ACRRM's PESCIs set the standard for patient care in rural communities

In light of recent media stories, the College would like to reiterate its commitment to ensuring quality general practice services in rural and remote communities, as demonstrated by the standards set in Pre-Employment Structured Clinical Interviews (PESCIs). 

PESCIs are offered to International Medical Graduates applying for registration via the Standard pathway in Australia. The assessment is a robust interview process which goes through a quality assurance process by the lead assessor. ACRRM carefully assesses each application against the competencies set by the Australian Medical Council (AMC), the scope of practice that the practice states it provides, and the level of supervision that the practice will provide for that particular job. 

The AMC Certificate is equivalent to a PG1 doctor level, although most doctors who undertake PESCIs are seeking roles that operate at a more independent level than interns. 

Patient safety is the College's overriding priority, so when we consider the relative isolation of rural and remote towns and the availability of supervision support within practices, it is clear a more comprehensive approach is needed for safety and quality in rural primary care.

Unfortunately, recent inquiries and media stories have provided examples of individual instances where insufficient supports and systems for doctors, or insufficient skills and knowledge relating to international medical graduates in geographically isolated areas, have led to poor and sometimes devastating outcomes for patients. 

This is why ACRRM adopts the approach that we do. The College has a responsibility to protect our doctors and our patients to ensure this doesn’t happen. 

ACRRM is one of two Colleges approved by the Australian Medical Council to provide PESCIs, and the only College to offer PESCIs in an online setting. 

Regarding the pricing for PESCI, AusDoc recently reported ACRRM’s pricing structure incorrectly. The ACRRM fee set for PESCI has not changed over recent years, except that since going virtual, an additional online fee is no longer charged. The PESCI fee is $2495 with an additional admin fee only applicable if the candidate makes a change to the interview date - $585 if the interview has already been scheduled, and $420 if it has not. 

To learn more about the Standard pathway, PESCIs, associated fees and how to apply, click here.