ACEM trainee Dr Elayne Forbes is passionate about emergency medicine. What attracted her the most to the speciality was “the aspect of the variety and the acute elements of it. Never knowing what’s going to come in, it keeps you on your toes”.
 
That passion saw Dr Forbes jointly win the Buchanan Prize for her performance in the 2018.1 Fellowship Clinical Examination (OSCE).
 
The Buchanan Prize is awarded to the candidate achieving the highest score in the OSCE. Dr Forbes shares the award with Dr Brett Cliff. Read Dr Cliff’s story here.
 
Dr Forbes not only achieved the top marks for this exam but has done so with a toddler at home and all while pregnant with her second child. When asked about any advice she would have to those in a similar position to herself she said that “it is all possible”.
 
“Just know that it is possible and it doesn’t stop you,” Dr Forbes says. “I think we’re very lucky, certainly with the hospitals I work in (both Royal North Shore and Hornsby Kuring-Gai Hospitals in Sydney), that they’re very supportive of both new mums and expectant mums, and I think that helps a lot.”
 
She was initially surprised to hear that she had received the Buchanan Prize but was ecstatic with the news. “I was a bit shocked when I got the email to be honest with you, absolutely delighted but a bit shocked, I think anyone sitting this exam just wants to get through it. It’s the mountain at the end of your career.”
 
She credits her success to a lot of practise, hard work and dedication, as well as an invaluable support system around her, recognising both her colleagues, the emergency department she works in and her study group.
 
When looking back at the pressure that comes with sitting the OSCE Dr Forbes admitted that it was “very difficult to be reasonable with yourself and your performance.” Stating that although she had done a lot of exams over her career, “this one came with particularly high expectations and really came down to stress management and understanding the pressure”.
 
Dr Forbes paid tribute to the built-in flexibility of the training program that enables those studying towards the OSCE to maintain a work life balance. “I think it allows you to have flexibility and again it’s about supportive EDs that offer that”.
 
How to prepare for the Fellowship Exams
 
ACEM provides an extensive range of online resources featuring past papers, past exam reports, and much more. These are all located on eLearning under ‘Resources for Trainees’.

TOPICS