussion papers
  • Editorials.

How to submit your published or presented project

Submit the following:

• A copy of the eligible research project written under the relevant reporting guidelines from the EQUATOR Network
• The Application Form
• The Supervisor's Confirmation Form with your DEMT or Supervisor of the paper. Ensure you indicate the categories in which you have contributed (Study Design and Planning, Study Work, Data Analysis and Writing Up)
• Additional relevant documents e.g. ethics approval
• A document identifying where each checklist item (based on relevant reporting guidelines from the EQUATOR Network) is addressed in the submitted manuscript.

e [email protected]
m 34 Jeffcott Street, West Melbourne VIC 3003 Australia

Please note the research project report must follow the relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines. Each study type has specific guidelines and research projects should be reported in accordance with the relevant guidelines.

Help planning your project

ACEM resources tailored to help you through the process:

• Planning a Trainee Research Project: A guide for Trainees
• Poster-Making Hints 
• RP180 Research Project Assessment Form

6. I want to present a research project

You can present a research project orally or with a poster at an approved scientific meeting, to be adjudicated by three FACEM adjudicators. Research presentations can only be made at two approved forums: the ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), or the ACEM Winter Symposium.

The deadline for applications for adjudication is usually six weeks before the start of one of the approved forums (this date is separate to the deadline for being included in the appropriate session in the conference program). Further detail is on the Application Form - Presented Project, see below.

How to apply

• Submit a document addressing the relevant reporting guidelines from the EQUATOR Network
• Submit the Application Form - Presented Project
• Fill out the Supervisor's Confirmation Form with your DEMT or Supervisor of the poster. Ensure you indicate the categories in which you have contributed (Study Design and Planning, Study Work, Data Analysis and Writing Up).

Adjudication

Adjudication is the assessment of your completed research requirement. All research projects are adjudicated or assessed by three selected Fellows of the College.

Criteria

Each criterion must be assessed as satisfactory for the research project to pass. The criteria are on the relevant assessment form completed when you applied for your preferred Research Requirement option.

Timeframes

• If you made an oral presentation or poster, you will be informed of the overall outcome of adjudication (pass or unsuccessful) at the end of your session
• If you submitted a published paper or thesis, you will receive the overall outcome and feedback within eight weeks of the date your project was sent for adjudication.

Unsuccessful projects

If your project has been deemed unsuccessful at adjudication, you will receive detailed feedback within one month for presented projects, and within two months for a published paper or thesis. A copy of the feedback will be sent to your DEMT or Supervisor of the project.

Re-submission

You have one opportunity to resubmit a revised project to address issues identified by the adjudicators. This must be done within three months of receiving your initial feedback. The Trainee Research Executive Panel will review your revised project and you will be advised of the outcome in writing within one month of your resubmission.

You must provide the following documents:

1. The original submitted manuscript
2. The revised manuscript
3. A detailed cover letter addressing each unsuccessful element identified in the feedback regarding the original submission.

Send your re-submission to [email protected]

For more information, visit the full Adjudication of projects process.

Paediatric Requirement

What is the Paediatric Requirement?

As an Advanced trainee, the Paediatric Requirement is the process of recording and confirming your experience from paediatric encounters in the ED and paediatric intensive care units. It may also record your experience in paediatric medicine wards.

How is the Paediatric Requirement completed?

Trainees must decide on one of three options:

1. Six months FTE of training in an ACEM accredited and listed Paediatric ED. Paediatric Logbook (PLB) is not required for this option.
2. Attend and record 400 Paediatric cases via the PLB including a minimum 200 cases in an accredited ED, at least 100 of which must be triage categories 1, 2 or 3. The remainder may be seen in either:
   a) An ED accredited for the PLB or
   b) A paediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU) accredited for training by the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) or
   c) A paediatric ward accredited by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP).
3. A combination of options 1 and 2 above as approved on application to the ACEM Council of Education or an approved delegate.

​You can carry out PLB cases overseas after you have obtained prior approval from the Council of Education or approved delegate. See options 2 or 3 below for the process from there.

What you need to do and when

You cannot enter your paediatric cases in the Member Portal once seven days have lapsed from the completion of your placement. Ensure you are organised within a week of your paediatric experiences.

Option 1

1. Check to ensure the Paediatric ED you are interested in is accredited by ACEM for this requirement.
2. As soon as you can, record and confirm your training in the Member Portal. Remember you do not worry about the Logbook for this option.

Option 2

1. Check to ensure both the ED and Paediatric ED you are interested in are accredited by the College for the PLB.
2. Check with the CICM and the RACP to ensure the paediatric ICU and paediatric ward are accredited for the Paediatric Requirement respectively.
3. Submit a request for approval to your DEMT or Supervisor of your PLB cases during your placements. Approval can only be logged during your placements.
4. Carry out your training.
5. Within seven days of completion of the last placement, log and submit your encounters on the Member Portal.

Option 3 

1. Check to ensure the Paediatric ED you are interested in is accredited by the College for this requirement.
2. Complete three months of training in that ED.
3. Check with the CICM and the RACP to ensure the paediatric ICU and paediatric ward are accredited for the Paediatric Requirement respectively.
4. Complete the remaining 200 paediatric cases in the following placement types:
   • EDs
   • Paediatric EDs
   • Paediatric ICUs (as approved by CICM for Paediatric ICU training)
   • Paediatric Medical Ward (as approved by RACP for General Paediatric Training).
5. Within seven days of completion of the last placement, log and submit your encounters on the Member Portal.

Critical Care Requirement

What is the Critical Care Requirement?

You are required to undertake a minimum six months placement in critical care medicine, as part of your Advanced Training.

This placement is designed to further develop knowledge and skills in recognising, stabilising, treating and managing a broad range of critically ill and injured patients. It can be undertaken in the discipline of anaesthetics, intensive care, or a combination of both.

How is the critical care requirement achieved?

1. Complete six months of FTE placement in either an Anaesthetics Unit, or in an ICU.
2. Or complete three months of FTE placement in an Anaesthetics Unit and another three months of FTE in an ICU unit.
3. Satisfy the In-Training Assessments (ITAs) for every three months of training in either of the above.

Please note: placements undertaken in a unit(s) approved by CICM solely for foundation training in intensive care medicine, will not be credited towards completion of the required six months FTE of critical care training for Advanced Training in 2018. Sites accredited at this level by CICM will only be certified for non-ED Provisional Training, the non-ED and Discretionary requirement in Advanced Training. The placement must be undertaken in an ICU that has been accredited by the CICM for Core training, or in an anaesthetics unit that has been accredited by the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetics (ANZCA), in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand or in a Unit accredited by ACEM for the purposes of critical care training.

Special Skills Learning Portfolio

What is the Special Skills Learning Portfolio?

If you are undertaking a Special Skills placement (either Category A or T), you must record your Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) using the LNA tool in the Member Portal.

What you need to do

1. Log in to the Member Portal and record:

• Your learning objectives at the placement
• Any formal education, activities or duties that will be carried out to achieve the learning objectives
• Relevant assessment tools
• Any meetings scheduled with your DEMT or Supervisor to assess your progress.

2. Email [email protected] with any supporting documents such as research papers and PowerPoint presentations.

3. Your DEMT or Supervisor can review your Learning Portfolio intermittently during the placement.

Special Skills Logbook

You are required to document clinical cases in a logbook for Critical Care, Toxicology, Pre-Hospital and Retrieval, Trauma, Hyperbaric and Anaesthetics placements.

What you need to do

You can either:

1. Use the ACEM online Logbook. Ensure your DEMT or Supervisor has approved the entry at the end of your placement.

or

2. Use the Special Skills Logbook/Learning Portfolio Template (Word Docx). Ensure your DEMT or Supervisor has signed and approved the document before emailing it to [email protected] at the end of your placement (the College accepts only electronic copies).