Internal medicine

Internal Medicine

The requirements for physician training are based on the handbook 'Requirements for Physician Training - Adult Medicine' published by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) 2004, and additional information provided by the College and available on the College website at www.racp.edu.au.

In New Zealand the vocational scope of internal medicine encompasses the following: internal medicine, cardiology, clinical immunology, clinical pharmacology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, geriatric medicine, haematology, infectious diseases, medical oncology, nephrology, neurology, nuclear medicine, palliative medicine, respiratory medicine and rheumatology.

To be registered within a vocational scope of internal medicine it is expected that you would have training, qualifications and experience equivalent to or as satisfactory as a New Zealand trained doctor who is registered within a vocational scope of practice. To enable you to assess this answer the following questions.

Checklist

	Tick if you have completed these requirements	Internal Medicine Training in New Zealand
	Have you completed at least 36 months of clinical and educational experience since graduating?	The RACP describes basic physician training as a minimum of 36 months of clinical and educational experience. This commences 12 months after graduation. 24 months of the 36 months must be in internal medicine.
	Was at least 24 months spent in a clinical post recognised as being part of internal medicine?	During the period of basic training the registrar should acquire a broad knowledge of the principles and practice of internal medicine and develop a satisfactory level of clinical competence that will equip them for advanced training.
	Did you complete clinical and written examinations after three years basic training?	The FRACP Examination can be attempted in the third year of basic training or later, and comprises written and clinical components, both of which must be completed successfully.
	Did you complete at least three years advanced training, consisting of core and elective training?	At least three years advanced training in either comprehensive medical care or one or more subspecialties in internal medicine is required. Fellowship of the RACP is awarded on completion of examination and training requirements.
	Do you participate in a continuing medical education programme to ensure your knowledge and skills are current?	In New Zealand physicians registered within a vocational scope of practice will be required to participate in formal ongoing education programmes such as the RACP Maintenance of Professional Standards Programme which includes continuing professional development, teaching, research and quality assurance.

Self Assessment

If you cannot answer 'yes' to all the above questions and prove your training, qualifications and experience are equivalent to or as satisfactory as that of a New Zealand trained specialist physician it is unlikely you will be eligible for registration within a vocational scope of practice in New Zealand.

To see if you meet the requirements for another pathway to registration, return to the registration self assessment checklist and complete the checklist answering no to the question “are you a qualified specialist or do you have a postgraduate qualification“.

If you have been able to answer yes to the above questions, please click here for the application form and for more information on the application process.

For more information about internal medicine training in New Zealand go to the Royal Australasian College of Physicians website.

Internal Medicine

Checklist

Self Assessment

This site is best viewed with a resolution of 800x600 (or higher) and supports Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0+, Netscape 7.0+ and Firefox 1.0+. We also recommend that you enable pop-ups for this site in your browser's settings.

Some of the content on www.mcnz.org.nz is presented in the Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF). You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4.0 or later to read these documents. You can download and install the latest version of the reader here.