Chapter of Perioperative Medicine FAQs

The Chapter of Perioperative Medicine has recently been formed to offer the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine. A participant successfully completing the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine will be known as a graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine of ANZCA.

The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) raised concerns with specialist medical colleges offering diploma courses without being registered as a provider with TEQSA, as is required under the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency Act 2011. The terms “Diploma” and “Advanced Diploma” form part of the Australian Qualifications Framework and are protected under that act.

Colleges have been given until 31 December 2023 to continue using the nomenclature “diploma” before they either commit to becoming accredited with TEQSA or use a name other than “diploma” or any other higher qualification.

The ANZCA course leading to a qualification in perioperative medicine has received a name change from Diploma of Perioperative Medicine (DipPOM) to the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine leading to successful participants becoming a graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine of ANZCA - GChPOM. The name change was required in accordance with the Australian Qualifications Framework and related legislation.

The postnominal that graduates will be able to use is GChPOM.

Although the name of the qualification has changed the course itself has not changed and will be delivered in accordance with the current curriculum and handbook.

As a hybrid model of online learning modules, a workshop and clinical immersion experiences, the course offers flexibility in delivery and completion. It is a competency-based course comprising of six units of study which can be completed in 12 months (full-time) or up to three years (part-time).

Please note that ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine is a vocational program for graduate medical practitioners and is not a higher education award in accordance with the Australian Qualifications Framework.

We acknowledge the need to improve co-ordination of the surgical patient’s journey through the perioperative period. We believe that the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA) will assist in: 

• Improve patient outcomes.
• Minimising avoidable adverse patient outcomes.
• Delivering coordinated, proactive care to vulnerable and high-risk surgical patients.
• Providing consensus on what constitutes “best perioperative medicine practice” for the wide variety of craft groups currently contributing to the care of patients going through surgery.
• Enabling appropriate shared decision making for complex patients to avoid unnecessary, inappropriate or unwanted surgery.
• Implementing a standardised framework to allow mapping of existing services (for example, orthogeriatrics) into comprehensive perioperative care that recognises established expertise and avoids "reinvestign the wheel".

The ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine is currently the only specialist perioperative medicine course offering a combination of practical clinical learning with a theoretical online learning package. In addition, collaborative engagement opportunities are provided through face-to-face workshops.  

The course structure is unique in Australia and New Zealand and is based on education market research completed by external consultants.

A formal course which builds from a care framework of perioperative principles will develop leaders who can demonstrate a deep understanding of the perioperative landscape, and develop advanced leadership, teamwork and advocacy skills to co-ordinate patient care.  

Perioperative practitioners holding this formal qualification will better underpin the broader establishment of perioperative medicine as an essential aspect of health care.  

The qualification will consolidate much of the good practice that is already occurring in hospitals, while also allow those with an interest in improving their skills, to gain knowledge that may not be a focus of their primary speciality. Examples of this include anaesthetists gaining a deeper appreciation of delirium and frailty assessment, or geriatricians acquiring further knowledge of acute pain and resuscitation. 

The qualification establishes a recognised standard of comprehensive practice in perioperative medicine.

The qualification will be a 12-month course, which can also be completed on an individualised unit of study course basis, over a maximum period of 36 months.

There are six units of study:

1. Pre-operative assessment
2. Pre-operative planning
3. Optimisation.
4. Intraoperative impacts on patient outcomes.
5. Postoperative assessment and management
6. Discharge planning and rehabilitation.

Each unit of study includes an online learning package, clinical immersion experience, and a workshop.  

The assessment strategy combines online knowledge checks, simulated case-based activities, reflection activities and observation of clinical practice. View the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine handbook for more detail on assessment structure and activities.

Enrolments open in November 2023 for a commencement in February 2024. Please contact us for further details.

The cost of the course is $2185 AUD/$2360 NZD (excluding GST) per units of study. Participants are also responsible for paying additional fees such as registration fee and course completion fee. You can find complete information about the fees here.

Recognition of prior learning and experience (RPLE) is a process to acknowledge previously completed education or training that is comparable and relevant to that assessed in the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine and the required competencies. 

The Chapter of Perioperative Medicine does not permit RPLE to be applied towards completion of the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine units of study, with the exception of some credit for recent clinical training time.

Participants undertaking the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine who are gaining clinical experience in a POM related training role may have time credited towards clinical immersion time under the following circumstances:

• Clinical training time occurs post fellowship examination or, for physician trainees, in the last 12 months of training.
• The clinical training time occurs in a POM role.
• The clinical time is completed no longer than 12 months prior to the commencement of the unit of study that the clinical time is credited toward.

No more than two units of study may have their clinical immersion time credited in this way.

A record of activities required for the unit of study must be submitted at enrolment by the candidate to demonstrate achievement of clinical immersion requirements. This record must be confirmed by a supervisor or head of department.

The specific CPD standards and requirements for the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine are currently under consideration by ANZCA and further information will be available in CPD requirements for 2024. 

Yes. The recognition pathway is a separate process that enables practitioners with significant experienced in perioperative medicine to apply for the award of the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA).

The recognition process is available to those practitioners who have been engaged in, and completed, various educational and clinical perioperative medicine-based activities. It is an opportunity for those activities to be recognised for the award of the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA). To be eligible, practitioners must:

1. Be registered with the relevant medical board authority. 
2. Have sufficient experience working in the perioperative medicine field within the past eight years (as detailed in the guidance document and application form). 
3. Be a practicing fellow from an eligible college.
4. Be able to meet specified evidence criteria for recognition points. 

NB: Practitioners from medical colleges not listed are not currently eligible for legacy transition to the course via the recognition pathway.

At the 1 December 2023 ANZCA Council meeting, it was agreed that, like course graduates, all successful recognition pathway applicants will be known as graduates of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine and use the postnominals GChPOM. 

This includes those already notified of being awarded their Diploma of Perioperative Medicine (DipPOM). Please note that from 1 January, DipPOM will not be recognised by ANZCA. 

The change in terminology follows a ruling by the Tertiary Education Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA) that only education providers registered with them can use the term “diploma” beyond the end of 2023. 

Ensuring GChPOM is used by all graduates of the Course of Perioperative Medicine including those who have achieved the qualification via the recognition pathway will avoid confusion and the perception of a two-tiered qualification.

Local applicants with an Australian or New Zealand fellowship/s with international clinical experience and are currently working in Australia and New Zealand, are encouraged to apply for the course via the recognition pathway. 

Overseas applicants with an Australian or New Zealand fellowship/s but not currently working in Australia or New Zealand are required to demonstrate international leadership as luminaries in Perioperative Medicine and provide evidence of clinical experience equivalent to the Australian standards. We are not considering other overseas applicants at this time because we intend to establish and consolidate the course in Australia and New Zealand before offering it more widely.

Specialist echocardiology ultrasound courses are considered; however, short courses and non-specialist ultrasound courses will not be considered.

Fellows of the College of Intensive Care Medicine are highly recommended to provide a copy of the ANZICS Adult Patient Database report, or equivalent (from the hospital intensive care unit), to support the listed clinical practice activities in category D.

Read the eligibility criteria on the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA) via recognition pathway page then click on the ‘apply’ tab, which will take you to the application form. Follow the instructions on the form to complete the application.

When submitting your application, it is essential that all points claimed on the application form are supported with the appropriate evidence, otherwise the claimed activity or experience will not be counted.

The cost of submitting a recognition application is $550 AUD/ $635 NZD (both inclusive of GST). The fee covers the application administrative costs and, as such, is non-refundable.

We will accept general applications for the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA) via recognition pathway from 3 October 2022 until 1 December 2023.

Applicants from the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners will be accepted until 1 September 2024 (due to the later opening of the application process for these colleges).

The outcome of the lodged applications will be available within 12 weeks of receipt of the completed application and all the supporting evidence.

Evidence of completion of clinical activities (Category D), within the POM field in the past eight years, with a minimum of 200 points, is a compulsory requirement of the recognition pathway process.

There is an eight-year recency of completion of the clinical activities and the educational courses, estimated from the date of application.

Candidates with accrued points between 800 – 999 of the required points will have until 1 December 2024 (5pm Melbourne time), to achieve the additional points. There will be no additional fee applied for the review of additional accrued evidence.

Evidence supporting the application is essential. Should points be claimed without the supporting evidence, the application will not succeed. You will receive a letter explaining the shortfall and a request to provide the supporting evidence before the application can be reviewed again.

It is recommended that you have accrued the minimum 1000 points before applying. Should you apply with less than 800 points of evidence, it is likely your application will be rejected. This does not, however, exclude you from re-applying within the recognition pathway timeframe (3 October 2022 – 1 December 2023), once you complete the activities for the remaining points. A further non-refundable administration fee will apply for each subsequent application.

Should points be claimed without the supporting evidence, the application will not succeed. You will receive a letter explaining the shortfall and a request to provide the supporting evidence before the application can be reviewed again.

It is recognised that there are medical practitioners, throughout Australia and New Zealand, who may not meet the points requirement, but who qualify for the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA) through evidence of significant leadership in perioperative medicine. 

Eligibility will be decided based on pre-determined criteria.

The award of the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA) through recognition is an acknowledgement of a practitioner’s contribution to, and experience within, the field of perioperative medicine. 
 
The award also enables practitioners to contribute to the education of future perioperative medicine practitioners and be included in the first cohort of supervisors of ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine participants from September 2023.

Becoming a supervisor is not a criterion for recognition, however, it is anticipated that those awarded the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA) via the recognition process will be the first cohort of supervisors of clinical immersion for the initial delivery of the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine in 2023 and 2024. There will also be opportunities to contribute to perioperative medicine education, policies, and guidelines development.

Yes. The fellowship of the ANZCA FPM program (FFPMANZCA) will be awarded 100 points for the recognition pathway under Category A points, as FFPMANZCA is a 2-year program, compared to the 5 years of the other listed specialist training.

Supervisors and unit of study leads are required to attend an introductory workshop which will outline course requirements, provide information on how to navigate the online platform and cover the skills and knowledge required to be an effective supervisor.  

Supervisors are supported by a dedicated ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine unit of study lead and ANZCA support staff.

The time commitment required by supervisors is based on the number of participants they are supervising and the number of units of study the participant is taking concurrently. Participants are able to take one or two units of study per trimester.

Supervisors are allocated up to three ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine participants, depending on the supervisor’s availability and the number of units of study the participant is completing.  

As a guide, a supervisor’s commitment is up to an hour per week, per participant, per unit of study.  

In addition, supervisors will be required to assist in the facilitation of workshops, one per unit of study. It is anticipated that the requirement for supervisors to assist with workshop facilitation will be two workshops over a 2-year period.

Becoming a supervisor is not a criterion for recognition, however, it is anticipated that those awarded the graduate of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine (ANZCA) via the recognition process will be the first cohort of supervisors of clinical immersion for the initial delivery of the ANZCA Course in Perioperative Medicine in 2023 and 2024. There will also be opportunities to contribute to perioperative medicine education, policies, and guidelines development.