Trainee Support and Resources

A Position Description is a document on hospital letterhead which refers to the specific discipline in medicine you are focusing on i.e. cardiology, general medicine, haematology, etc. and the level of the position i.e. registrar, senior registrar. It refers to the specific duties, responsibilities and tasks to be carried out when performing your role.  
If you are completing an accredited Medicine term or Transition Year, please submit your position description, together with your AVT, to the Training Department. 
 

For Emergency Medicine terms, a PD is not required. 

It is strongly recommended that projects are commenced at Phase 1 or, at the latest, 2, to avoid potential delays to completion of training. Completion of the project can prove a substantial undertaking. Following T-13, trainees must at least show planning for the project in Phase 1 or a Trainee Action Plan may be raised to help progress this.

Careful planning prior to the commencement of the project will maximise the likelihood of success, and Supervisors of Training (and/or Project Supervisors) should be engaged for advice.

A Formal Project must be submitted before entering Transition Year training (Phase 3) and completed before award of Fellowship.

While the acceptance of a formal project does depend on several factors as per T-9, examples of possible projects include (but are not limited to): 

• A quality assurance audit or a quality improvement project with a 'before and after' evaluation as for a typical 'Plan, Do, Study, Act' iterative quality cycle. 

• An observational study reviewing an aspect of practice or the management of a group of patients. Such case series could be conducted prospectively or retrospectively. 

• A prospective scientific study which might entail a randomised or pseudo randomised evaluation of a treatment or a process. Other possibilities include a before and after evaluation of the introduction of a new treatment or process. 

• A study of a particular aspect of management of patients involved in a multi-centered trial. This will likely require the assent of the principal investigator for the study. 

• A systematic review of the literature pertaining to a clinically relevant subject. 

The following do not meet the requirements of the Formal Project and will not be accepted: 

• Individual case reports 

• Letters to the editor 

• Correspondence 

• Book chapters 

• Editorials 

For further detailed information, see T-9: Formal Project Requirements and talk to your SOT for further guidance 

The College is supportive of trainees gaining experience in units outside of Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore.

All training overseas must be prospectively approved by the Censor and trainees are encouraged to plan overseas work well in advance.

Please contact the Training Department if you have any questions about training in an overseas unit.

Trainees can take 8 weeks' leave per year for all purposes (sick, holiday, study etc.) before training is impacted.

• 3-month term: 2 weeks leave can be taken (14 days) 

• 6-month term: 4 weeks leave can be taken (28 days) 

• 9-month term: 6 weeks leave can be taken (42 days) 

• 12-month term: 8 weeks leave can be taken (56 days) 

Yes. The College is very supportive of parents wishing to take leave to raise a family. The Parental Leave policy can be viewed here: T-3 Parental Leave Policy 

No, they do not. The new curriculum requires that certain aspects of the training program must be completed at certain times, however this does not mean that training cannot be completed concurrently with another College. Each trainee’s journey is different, and we recommend that trainees contact the respective Colleges to discuss their individual situation. Concurrent training requires the trainee to be well organised and aware of each College’s regulations.

Please contact the Training Department if you wish to withdraw from the CICM programme. Once confirmation is received your records will be withdrawn and if you choose to re-join CICM training later you will need to apply in the annual advertised intake to the College.

Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is offered to all our trainees for experience they may have gained prior to joining the training program. RPL can be granted if a term meets the criteria set out in the relevant guidelines for each discipline. A list of guidelines for each term can be found here. Experience gained overseas can also count towards RPL, however may require additional censor review to confirm the appropriateness of accreditation.

For RPL to be granted sufficient evidence is required which is usually in the form of a Letter of Service and on occasion, a corresponding position description. RPL is not given for Core ICU training time which can only commence once the First Part Exam requirement has been met. 

The College expects that a doctor entering the training program in intensive care medicine will have the potential to complete the training program successfully and to achieve all the competencies and show all the values, attitudes and aptitudes required of a specialist in intensive care medicine. It is believed that the intern year and 6 months intensive care time required prior to starting the training program will provide the foundation for the above.

To ensure all trainees contribute an equal total amount towards their training program, trainees who apply for retrospective accreditation of previously completed training time will be required to pay the same annual training fee.

The College does not deliver a CICM course specifically for exam preparation. Multiple units and Fellows throughout Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand do run courses aimed at assisting trainees to prepare for all CICM examinations. It is recommended that trainees look on the CICM - Courses and Events webpage and talk to their supervisor and other trainees for advice on available courses. 

Yes. A candidate who presents for either the written or oral component has a maximum of five attempts for each examination.

The Committee always seeks to best support trainees to pass exams and requests for reasonable adjustments and special consideration are welcome as per T-19: Exam candidates suffering from illness.

COVID can no longer be considered as cause for adjustment or consideration; CICM Policy and Procedure has now been fully reinstated.

CICM is engaged with the Australian Council for Educational Research - ACER and is adopting the “Angoff” Standard Setting technique.

There is always more than one examiner involved in marking every element of every examination, following CICM-approved procedure and under Committee supervision.