Glossary

Addenda

Includes, but is not limited to, restrictions, conditions, limitations, reprimands, supervision requirements, tribunal outcomes, suspensions, undertakings and/or any other remarks or changes on the Participant’s medical registration.
Refer to AHPRA’s website for more information.

Advanced Life Support (ALS) course

As per the requirements listed in the Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide.

AHPRA Medical Registration

Registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), which allows the registrant to practise medicine.

Refer to AHPRA’s website for more information.

Basic Life Support (BLS) course

As per the requirements listed in the Basic Life Support and Advanced Life Support Guide.

Business day

A day when the RACGP national office is operating.

Candidacy

The three-year period, separate to training program time, during which a Participant can attempt Fellowship exams.
For the PEP SP, Candidacy is additionally bound by the Maximum Program Time.

Candidate

The medical practitioner eligible to sit RACGP Fellowship Exams.

Clinical competence

Demonstrated ability to consistently perform relevant clinical tasks to the standard prescribed in the Progressive capability profile of the general practitioner.

Commencement date

The day the Participant starts work in Australia in an RACGP-Approved Practice.

Comparable / Comparability

The extent to which an SIMG’s recency, continuity of practice, continual professional development, assessment, training, qualifications and clinical experience are assessed as equivalent to an Australian-trained specialist general practitioner at the point of admission to Fellowship.

Comparability Assessment

The process of determining the extent to which an SIMG is comparable to an Australian-trained general practitioner at the point of admission to Fellowship.

Comprehensive Australian general practice

As defined in the Comprehensive Australian general practice guide.

Cooling-off period

The 20 Business Days after the Participant voluntarily withdraws from the PEP SP.

Date of entry

Date the Participant signs the program agreement.

Emergency situation

A situation that impacts on Participants, as determined by the RACGP, and that requires additional allowances beyond the usual scope of policy. Examples include, but are not limited to:

1. pandemics, and

2. extreme weather events.

Exam semester

A period during which all three Fellowship Exams are delivered.

Extenuating and unforeseen circumstances

Circumstances which are outside the Candidates control and can reasonably be considered to have been unforeseen, and can be shown to have a direct and significant impact on the Participant. The RACGP considers Extenuating and Unforeseen Circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

Fellowship

Admittance to either:

1. Fellowship of the RACGP (FRACGP), or

2. FRACGP and Rural Generalist Fellowship (FRACGP-RG).

Fellowship Exams

The exams run by the RACGP to assess the Candidate’s competency for unsupervised general practice anywhere in Australia, including:

1. Applied Knowledge Test (AKT),

2. Key Feature Problem (KFP), and

3. Clinical Competency Exam (CCE).

Financial RACGP Member

An RACGP Member who has:

1. met the membership category requirements,

2. had their complete membership application form accepted, and

3. paid their current membership fee in full.

Full-Time general practice experience

A 38-hour working week, over a minimum of four days per week. A minimum of 27 hours must be in face-to-face, rostered, patient consultation time undertaking general practice activities. Work periods of less than three consecutive hours, or less than 4 calendar weeks in any one practice, will not be considered. Hours worked beyond this definition of full time will not be considered.

Level 3 Supervision

As defined in the Medical Board of Australia's Supervised practice for international medical graduates guidelines.

Maximum timeframe

The maximum amount of time a Participant can remain on the PEP SP from the day they start their Training Program to the day they are admitted to Fellowship of the RACGP.

1. Substantially Comparable stream:
   1. Participants who are working in their RACGP-approved practice on a full-time basis must be admitted to FRACGP within 12 calendar months of starting their training program.
   2. Participants who are working in their RACGP-approved practice on a part-time basis must be admitted to FRACGP within 24 calendar months of starting their training program. Their maximum timeframe will be calculated proportionally to their part-time status.
2. Partially Comparable stream:
   1. Participants who are working in their RACGP-approved Practice on a full-time basis must be admitted to FRACGP within 24 calendar months of starting their training program.
   2. Participants who are working in their RACGP-approved practice on a part-time basis must be admitted to FRACGP within 48 calendar months of starting their training program. The maximum timeframe will be calculated proportionally to their part-time status.

Notifiable conduct

Notifiable conduct holds the same definition as the Medical Board of Australia’s Guidelines for mandatory notifications about registered health practitioners.

Partially Comparable participant

A Specialist International Medical Graduate who has been assessed as Partially Comparable to an Australian trained specialist general practitioner at the point of Fellowship, as per the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide.

Participant

A Specialist International Medical Graduate who has been accepted into the PEP SP.

Part-Time general practice experience

Calculated pro-rata against the definition of full-time general practice experience.
Part time general practice must comprise a minimum of 14.5-hour working week, over a minimum of two days per week, of which a minimum of 10.5 hours must be in face-to-face, rostered, patient consultation time undertaking general practice activities.
Work periods of less than three consecutive hours, or of less than four calendar weeks in any one practice, will not be considered.

Practice Experience Program Specialist (PEP SP)

The route to Fellowship available to Specialist International Medical Graduates who have been assessed as Substantially Comparable or Partially Comparable to an Australian-trained specialist general practitioner at the point of admission to Fellowship.

RACGP-approved practice

A practice approved by the RACGP for the placement of PEP SP Participants. The practice must:

1. be accredited against the RACGP Standards for general practices,
2. meet the requirements of Comprehensive Australian general practice, and
3. meet the location requirements as per the Department of Health and Aged Care's General Practice Fellowship Program Placement Guidelines.

Specialist International Medical Graduate (SIMG)

An overseas-trained medical practitioner who:

1. holds a primary qualification in medicine and surgery awarded by a training institution recognised by both the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the World Directory of Medical Schools (WDOMS),
2. has satisfied all the training and examination requirements to practise as a specialist general practitioner and has been awarded a specialist general practice qualification in their country of origin, and
3. had their specialist general practice qualification’s curriculum assessed by the RACGP as comparable or partially comparable to the RACGP curriculum and syllabus for Australian general practice.

Substantially Comparable participant

A Specialist International Medical Graduate who has been assessed as Substantially Comparable to an Australian trained specialist general practitioner at the point of Fellowship, as per the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Guide.

Supervision / supervised practice

Supervision in line with the principles of supervision and supervised practice, based upon the prescribed Medical Board of Australia's Supervised practice for international medical graduates guidelines.

Supervisor

A general practitioner who is both a clinician and a role model, who takes responsibility for the educational and training needs of the PEP SP Participant while in the practice, in adherence with the Medical Board of Australia's Supervised practice for international medical graduates guidelines.

Suspension of candidacy

An Exam Semester during the Candidacy in which the Candidate is not required or permitted to attempt Fellowship Exams. The two types are:

1. Standard suspension: A single suspension of an Exam Semester available to any Candidate, for any reason, once during their Candidacy.
2. Non-standard suspension: A suspension of an Exam Semester granted by the RACGP to the Candidate on the provision of evidence of Extenuating and Unforeseen Circumstances.

Training program

The six-calendar-month period that starts from the day the Participant commences work in Australia in an RACGP-approved Practice. Participants must complete the program’s mandated educational activities and workplace-based assessments within this six-calendar-month timeframe.

Workplace-based assessment (WBA)

A framework for evaluating a doctor’s performance and progress in those areas of practice best assessed in the context of the workplace. The aim is to provide evidence that the SIMG is competent for unsupervised practice in Australia.