There are exciting times ahead for ACRRM registrars and fellows who have an interest in pre-hospital and retrieval medicine, with the introduction of a Diploma in Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine (DipPHRM) in 2020. The diploma program will provide doctors who have a background in emergency, critical care and intensive care medicine the opportunity to obtain formally recognised qualifications in the practice of PHRM, including rural generalists who provide PHRM services in rural and regional parts of Australasia.

The development of the DipPHRM has been led by the Australian College of Emergency Medicine (ACEM), in collaboration with the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM), and Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM). When the program commences in 2020, it will be overseen by the Conjoint Committee of PHRM (CCPHRM), with representatives drawn from each of the colleges.

The DipPHRM will be a six-month training program comprising a number of online learning modules and significant practical experience working with a retrieval service. It is oriented towards higher acuity retrieval services, and given the intensive nature of the training program, trainees will require considerable pre-requisite knowledge and experience in emergency medicine, anaesthetics and/or critical care medicine to enter the DipPHRM training program.

ACRRM is developing a number of initiatives to support the implementation of the DipPHRM. The first of these is a one-day Pre-Hospital and Retrieval Medicine (PHaRM) training course. This course is a hands on simulation based day that provides training and refresher in first response scenarios for rural doctors. The first of these courses will be delivered as one of the pre-conference courses at RMA 19.

Further information on the DipPHRM is available on the ACEM website.

This article is written by ACRRM Registrar Committee member Dr Robert Worswick