Jobs and Registration

16th Jul 202224th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Basics, Jobs and Registration

English Language Competency

The AHPRA requirements for English Language Competency are:

IELTS (academic module): minimum overall score of 7 and a minimum score of 7 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking)
OET with a minimum score of B or 350 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking)
PTE Academic: minimum overall score of 65 and a minimum score of 65 in each of the four communicative skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking)
TOEFL iBT: minimum total score of 94 and the minimum scores of 24 for listening, 24 for reading, 27 for writing, and 23 for speaking

You do not need to demonstrate English Language Competency if you apply via Competent Authority pathway. However, you may still need to take one of the above exams for visa purposes.

16th Jul 202224th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Jobs and Registration, Uncategorized

EPIC- ECFMG Verfication of degree

Electronic Portfolio of International Credentials or EPIC is a service provided by ECFMG, USA. EPIC is a service that verifies your medical credentials.

GMC requires your primary medical qualification/ medical degree to be verified by EPIC before GMC registration. You can start this process as soon as you have your degree certificate in hand. Please note that there is no need to get your transcripts verified.

Procedure establishing an EPIC account:

Login to their official account: www.ecfmgepic.org
Create your own account
They will ask for your personal details as well as details about your medical college.
Enter your name as mentioned in your passport.
Pay the required fee.
EPIC will take 1-3 days to verify and establish an account for you. You will receive an email when it is done.

Procedure for confirming your Indentity/ NotaryCam:

Once your account is established, Login in to your account.
EPIC will upload your EPIC Identification Form or the EIF form.
You will now have to get it verified and digitally signed by using NotaryCam.
You will receive an email through which you can schedule your NotaryCam appointment.
You will need your passport and your laptop/mobile.(make sure it has the front camera)
On the given date and time, you will receive a link from a NotaryCam agent.
Open that link and your video call will start.
The person will have a copy of your EIF form with them.
You will be asked to check the spelling of your name and other details on the form.
After this, you need to show the first page of your passport. Make sure that the entire passport is visible on the screen.
Once this is done, the person will help you to digitally sign your account and the process is done. It hardly takes 2 minutes for this.
The signed form will reflect in your EPIC account in a day or 2.

Verification of your credential:

Login to your account and upload your credentials in the ‘My credentials’ tab.
Select ‘Primary Medical Diploma’ while uploading your degree.
Also, select for the report to be sent to AHPRA directly once the entire process is done.(If you do not do this now, you will have to pay a small fee to EPIC later)
EPIC takes about $80 for each credential verification. You will have to pay the fees now.
Now comes the tricky part. If your college participates in electronic credential verification process, EPIC will directly send an email to your medical college and they will verify it electronically.
However, if your medical college doesn’t have this facility, EPIC will send a courier to your college. It needs to be signed by an authorised official(mostly the dean) of your college.
There is an optional courier fee. This is highly recommended as you can track your application and see whether it has reached your medical college.
Once it is signed by the authorised official, the college itself has to directly courier it to ECFMG. Make sure that the college sends it, that is, there should be a college stamp in the ‘From’ address.
You will receive an email once your credential is verified and you can view it in ‘My reports’ tab. A report will also be sent to AHPRA if you have selected the same prior.

This entire process can take anywhere between 2 weeks to a few months. It is highly advisable to plan this process in advance to avoid delays in booking your AMC 1

15th Jul 202216th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Basics, Jobs and Registration

Types of registration

There are 3 different kinds of registration that AHPRA offers:

Limited registration

IMGs must pass the AMC CAT MCQ Examination before they can apply to the Board for limited registration. In addition, the IMG must have secured an offer of employment.

The type of limited registration depends on the position:

Limited registration for postgraduate training or supervised practice
Limited registration for area of need – if working in an area of need

Further information on limited registration is available on the Board’s website.

Provisional registration

IMGs who have successfully completed both the AMC CAT MCQ and the AMC Clinical Examinations (AMC Certificate holders) must apply for provisional registration. The IMG also needs to have secured an offer of employment.

Further information on provisional registration is available on the Board’s website.

General registration

IMGs on the Standard pathway must successfully complete 12 months of supervised practice (minimum of 47 weeks full-time service) in an approved position before being eligible to apply for general registration. The requirements for general registration are outlined in the Board’s Registration standard Granting general registration to medical practitioners who hold an Australian Medical Council certificate.

Regardless of whether an IMG has completed the AMC exams or the WBA, they must demonstrate that they have achieved the expected learning outcomes – either during completion of core rotations or through other learning experiences.

All IMGs on the Standard pathway must pass the AMC CAT MCQ Examination before they can apply to the Board for registration. IMGs who have passed the AMC CAT MCQ only can apply for limited registration.
IMGs who have passed both the AMC CAT MCQ and the AMC Clinical Examinations before commencing their period of supervised practice in Australia, must apply for provisional registration (they are not eligible to apply for limited registration).
All IMGs coming via the Competent Authority pathway must apply for provisional registration.
In practice, there is no difference between limited and provisional registration

15th Jul 202224th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Jobs and Registration

Recency of Practice

AHPRA requires you to meet their standard of recency of practice in order for you to be eligible for provisional/ limited registration.

To meet the standard of recency of practice, you must work WITHIN your scope of practice for a minimum of:

4 weeks full time clinical practice in 12 months
12 weeks full time clinical practice in 3 years

Full time clinical practice refers to 38 hours/week.

If you do not meet the recency requirements, the easiest way is to go back to your home country and work for 3 months. Else, you have the following options:

CLINICAL EXPERIENCE	GAP PERIOD	REQUIREMENTS
2 years or more	1-3 years	Maybe asked to complete CPD
2 years or more	3 years	Require a plan for professional development and re-entry into practice
<2 years	>1 year	Required to recommence in a supervised training position

15th Jul 202224th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Jobs and Registration

Filling the AHPRA Registration Form

What are the steps to fill the AHPRA provisional/ general registration form?

You can apply for provisional or limited registration ONLY after you secure a job offer.

Gather all the required documents:
- Proof of Identity-certified: Although there is a huge list of documents that you can choose from, the most commonly used ones are:
  - Passport
  - Driving License
- Primary medical degree- certified
- If coming via competent authority pathway, evidence of additional examinations (eg PLAB)
- If you have any specialist qualifications (eg MD, DNB, MRCP etc), its evidence
- Details of internship certificate
- Certificate of Good Standing from all the authorities of all those countries where you have registration in the last 5 years
- Signed and dated Curriculum Vitae
- Letter of employment
International criminal history check (ICHC)
- From all countries other than Australia in which you have lived, or been primarily based, for six consecutive months or longer, when aged 18 years or more
- From either of the two AHPRA approved supplier:
  - Fit2Work
  - AIS International
Evidence of English language competency
Fill in the relevant application form
- APRI-30: Application for provisional registration
- APLS-30: Application for Limited registration
Send the application form to your hospital where you have been offered the job
- They will attach the offer letter, supervised training plan and get your form signed by the Director of Clinical Training
Hospital will then forward your form to AHPRA
Wait for AHPRA to allot a Case Officer, who will go through your documents and ask for any clarifications/ additional documents, if needed
AHPRA will send you an in-principle approval letter
Once you make your move to Australia (which will be within a month or so after you receive your in-principle letter), do an ID check with AHPRA. The documents needed are:
- Passport and driving license (or any other document that you submitted while filling the form)
- Copy of your visa
- Proof of your date of entry into Australia: Your trip itinerary or boarding pass (please note that Australian immigration does NOT stamp your passport)
Application will be finalized within the next few days. You can now start working.

AHPRA may deny your application for provisional or general registration if you do not meet the recency of practice.

15th Jul 202224th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Jobs and Registration, Visa

Application for Permanent Residency

As mentioned here, your 482 work visa can last for a maximum of 4 years only. If you want to continue to remain in Australia and enjoy all social benefits, you will eventually need to apply for a permanent residency (PR).

Employer sponsored permanent residency is not really an option for most IMGs (except if you are a consultant, working full time and commit to work for that hospital for certain years or working in a rural hospital for many years).

Australia has a point based PR system, which means that the government has a pre-set PR quota every year and they choose to give it out to those who have the highest number of points as per their EOIs or Expression of Interests. You can use this points calculator to know where you stand.

As a doctor, you may apply for permanent residency only after you get General Registration with AHPRA (after atleast 1 year of work in Australia)

This process of permanent residency is getting more and more competitive every year. Unfortunately, doctors DO NOT have the ability to earn extra points by doing certain courses, which other professionals like engineers can. Also, unlike doctors who require atleast 1 year of Australian experience to apply for a PR, other professionals can put in their EOIs even if they are not in Australia. Furthermore, the entire process- from lodging an EOI to getting your final application approved can take months to years.

This means as doctors we are left with 2 options

Put an EOI and wait in hope
If your spouse is from a different profession, get them to apply for a PR

There are 2 different subclass of PR that you can apply/put an EOI to:

Skilled Independent Visa (189 Subclass)
Allotted from the federal government quota
Difficult to get/ need higher points

Skilled Nominated Visa (190 Subclass)
Allotted from the state government quota
Relatively easy to get
Each state government might have their own rules for nomination
- Eg: You may put an EOI for 190 for the state of Queensland only if you have worked in the state for 6 months
Need to stay in that nominating state for atleast 2 years
Can apply only when the state opens their nomination window

Steps to apply for a PR:

Put an application for expression of interest via SkillSelect website (both 189 and 190)
Please note that an application for 190 will be picked up only if applied when the respective state opens the nomination window
Gather all the documents needed
Once you receive an invitation, lodge your formal visa application and upload all documents.
Wait for a case officer to be allotted
Once allotted, the case officer will go through your documents and ask for any clarification
PR finally gets approved

Note that if your 190 EOI gets picked up before 189, the state will ask you for additional documents (like evidence of commitment to state, job offer in that state etc) before you receive a formal invitation to lodge your visa application.

Each Australian state may have their own requirements to be met before you can apply for the 190 visa. Eg. For Queensland, your EOI will be picked up only if you have worked in Queensland for 6 months before you put in your application.

15th Jul 202216th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Jobs and Registration

My Unique AHPRA Registration Pathway

As you read through the AHPRA website, you will realize that there are multiple minute ‘pathways’ towards getting your registration.

When I first decided to move to Australia, I had just 7 months of UK experience post my GMC registration via PLAB route, which meant that I could NOT apply for provisional registration via the Competent Authority Pathway. Going back to UK to complete a year of work was an option, but I wasn’t too keen on doing that. So, I decided to take AMC part 1 or the AMC CAT MCQ test and booked the next available exam.

After passing my AMC 1 and successfully landing a job, I applied for limited registration under the Standard Pathway and started working. I did NOT take my AMC 2 ever. After successfully completing 47 weeks of clinical work, I directly applied for General registration via Competent Authority Pathway. Are you wondering how?

It was possible due to the following clause in the AHPRA website:

Australian clinical experience can be substituted for the post-examination or post training experience for the purposes of meeting the criteria for eligibility for the Competent Authority pathway.
This period of practice in Australia may also be accepted as meeting the requirements for the 12 month period of supervised practice which is required to gain general registration via the Competent Authority pathway.

The take home message here is there is NO hard and fast rule towards getting your general registration in Australia. Personally, I have not come across anyone who followed this path. My piece of advice would be to read each and every line in the AHPRA website carefully and pick up the bits that are useful for you.

15th Jul 202216th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Jobs and Registration, Uncategorized

Job Interview Questions

Some of the common interview questions ( junior doctor level- Intern, RMO )

What did you learn during your internship? What was your day typically like?
Tell me one instance which demonstrates your team work?
What is your biggest strength and biggest weakness?
What are you future plans? How do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
Why did you apply for this job?
Tell me one mistake that you made at work. What did you learn from it?
Clinical scenario: MI, PE, DKA, Heart Failure, Pneumonia
Ethical scenario: Patient’s son calls you and asks about his father’s condition.
Questions about audit, clinical governance and research.
Some informal questions about my city, bollywood and my favourite bollywood hero.
Do you have any questions for us?

15th Jul 202216th Jul 2022 AussieIMG Jobs and Registration, Uncategorized

Job Application Overview

Jobs contracts in Australia (for junior doctors) are given out for a maximum period of 1 year.
This means that every junior doctor (including trainees) needs to re-apply for a job every year, even if staying in the same hospital (in which case, it is more or less a formality)
For this purpose, every year, around May to September, each Australian state runs an annual recruitment drive called the ‘Campaign’.
The posts that are not filled through the Campaign are advertised/ filled later.
Getting your first job in Australia through the campaign is less likely. Applying to each hospital individually gives you a higher success rate of landing your first job.

Websites:

Queensland: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/employment/job-search
New South Wales: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/careers/Pages/search_job.aspx
Victoria: https://careers.vic.gov.au/jobs
Western Australia: https://medjobswa.mercury.com.au
Tasmania: https://careers.jobs.tas.gov.au
Northern Territory: https://jobs.nt.gov.au

Jobs are also advertised through the following websites:

Interview:

Successful candidates will be notified about their interview date and time via email.
Most interviews are held online (via Skype, teams etc) or via a phone call
Remember that you are almost always guaranteed a job if you get an interview, unless you royally mess it up.
Most interviews last for <15 min.

Wondering how to prepare for the interview? Read about this here.