Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GP in Training Fellowship Exam Support

Policy

Last updated 23 January 2024

Policy notice

Improving the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is one of Australia’s highest health priorities. The RACGP is committed to raising awareness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health needs developing and supporting a culturally safe and reflective GP workforce that can work effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and communities.

The RACGP commits to address the chronic shortage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the Australian health workforce, and actively supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors in achieving GP Fellowship.

This policy underpins the Closing the Gap Strategy and Recommendations for Reset  across the key under-represented areas of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, education and employment. In particular, this policy supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vocational doctors to pursue employment and professional careers within the primary health care workforce, essential to the delivery of care within the community.

1. Purpose

1.1 This policy aims to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Fellowship exam candidates (‘candidates’) by detailing the individual support available to them. The National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health provides this support to assist in the successful completion of all exam components during an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GP in Training’s (GPiT) pathway to Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (FRACGP).

1.2 Context

All candidates can access the exam preparation resources that are part of the RACGP exam support programme. However, additional supports may be required to strengthen existing resources for exam preparation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPiT pre and post individual exam attempts.

This support aims to provide candidates, who may be faced with exam related challenges, with advice on issues such as exam performance anxiety, effective study preparation and techniques, limited clinical case exposure and scope of practice, workplace remoteness, access to clinical and exam resources, unsuccessful exam attempts, with an ongoing mentoring focus provided by the Censor.

2. Scope

2.1 This policy applies to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPiT who request support for any RACGP Fellowship exams.

2.2 Where there is inconsistency between this and another policy, this policy overrides.

2.3 This policy will come into effect as of 20 th September 2021.

3. General Principles and Procedure

3.1 Support provision

    1. The National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Censor (‘the Censor’) will deliver support for candidates where appropriate and when safe for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPiT.

    2. If a conflict of interest arises or the exam candidate feels uncomfortable with the Censor, then the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and the Censor will source a secondary provider for approval by the Censor in Chief.

    3. Candidates may submit support requests:

      1. to the RACGP National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health by email at aboriginalhealth@racgp.org.au; or

      2. directly to the current Censor.

    4. The RACGP National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and the Censor will:

      1. Initiate contact with candidates advising of this support and means of contacting the Censor.

      2. Check candidate enrolments for each exam cycle.

      3. Check candidate result outcomes on the date of their release.

      4. Contact all candidates and enquire if they have checked their results within 24-48 hours of the results release date. The Censor will not disclose results if a candidate has not checked themselves.

      5. Correspond with all candidates and either congratulate them on their success or empathise with those who have been unsuccessful.

    5. The Censor will contact the individual GPiT to progress the individual support provision.

    6. Support may be provided by phone, email, videoconference, face to face and/or combination of these subject to GPiT and the Censor locations, availability and feasibility.

    7. Support focus will be based on individual needs as identified by the GPiT and the Censor, have a holistic and learner centred approach and may entail discussions regarding unsuccessful exam attempts, case-based discussion and exam preparation support.

      1. Support will not include any detailed breakdown or feedback on specific exam questions, cases or a candidate’s specific answers but general and targeted advice to increase chances of success in the context of their future exam attempts.

      2. If candidates have been unsuccessful at their Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and are awaiting Key Feature Problem (KFP) results, the Censor will provide support after the KFP results release so both exams can be discussed together if applicable

    8. Support will remain confidential. The Censor will not keep records of the support for any reason. Candidates may take notes for personal use only.

3.2 Post Exam Support Timeline

    1. Candidates may seek support within each exam cycle across the duration of their training and the periods during which candidates may enrol in Fellowship exam.
    2. Post Exam Support should be sought within 1-month from the release of results to enable review and support provision prior to next exam cycle.
    3. The Censor will contact all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPiT who have been unsuccessful in their exam attempts to individually offer this support within1 month.
    4. For each exam cycle, support requests will be closed off after 2-months from the release date of the results.

3.3 Reconsiderations and Appeals

Any support provided by the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health will not be subject to any future reconsiderations and appeals.  The information and/or support provision is for the purpose of supplementing candidate’s own study and exam preparation plan and does not infer an exam pass guarantee at future exam attempt(s).

4. Amendment of this Policy

The CIC in collaboration with the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health may, without the consent of the Board, make Minor, Moderate and Consequential Amendments to this policy at any time.

If the CIC makes Amendments in collaboration with the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, they must advise the Board of those amendments as soon as practicable.

The Board in collaboration with the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health may make amendments to this policy at any time.

5. Responsibilities

5.1 RACGP Board
  1. Approving Major Amendments

5.2 Censor-in-Chief
  1. Approving Minor Amendments in collaboration with the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
  2. Approving Moderate Amendments in collaboration with the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
  3. Approving Consequential Amendments in collaboration with the National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
  4. Approval of a secondary provider of support for GPiT should the need arise.

5.3 GPiT
  1. Apply for exam support
  2. Accept or reject offer of the support provided by the Censor

5.4 The National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Censor
  1.  Provide support to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander GPiT who have sat any RACGP exam

5.5 The National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
  1. Assist in coordinating support
  2. Source a secondary provider of support for GPiT should the need arise

6. Glossary

6.1 RACGP Fellowship Exams
  1. Applied Knowledge Test (AKT)
  2. Key Feature Problem (KFP)
  3. Clinical Exam, which depending on the time of sitting, is the Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE), Remote Clinical Exam (RCE), or Clinical Competency Exam (CCE).

6.2 Candidate

An Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander medical practitioner eligible to sit the RACGP Fellowship Exams.

6.3 Consequential Amendment

An amendment that requires urgent implementation as a necessary result of an amendment to another policy or process.

6.4 The Censor

The National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Censor.

6.5 GP in Training (GPiT)

A medical practitioner enrolled in any RACGP Approved Program before being admitted to Fellowship, of which there are two types:

  1. Registrars who are currently enrolled in the
    1. Australian General Practice Training (AGPT), or
    2. Fellowship Support Program (FSP)
    3. Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS) and
  2. Participants, who are currently enrolled in the:
    1. Practice Experience Program  - Standard Stream
    2. Practice Experience Program – Specialist Stream Partially Comparable
    3. Practice Experience Program – Specialist Stream Substantially Comparable

6.6 Major Amendment

An amendment that materially changes the operation of the policy but is not otherwise a Minor or Moderate Amendment (ie a change to one major clause or policy review).

6.7 Minor Amendment

An amendment to style, to correct grammatical mistakes, change overall formatting, make updates that do not materially change meaning, or any other amendment, which in the opinion of the Censor-in-Chief, does not materially alter the operation of the policy. 

6.8 Moderate Amendment

An amendment that materially changes the operation of a policy by a limited amount (ie a change to one minor clause, or changes that have a limited impact on the outcome of the policy).

7. Related Documents, Legislation and Policies

Compliance

Guidance

8. Policy Review and Currency

This policy will be reviewed every three years from the last approval date, or when there is a significant change in the intent of the policy. This policy remains valid and applicable notwithstanding if it is overdue for review.

 

Version

Date of effect

Amended by

2

17/01/2023

Education Policy and Guidance Lead 

Amendment details
  • Removal of reference to Regional Training Organisations
  • Update to GPiT glossary definition

1

13/09/2021

National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Faculty Censor

Policy Advisor, Strategy and Development

Amendment details

-         

Policy owner:

Board

Approved by:

Education and Workforce Committee

Approved on:

06/09/21

Next Review Due:

06/24

 

 
 
 
 

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