To be eligible for Rural Experience Entry to Fellowship (REEF), you must hold current unconditional specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia (MBA). You should have a minimum five years of rural experience post specialist registration. To discuss further, please contact the REEF team on 1800 223 226 or at reef@acrrm.org.au.
REEF is only open to those with a specialty in general practice. The Independent Pathway is a popular way for practitioners who have vocational registration in another specialty to obtain Fellowship of ACRRM. Please speak with the REEF team on 1800 223 226 or at reef@acrrm.org.au for more information.
ACRRM have a broad definition of rural and look at that as part of the structured interview. We look at where you’ve worked and what experience you have.
Generally, we look at rural experience in MMM2-7 and at least 12 months in MMM4-7.
Generally, we look at rural experience in MMM2-7 and at least 12 months in MMM4-7.
It depends where you’ve done your locum work and if you can demonstrate an understanding of some of the needs and challenges of rural communities – as that all contributes to what makes a Rural Generalist.
If you are an International Medical Graduate (IMG), you will need to be considered through the Specialist Pathway, not through REEF. You can contact the team at img@acrrm.org.au
When submitting your online application, you need to upload the following documents:
- Demonstrate five years or more of rural practice since gaining Fellowship or specialist registration. This may include:
- Rural experience supporting information, e.g. letter from employer/s and/or colleagues or employment record/s
- Extended practice supporting information, e.g. clinical privileges letter/s / certificate/s
- Provide your current curriculum vitae
- Applicants not enrolled in the ACRRM Professional Development Program must also provide:
- Evidence of completion of last PDP calendar year and participation in current PDP calendar year. Evidence of completion of Advance Life Support (ALS) in the last three years
- Provide letters of recommendation from two FACRRMs
There are typically no formal assessments. You will be required to provide two letters of recommendation or reference from ACRRM Fellows, and you will undertake a structured interview with the ACRRM Director of Training.
To achieve Fellowship through REEF, applicants need to be compliant in Advanced Life Support. The requirement is to have completed ALS within three years prior to application. ACRRM provides ALS training. View here for more details.
The interview will ask questions about your experience – you will be asked questions like, what skills did you need at your rural clinic or hospital, what were the challenges, etc.
It’s not an exam, so you won’t be asked any emergency scenario questions.
It’s not an exam, so you won’t be asked any emergency scenario questions.
If the outcome of your interview is successful, you will need to apply for both membership of the College and our Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program, if you have not already done so. You will then be recommended for Fellowship to the ACRRM Board.
All Fellowships are awarded and approved by the ACRRM Board, who meet roughly every six weeks.
ACRRM membership is not required to apply for REEF, but once you have received a successful interview outcome, you must be a College member to be recommended for Fellowship. Find out more about membership here.
There is an application fee of $499, and a yearly membership fee to be a Fellow of ACRRM. Once your REEF Fellowship has been approved, you will get invoiced at a pro-rata rate for the rest of the year for membership.