Obstetric Medicine Training Requirements

SOMANZ Training

SOMANZ will issue the Obstetric Medicine Certificate to Advanced Trainees or Fellows who complete the SOMANZ recommended training.  This is not recognised as a separate or additional qualification by the RACP and as yet Obstetric Medicine is not recognised by AHPRA or MCNZ as a separate specialty.  SOMANZ will recognise individuals as an “Obstetric Physician” based on successful completion of their RACP training (in any specialty) and the issuing of the SOMANZ Obstetric Medicine certificate or successful application for Post-Fellowship Recognition in Obstetric Medicine through the Post-Fellowship Recognition Pathway.

From 2017 – 2019, SOMANZ issued the Obstetric Medicine Certificate to eligible physicians in recognition of contributions to work, education and research in obstetric medicine, and training in obstetric medicine undertaken prior to 2013.  Following the completion of this “grandparenting” period, only individuals who prospectively applied for supervision of SOMANZ recommended Obstetric Medicine training and who successfully completed the training requirements were eligible to receive the Obstetric Medicine Certificate.  Since closure of the grandparenting mechanism in 2019, we have received many requests for SOMANZ to have a pathway by which we recognise prior training and competency in Obstetric Medicine.  We are pleased to advise you that the SOMANZ Executive Council and the Training Committee have developed the Post-Fellowship Recognition in Obstetric Medicine pathway which will be open for applications after 8th October 2023.  Post-Fellowship Recognition in Obstetric Medicine is not designed to replace Post-Fellowship Training in Obstetric Medicine.  Post-Fellowship training is the standard pathway available to Fellows who wish to be recognised in Obstetric Medicine in addition to their other fellowship/s.  Post-Fellowship training is prospectively approved and supervised in accordance with the requirements for training in Obstetric Medicine.

Advanced Trainees

The supervision of the SOMANZ recommended Obstetric Medicine training for advanced trainees is undertaken by the General and Acute Care Medicine ATC. For this reason, all trainees will be required to prospectively apply for recognition of Obstetric Medicine training through the General and Acute Care Medicine ATC and pay the associated training fee.  Trainees currently training in another speciality, such as Endocrinology or Nephrology, will need to apply to both the ATC in General and Acute Care Medicine and to their usual Advanced Training Committee for accreditation of the 12 months of Obstetric Medicine training.  Trainees are not required to complete dual training in general medicine and their subspecialty to obtain the Obstetric Medicine certificate.

For General and Acute Care Medicine advanced trainees starting training prior to 2018, 6 of the 12 months of Obstetric Medicine is able to be accredited as core training for the specialty of General and Acute Care medicine as a Group ‘B’ rotation.  The remaining 6 months of Obstetric Medicine may be eligible to count towards non-core training for General and Acute Care Medicine.   General and Acute Care Medicine trainees who commence advanced training from 2018 will have 6 of the 12 months accredited as core general medicine-related training and 6 months accredited as non-core training. For trainees of other subspecialties, it will be up to the individual Advanced Training Committee as to whether the Obstetric Medicine training will be accredited as core or non-core training for that specialty.

Post Fellowship Trainees

The supervision of the SOMANZ recommended Obstetric Medicine training for fellows is undertaken by the SOMANZ Training Committee and SOMANZ Council.  If a trainee has already received an FRACP and wishes to undertake further training in obstetric medicine, they will need to prospectively apply for recognition of Obstetric Medicine training directly to the SOMANZ Training Committee.  This Application and supervision of the training is associated with training fees – 6 month training fee – $300, 12 month training fee – $500, late application fee $50.  If the obstetric medicine trainee successfully completes 12 months of training in accredited obstetric medicine training sites including completion of training requirements (as outlined below), they will be awarded the obstetric medicine certificate.  This training can be completed in part time or full time appointments with the expectation that the 12 months of training be completed within a five year period.

Please note that the post fellowship training fees will be reviewed annually and may increase.

Accredited Training Sites

Trainees or fellows must complete 12 months of training at sites accredited for Obstetric Medicine training.   Some sites are only accredited for 6 months training in obstetric medicine for the SOMANZ Obstetric Medicine Certificate.   This is due to the level (clinical services capability) of the maternity and neonatology facilities, number of deliveries per annum and gestations accepted for delivery at these facilities.  If a trainee completes 6 months of training at a site only accredited for 6 months, another 6 months is required at a site where the full range, across all gestations of obstetric medical complications can be managed (ie. a site accredited for 12 months of training).  Accredited sites are listed on the “Obstetric Medicine Training” web page.

Training Requirements

It is compulsory for all obstetric medicine trainees to complete a project relevant to the area of Obstetric Medicine during their training.  This project must be assessed as satisfactory by either the General and Acute Care Medicine ATC for advanced trainee submissions or the SOMANZ Council for post fellowship trainee submissions.  Details on the requirements for satisfactory projects and how to submit them to the General and Acute Care Medicine ATC can be found in the PREP Advanced Training in General and Acute Care Medicine Program Requirements Handbook on the RACP website.  Both advanced trainees and post fellowship trainees will be marked utilising the RACP Advanced Training Research Project Marking Criteria – advanced-training-research-project-marking-criteria.doc (live.com).  Fellows submitting their project will need to submit them with an attached project cover sheet directly to the SOMANZ Secretariat via email at admin@somanz.org

For fellows or trainees who are training in a non general medical specialty or who have completed a satisfactory project for the General and Acute Care Medicine ATC that was not related to obstetric medicine, the following projects are considered acceptable for the purposes of the SOMANZ Obstetric Medicine Certificate:

Case Report

Generally this should describe a new or novel aspect of a particular case. The cases may be sourced from any aspect of obstetric medicine. The cases should include a detailed description of the case and a detailed review of the available literature. Published case reports that are essentially “letters to the editor” of a medical journal are too short on detail and inadequately referenced to be satisfactory.

Sample length: 2000 words (excluding references)

Case Series

This must include at least three related cases of an interesting condition  related to obstetric medicine. A detailed discussion must be included, together with a detailed review of the literature.

Sample length: 3000 words (excluding references)

Poster Presentation

A poster presentation at a peer-review meeting (of a condition related to Obstetric Medicine).

This represents work of appropriate standard, but should be re-drafted in prose rather than dot-point form, and requires a more detailed literature review appended. Copies of slides from an oral presentation or abstracts of papers are not acceptable on their own, and will require re-drafting into prose form.

Sample length: 2000-3000 words (excluding references)

Audit

This should be an audit of an area of interest to the trainee. It may audit a novel project or a program within the hospital related to obstetric medicine. A detailed discussion of the findings is expected.

Sample length: 2000–3000 words (excluding references)

Submitted projects should be of a standard that could be published in a peer reviewed medical journal and as such be appropriately referenced with appropriate subheadings.

Note that case series and case reports are no longer accepted by the General and Acute Care Medicine ATC for the post 2017 project requirement in general medicine.

The Obstetric Medicine project must be completed within 3 months post completion of Obstetric Medicine Training. If your project is submitted late, you must attach a letter requesting consideration of exceptional circumstances outlining the reasons for the delay.

Trainees must be a financial member of SOMANZ during the year of their Obstetric Medicine training and must attend an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy, for example, SOMANZ, ISOM, ISSHP, ADIPS.  Attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting preferably should be in the year of their Obstetric Medicine training, however can be in any year of their advanced training.

Summary of Training Requirements

In order to be considered for certification in Obstetric Medicine training by SOMANZ, trainees must prospectively apply for Obstetric Medicine training.

In order to be awarded certification in Obstetric Medicine training by SOMANZ, at the completion of training, trainees should send the following to the SOMANZ Secretariat via email at admin@somanz.org:

Click here to view the Obstetric Medicine Recommended Training curriculum

For further information, you can contact the SOMANZ Obstetric Medicine Training Committee or contact the SOMANZ Secretariat on email admin@somanz.org

Dr Rebekah Shakhovskoy
SOMANZ Executive Council Member and Chair of the SOMANZ Training Committee member
SOMANZ representative on the RACP Advanced Training Committee in General and Acute Care Medicine.
Senior Staff Specialist in General and Obstetric Medicine – Sunshine Coast University Hospital
Senior Lecturer – University of the Sunshine Coast and Griffith University

A: Sunshine Coast University Hospital | 6 Doherty Street | Birtinya QLD  4575
T:  07 5202 0000 (Hospital switchboard)
E:  rebekah.shakhovskoy@health.qld.gov.au