How to Become a Respiratory Physician in Australia

Accredited training: 24 months; At least, in settings accredited for respiratory medicine
Non-core training: 12 months; At most, in an approved position
Training settings: 2; At least, accredited, recommended
In Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand: 24 months; At least, in accredited settings

Rules and conditions

Three phases of at least 12 months full-time equivalent each: specialty foundation, to orient you, specialty consolidation, toward the learning goals, and transition to Fellowship, to confirm you meet the standards for practice without supervision
Moving to the next phase takes evidence of competence as well as the time. The panel can keep you in a phase until you meet its learning goals, or let you move on with conditions
Non-core training such as sleep medicine, clinical respiratory or sleep physiology, intensive care medicine, overseas training in any of these, or an MD, PhD or master's degree relevant to respiratory or sleep medicine
Another specialty counts as non-core only with a case mix and rotations relevant to respiratory medicine

Accredited settingsCore training counts only in an accredited setting, in a position suited to core training. Each setting has its own limits on core months and trainees, in the accredited sites list
Aotearoa New ZealandRespiratory medicine at Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hawke's Bay, Hutt, Middlemore, North Shore, Palmerston North, Tauranga, Waikato and Wellington hospitals
Aotearoa New Zealand, sleep medicineAuckland, Christchurch, Middlemore and Wellington hospitals
In the territoryCanberra Hospital, for up to 12 months of core respiratory medicine and 12 months of core sleep medicine

What every accredited respiratory medicine setting must give you

Patients: 1,500; A year for each trainee, as a guide to the case load
Bronchoscopies: 100; A year for each trainee, as a guide
Lung function reports: 300; Complex tests a year, reported under supervision, as a guide
Sleep medicine: 3 months; The equivalent, within core respiratory training
Non-invasive ventilation: 20; Patients at least, whose treatment you start over training

Rules and conditions

The case load for each trainee is 500 inpatients, 750 outpatients, 200 of them new referrals, and 250 consultations for other services a year
Procedures for each trainee a year: 20 pleural ultrasounds, 10 ultrasound-guided thoracocenteses and 10 intercostal catheters. Where offered, 25 convex and 20 radial endobronchial ultrasounds and 20 transbronchial biopsies
Acute care of respiratory patients from the time they reach hospital. A setting whose unit takes no direct acute admissions counts for at most 6 months of core training
Pathology, microbiology, radiology and thoracic surgery within the network, and a high dependency or intensive care unit where you start non-invasive ventilation yourself
Nuclear medicine, computed tomography, pulmonary angiography, echocardiography and leg Doppler studies. A tuberculosis clinic, pulmonary rehabilitation, asthma education, smoking cessation and an outreach service for chronic lung disease are highly desirable
A respiratory function laboratory accredited by the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, where you take part in quality assurance and calibration and report tests under supervision
A sleep laboratory accredited by the Australasian Sleep Association, with full polysomnography, and at least half a full-time sleep physician
Regular respiratory and interdisciplinary clinical meetings, and an education meeting where you give formal presentations
Teaching of medical students and junior doctors where possible, and current respiratory journals, texts and literature searching
An active research program with support for your research project, and an audit and quality improvement program with at least one audit project for you

Rotation supervisors: 2; Each rotation, at least one a Fellow of the RACP in respiratory medicine
Research project supervisor: 1; Nominated before specialty consolidation, recommended
Respiratory physician: 1; Full-time equivalent at each site, which several physicians can share
Supervisor meetings: 4; At least a year, to assess and record your progress

Rules and conditions

A supervisor is on site for more than three quarters of standard working hours
A respiratory physician is on site whenever you do an invasive procedure, and checks every final report until your supervisor judges you competent
Your supervisors involve you in running the department: inpatients and outpatients, procedures and reports, clinical meetings and supervising junior doctors
Each supervisor has done an RACP supervisor workshop
Nominate your supervisors in each rotation plan, from the list of eligible supervisors on MyRACP. If you are already a Fellow, confirm a supervisor is eligible with the RACP, since the list is not open to you
Your research project supervisor guides your choice of project, method, analysis and writing, and can be one of your rotation supervisors

Divisional examinations: 2; Written and Clinical, passed in Basic Training before Advanced Training

Rules and conditions

Divisional Written Examination: sat once the foundation phase of Basic Training is complete, and run by the RACP
Divisional Clinical Examination: sat once the written examination is passed and the consolidation phase of Basic Training is complete, and run by the RACP

Learning captures: 12; Each phase, at least one a month
Observation captures: 12; Each phase, at least one a month
Progress reports: 4; Each phase, at least one every 3 months
Rotation plans: 1; For each rotation, at or before its start
Procedural logbook: 1; Kept through training, submitted every 6 months
Research project: 1; Before the end of training, submitted by the end of specialty consolidation, recommended

Rules and conditions

Rotation plans are due 28 February for rotations in the first half or whole of the year, and 31 August for the second half, with the position description and weekly timetable
A Progress Review Panel decides at the end of each phase
The logbook records data on your procedures and other work, with your reflections on them
The research project is research, an audit or a systematic review, broadly relevant to the specialty, with significant input of your own. It can be part of a larger study
Research project submission dates are 31 March, 15 June and 15 September in Australia, with 15 December in place of September in Aotearoa New Zealand, and the project is marked pass, fail or resubmit

Scientific meetings: 1; National or international, by the end of training

Rules and conditions

A national meeting of the RACP, the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Australasian Sleep Association or Cystic Fibrosis Australia, or an international one of the European Respiratory Society, the American Thoracic Society, the Chest Conference or the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
You are expected to present your research there, and you submit evidence of attendance on the Training Management Platform

Supervisor workshops: 3; Free, by the end of training

Rules and conditions

RACP Supervisor Professional Development Program: practical skills for supervisors, teaching and learning in healthcare settings, and work-based learning and assessment, as virtual or face-to-face workshops or online courses
Recommended: the RACP Communication Skills, Ethics, Introduction to Leadership, Management and Teamwork, and Research Projects resources

Part-time training: 0.2; Full-time equivalent, at least
Interruption: 12 months; Continuous, with no extra training required
Time limit: 8 years; To complete the program

Rules and conditions

Each application to train part-time or to interrupt training covers up to 12 months, and is made again to extend it
More than 12 continuous months away can bring a return to training plan for the first 6 months back, and more than 24 months requires one and may add training
Approved full-time parental and medical leave does not count toward the time limit
Advanced Training starts within 5 years of completing Basic Training

Prerequisites

Applications

Timeline

When to apply

Selection format

Competition

Program structure

Examinations

Training time

Courses

Assessments

Courses

Assessments

Projects

Competencies

Assessments

Examinations

Training time

Courses

Assessments

Courses

Assessments

Projects

Competencies

Assessments

Selection criteria

Clinical experience

Academic

Publications & research

Extracurricular

Covering letter

Personal statement

Referees

Interview

Application process

Entry tips

What the college has changed

Training posts

Available Respiratory and Sleep Medicine training positions

Official resources

Official links

Related specialties