Micrognome

When:

Friday, 3^rd December, 2010.

• Paper 1 at 09:45-12:15pm
• Paper 2 at 13:45-16:15hrs
• including 15” instruction & reading time, 2hr writing time and 15” administration window

Where:

In Townsville and Perth, plus any other major Australian centre, in accordance with demand and availability of exam supervisors/venue.

Who:

• A   FACTM (Clinical) Medical graduates qualified and registered to practice in Australia or New Zealand. Overseas qualified medical practitioners currently licensed to practice in either Australia or New Zealand (e.g. as trainees or on conditional registration) will be eligible to enter for the FACTM examination. At least two years of medical practice and some experience in tropical or travel medicine are advisable. Those with less clinical experience will be expected to make a case for early entry in order to avoid disappointment.
• B   FACTM (Paraclinical). The Paraclinical Fellowship exam is designed for other health care professionals qualified and licensed to practice in Australia or New Zealand with an interest in tropical or travel health e.g. paramedics, remote area nurses, travel health clinic staff, medical laboratory scientists, epidemiologists, veterinary medical and scientific officers, pharmacists and other professions allied to medicine

How:

1. Register your expression of interest with the College Secretariat and apply for the Affiliate category of membership (the application form can be found on the ACTM website) before 30th September, 2010. If you have recently completed a Diploma in Tropical Medicine recognised by the College, you may apply for recognition in lieu and exemption from the part 1 exam (Clinical).
2. Indicate your preferred exam centre, your 2 referees and the names of any senior ACTM members who are willing to act as local exam supervisors.
3. The College will contact you with detailed exam instructions including an invoice for exam fees ($500)
4. Complete your exam revision
5. Attend examination centre and complete papers 1 and 2
6. Results will be communicated to candidates via the College Secretariat after completion of marking, audit by the external examiner and review by the College Examination Board.
7. Candidates must achieve an overall mark of 50% in both papers to be granted a pass and MUST achieve an aggregate score of at least 60% in their preferred topic. For FACTM (Clinical) candidates, the preferred topic is automatically Clinical Tropical Medicine.
8. No grades other than PASS or FAIL will be given, however the highest scoring successful candidates in each of the Clinical and Paraclinical streams will be recognised with a College award.

What:

• Paper 1 will comprise different multiple choice question formats, including 30 x 5 subquestion T/F from a bank of 45 arranged by topic area (i.e. 150 x T/F) with negative marking, and 20 x 5 objective structured questions from a bank of 25 without negative marking. Total marks will be expressed as a final mark out of 50 plus a subtotal for the preferred topic.
• Paper 2 will comprise 10 data interpretation questions arranged by topic of which 8 must be attempted, and 10 short notes questions of which 8 must be attempted. Short notes questions will be designed to be answered succinctly in table, dot point, annotated list, graph or sketch diagram form. Total marks will be expressed as a final mark out of 50 plus a subtotal for the preferred topic.

Recommended revision plan:

• A    Clinical: use the Oxford Handbook of Tropical Medicine as a baseline, supplemented by the respective chapters in 22^nd edition of Manson’s Tropical Diseases, and the core text books for your chosen three other topics. Aim for a DTM&H standard of knowledge and use the sample questions with worked answers on the College website to assess your knowledge. Supplementary revision material can also be found on the MicroGnome website. When using other study materials, seek an Australasian perspective on the subject matter.
• B      Paraclinical: use the core textbooks in the recommended list to master each of the four topics. Priority should be given to health issues of direct relevance to the Australasian region, as applied by health practitioners in Australia and New Zealand. Ensure a good grasp of the common, the serious and life threatening. The part 1 exam will emphasise breadth of knowledge with practical use in our region. Sample questions with worked answers can be found on the College website. These examples are not exhaustive, nor are revision materials.

If in doubt about the scope of knowledge required, use the recommended textbook for that topic as a guide.

TJJI for the IEB, 13-AUG-10