Pathology training: entry requirements and selection

Program structure

How General Pathology training is structured.

Before you start

Entry to the RCPA training program, not to medicine. General registration, or limited registration on the Specialist International Medical Graduate or Competent Authority pathway with an Australian Medical Council report. At least 24 months of general clinical work after the primary medical degree. Employment in a training position at an RCPA accredited laboratory, which is arranged with the laboratory rather than with the College.

Training duration

A minimum of 5 full-time equivalent years of certified training in accredited sites. The rule that four of the five years go into one discipline is written for specialising in a single discipline, and this program is the published alternative to that, so it does not bind here. No replacement split across the branches is published.

Training pathway

1
General pathology training
5 years
Competencies
- Every component of laboratory medicine and every diagnostic technique, rather than one branch of them
- The theoretical basis of investigation, and the anatomical, biochemical and physiological processes of the healthy body alongside the mechanisms that fail in disease
- The limits of investigative processes, the pitfalls in measurement, and what a result can and cannot be read to mean
- Running the laboratory: assuring the quality of results, providing the diagnostic service, and advising clinicians on the choice of biopsy or specimen for the clinical setting
- Examinations are taken in five subjects rather than one, in pathological sciences, anatomical pathology, haematology, microbiology and chemical pathology
- The qualification is built for a supervising pathologist in a small area hospital or branch laboratory, for shared duties in a district hospital or a medium sized practice, and for one or more departments of a teaching hospital
To complete
- No more than 4 years accredited in any one laboratory, so training runs in at least two sites
- A short-term rotation runs a minimum of 2 consecutive months
- Up to 1 year of research or project work can be accredited, applied for prospectively
- Part-time training averages at least 8 hours a week

Required courses

Basic Pathological Sciences examination

A pass or an exemption is required of every trainee, and it costs least as a student. Open to medical, science and dental students, interns and resident medical officers. The deadline is the one thing the documents differ on: a pass is not a prerequisite for the General Pathology examinations, and the program is separately described as the BPS first and then eight months of training. The rule that binds the other disciplines, a pass before any component of Part II, does not reach a program with no Part II.

Before training starts, or early in it

Chemical pathology, haematology and microbiology examinations

One examination in each of the three disciplines. The eight months follow the Basic Pathological Sciences examination.

After eight months of training

Clinical consolidation oral examination

Knowledge of immunopathology and genetic pathology is required before it.

After the three discipline examinations

Anatomical pathology written and oral examinations

Cytology is included.

After a further 24 months of training, completing the program

Selection criteria

One set of categories across every specialty, so two can be compared. Only those with criteria recorded for this specialty are shown.

Score your portfolioagainst RCPA criteria

Clinical experience

Rotations, logbooks, procedures, and exposure

Laboratory rotations (if available in PGY years)
Genuine interest in diagnostic pathology demonstrated through exposure

First Nations

Selection points and pathways for Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori applicants

First Nations — Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander, and Māori applicants who meet the eligibility criteria proceed directly to interview

Academic

Exams, qualifications, courses, and teaching

Basic Pathological Sciences (BPS) examination — compulsory (pass or exemption) before any Part II component; may be sat before training starts or early in training

Publications & research

Papers, impact factor, audits, and QI

Research interest — publications or presentations in pathology or basic science

Referees

Who is asked to report on you, and what they are asked

Referees — nominate at least two; their standardised reports feed the professionalism/ethics and communication criteria the guideline weights most heavily

Application process

Registration mechanics and logistics not covered above

Eligibility — general medical registration and a minimum of two years of post-degree clinical experience (or an Overseas Trained Specialist route requiring no more than two years of additional assessment)
Selection format: Employer-level interview with a College-prescribed panel: the training coordinator, the head of the appointing department (or representative), and at least two other department heads. An RCPA representative must also sit on the panel and reports the process and outcome back to the College — if no RCPA nominee is on the panel, training time cannot be accredited. Applicants nominate at least two referees, who are sent standardised College proformas. On the application proforma, applicants rank their preferences across the available positions; the final offer weighs the appointing organisation's own requirements and preference alongside the applicant's ranking. The employer participates in selection and appoints the trainee. Trainees must then register with the RCPA in an accredited position with an RCPA supervisor to sit examinations.

General Pathology

Applications

Timeline

When to apply

Selection format

Competition

Program structure

Before you start

Training duration

Training pathway

General pathology training

Required courses

Selection criteria

Clinical experience

First Nations

Academic

Publications & research

Referees

Application process

Entry tips

State workforce data

Available General Pathology training positions

Official resources

Official links

Applications

Timeline

When to apply

Selection format

Competition

Program structure

Before you start

Training duration

Training pathway

General pathology training

Required courses

Selection criteria

Clinical experience

First Nations

Academic

Publications & research

Referees

Application process

Entry tips

State workforce data

Available General Pathology training positions

Official resources

Official links

Related specialties