AMA releases two new position statements

Informed by the work of the AMACDT, these new AMA position statements aim to ensure the wellbeing of trainees and flexibility in training programs. 

The two new position statements were developed after significant input from members of the AMA Council of Doctors in Training (AMACDT). They form part of AMACDT’s ongoing advocacy on trainee wellbeing, progression through training, and efforts to ensure a safe and sustainable medical workforce. 

The Competency Based Medical Education position statement outlines the AMA’s principles in delivering safe and effective training through a competency-based model. Through AMACDT’s work in updating and developing this position statement, the AMA now asserts that Competency Based Medical Education (CBME) is a productive tool for supporting medical trainees that is fit-for-purpose and reflects modern needs. AMACDT asserts that the success of CBME largely depends on educational institutions ensuring that trainee supervisors are appropriately resourced, trained and prepared, supervisors and trainees have access to dedicated teaching and training time, and that CBME programs are complemented by traditional medical education tools such as time confined programs. 

The revised 2022 Entry Requirements for Vocational Training position statement is an update of the 2014 position statement. The revised position statement sets out principles that the Australian Medical Council and specialist medical colleges should enact in their entry and selection processes. The  statement has been updated to reflect calls for flexibility of entry into training programs, and ensuring processes are anti-racist and are not discriminatory.