Comparability Assessment Eligibility

PEP Specialist Comparability Assessment Eligibility Criteria

The PEP Specialist (PEP SP) is the pathway to Fellowship for Specialist international medical graduates (SIMGs) who have been assessed as Substantially Comparable or Partially Comparable to an Australian-trained specialist general practitioner at the point of admission to Fellowship.

SIMGs must first undertake a comparability assessment to determine eligibility to apply for entry into the PEP SP.

 

Eligibility	Determine eligibility to apply for a PEP SP comparability assessment: Check your qualification's curriculum is listed in the curricula classification table. If your curriculum isn't listed, you will need to apply for a curriculum comparison assessment. Meet all eligibility criteria as per the PEP Specialist Comparability Assessment Guide prior to applying.
Application	Complete and submit all three parts of the application process: Comparability assessment – Part A Job offer approval assessment – Part B Right to work assessment – Part C
Training Program	Sign the program agreement, show evidence of basic life support certification, become an RACGP member, complete Medicare provider number form, and pay program term fees. Commence employment and your time on the program. Satisfactorily complete the RACGP program requirements to continue provider number access. Note: Partially Comparable registrars must satisfactorily complete the program requirements by the time of the fellowship exams. The RACGP will determine if they have or will satisfactorily complete prior to the participant enrolling in the Fellowship Exams.
Fellowship	Complete all RACGP fellowship requirements. Apply for Fellowship.

 

There are three parts to the application process for assessing your eligibility to enter the program. Each part will need to be completed and approved before proceeding to the next part.

You could be asked for more information by the RACGP staff or by the assessors for additional information or clarification of information already provided. Unmet requests for further information may delay assessment time.

Part A – Comparability assessment

Completed applications may take up to 10 weeks to be assessed. If the assessors require further information, this timeline may be extended.

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

1. Curriculum  - hold a specialist general practice qualification with a curriculum that has been assessed for comparability to the RACGP curriculum and syllabus for Australian general practice.
2. Recency and context of practice  - completed 12 months’ full-time equivalence (FTE) of general practice experience in the last four years and at least four weeks’ FTE in the last year.
3. General practice experience - clinical general practice experience must meet the requirements of the PEP SP Comparability Assessment Policy, as outlined in the PEP SP Handbook. 
4. Continuity of practice  - provide a curriculum vitae on RACGP template listing all clinical experience from graduation, with an explanation for gaps greater than three calendar months.
5. Continuing professional development (CPD) - completion of 50 hours CPD in the last 12 months.
6. Assessment type  - satisfactory completion of summative assessments comprising both theoretical and practical components.
7. Training route  - satisfactory completion of your specialist general practice qualification via a suitable training program.

Applicants assessed as Substantially Comparable or Partially Comparable may proceed to Part B.

Part B – Job offer approval assessment application

Completed applications may take up to 3 weeks to be assessed. If the assessors require further information, this timeline may be extended.

1. Your job must meet the minimum part-time requirement of 14.5 hours, over a minimum of two days.
2. Your job must be in comprehensive general practice in an approved practice location
3. Your proposed placement must meet the General Practice Fellowship Program Placement Guidelines.

These definitions are found in the Assessment of General Practice Experience Policy

Applicants with an approved job offer may proceed to Part C.

Part C – Right to work assessment application

Applicants must provide evidence of the following:

1. Visa details including evidence of visa type and any restrictions/conditions.
2. Australian medical registration appearing on the AHPRA registry.

Curricula classification table

Eligible curricula

Not eligible curricula

Curricula not listed

If your curriculum is not listed, your training curriculum has not been assessed against the RACGP curriculum. Your curriculum must be assessed before you can apply for a comparability assessment.

To have your curriculum assessed, you must provide the following:

1. An official copy of your specialist general practice college/training organisation/Medical Board training curriculum
2. An official letter from your Training Organisation confirming:
   1. this is their curriculum;
   2. curriculum year;
   3. the specialist general practice qualification it leads to; and
   4. the year you obtained this qualification.

To support your curriculum comparison application, please also provide an official document from the college, training organisation, or Medical Board that outlines their good medical practice guidelines and ethics.

If any of these documents are not in English, you must provide a copy of the original and an official English translation.

Please complete the interactive application form, print, sign and return all documents to the RACGP scanned by email to educationsupport@racgp.org.au.

Curriculum assessments take up to 10 weeks to assess. Assessors will review your specialist colleges' curriculum against the RACGP curriculum.

This assessment is undertaken by multiple trained and experienced general practitioners.