Obstetric Medicine Training Requirements

SOMANZ Training

SOMANZ will issue the Obstetric Medicine Certificate to Advanced Trainees or Fellows who complete the SOMANZ recommended training requirements.

Both pre fellowship and post fellowship Obstetric Medicine Trainees will need to prospective apply and satisfactorily complete 12 months of Obstetric Medicine Training in accredited training site/s.  This 12 months of 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.  Other training requirements include a) completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine b) attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy c) being a financial member of SOMANZ during the 12 months of training and d) payment of training fees to RACP or SOMANZ.

It is important to note that the SOMANZ certificate 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.

 

Advanced Training

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.

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.  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 Curriculum

The updated Obstetric Medicine training curriculum was developed as part of the curriculum renewal for RACP General and Acute Care Medicine training and will be implemented from February 2026.

Obstetric Medicine trainees knowledge guide

 

Obstetric Medicine Training Requirements

SOMANZ Training

SOMANZ will issue the Obstetric Medicine Certificate to Advanced Trainees or Fellows who complete the SOMANZ recommended training requirements –

  1. Prospective training application with satisfactory completion of 12 months of recommended Obstetric Medicine training in accredited site/s
  2. Completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine
  3. Attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy
  4. Be a financial member of SOMANZ during the 12 months of training
  5. Payment of training fees to RACP or SOMANZ

 

1. 12months of Obstetric Medicine Training (either advanced training or post fellowship training) with prospective training application.

Both pre fellowship and post fellowship Obstetric Medicine Trainees will need to prospective apply and satisfactorily complete 12 months of Obstetric Medicine Training in accredited training site/s.  This 12 months of 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.

Resource Description
Accredited Obstetric Medicine 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).
Obstetric Medicine Training Curriculum The updated Obstetric Medicine training curriculum was developed as part of the curriculum renewal for RACP General and Acute Care Medicine training and has been  implemented from February 2026.
Advanced Training in Obstetric Medicine Applications

 

Apply online

If online registration is closed, email an application form to

GeneralMedicineAdvanced@racp.edu.au

 

 

 •The supervision of the SOMANZ recommended Obstetric Medicine training for advanced trainees is undertaken by the General and Acute Care Medicine Training Program Committee. For this reason, all trainees will be required to prospectively apply for recognition of Obstetric Medicine training through the General and Acute Care Medicine Training Program Committee and pay the associated training fee.

•Application needs to be completed by February 28th if commencing training in February or 31st August if commencing mid year.  Annual advanced training membership fees are paid directly to the RACP.

•Trainees currently training in another speciality, such as Endocrinology or Nephrology, will need to apply to both the General and Acute Care Medicine Training Program Committee and to their other Training Program 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.

•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 Training Committees as to whether the Obstetric Medicine training will be accredited as core or non-core training for that specialty.
Post Fellowship Training in Obstetric Medicine applications

Email application to admin@somanz.org

 •The supervision of the SOMANZ recommended Obstetric Medicine training for fellows is undertaken by the SOMANZ Training Committee and the SOMANZ Board.  If a trainee has already received a 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.

•Application to the SOMANZ Training Committee needs to be completed by February 28th if commencing training in February or 31st August if commencing mid year.

•The 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.

•Please note that the post fellowship training fees will be reviewed annually and may increase.
Advanced Trainee Progress supervisor reports – completed via the RACP Training Management Platform under the assessment requirements tab Advanced Trainees are required to complete progress reports every 3 months during training.
Post Fellowship Trainee supervisor reports – Email completed report to mailto:admin@somanz.org Post Fellowship Trainees are required to complete progress reports every 6 months during training

 

2. Completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine

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 Training Program Committee for advanced trainee submissions or the SOMANZ Training Committee for post fellowship trainee submissions.  In some exceptional cases, another specialty RACP Training Committee may assess a project relevant to the area of Obstetric Medicine.

 

Submission Guidelines

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.

Resource Description
RACP Advanced Training Research Project Guide Advanced Trainees – Details on the requirements for satisfactory projects for RACP Advanced Training can be found in this guide.  Note that post the 2026 curriculum update, only three research project types are accepted:

  1. research in human subjects, populations and communities and laboratory research
  2. audit
  3. systematic review

The relevance to the area of Obstetric Medicine needs to be clear for this project to be considered as meeting the project requirement for SOMANZ certification.
SOMANZ Research Project Guide For fellows or trainees who are training in a non general medical specialty and/or who have completed a satisfactory project for the General and Acute Care Medicine Training Program Committee or other Training Program Committee that was not related to obstetric medicine, the following projects are considered acceptable for the purposes of the SOMANZ Obstetric Medicine Certificate:.

a.      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)

b.      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)

c.      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)

d.      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.
Advanced Training Research Project cover sheet

 

Post Fellowship Training Research Project cover sheet

 

 Trainees must submit their research projects with the relevant cover sheet.

 

 
Turnitin • Turnitin is an originality and plagiarism detection tool, which compares projects against electronic texts from the Internet, published works (such as journal articles and books), and assignments previously submitted to Turnitin by other students.

• Trainees will be required to obtain a similarity report from Turnitin. The report must be submitted with the project. Trainees will have the opportunity to obtain the similarity report and make any changes prior to submitting the project to the RACP or the SOMANZ Training Committee for marking. An updated similarity report must be submitted with the project if changes are made. If this is not submitted, the College or the SOMANZ Training Committee will obtain a report on the trainee’s behalf and the trainee will not have the opportunity to make changes.
Advanced Trainees – all documents can be submitted via the RACP Training Management Platform under the assessment requirements tab.

 

Post Fellowship Trainees – submit all documents via email to admin@somanz.org

 Trainees must submit their research projects electronically with the relevant cover sheet, research project and Turnitin report.

 
Research project marking Criteria Reviewers will mark the projects against this set marking criteria.
RACP Academic Integrity in Training Policy This policy sets out the meaning of academic integrity in the context of RACP training. The policy defines the principles that underpin the RACP approach to academic integrity and the roles and responsibilities of the relevant parties that is also shared by SOMANZ.

 

Each project will be sent to two reviewers. Both advanced trainees and post fellowship trainees will be marked utilising the RACP Advanced Training Research Project Marking Criteria and trainees are encouraged to review this marking criteria when writing their project. These projects are independently marked by two assessors using assessment criteria that are common to all training programs. In the case that the two assessors cannot reach agreement, the research project is sent to a third assessor who will determine the final outcome.  There are three outcomes that a project reviewer can make to a research project when marking.

Outcome Grade Resubmission information
Pass Meets expected standard. Below expected standard in no more than 1 criterion

 

 Not applicable
Resubmit 2 or more areas below the expected standard • If a project is marked as ‘resubmit’ a trainee will have 2 opportunities to resubmit the same project to the markers with revisions, provided no concerns in regards to academic integrity exist.

• If a trainee is dissatisfied with the outcome after 2 resubmit outcomes, they may request 2 new reviewers to mark the project.

• If new reviewers are requested, this re-mark can only be marked as pass or fail.

• If the project is marked as a fail by the two new reviewers, the trainee cannot resubmit it again. To meet the requirement, a substantially new project will need to be completed.
Fail Does not meet any of the criteria for a research project •A trainee may request 2 new reviewers to mark their project if their project is marked as a fail in the first instance. The initial project outcome will NOT be shared with the new reviewers

• A new project will need to be submitted

If a trainee is required to resubmit their project, the revised project is sent to the original reviewers where possible. In the event the reviewer/s are unable to re-review the project due to extended leave or other extenuating circumstance, the project will be sent to alternate reviewers. The initial project feedback will be shared with the new reviewer/s.

If in the process of reviewing the research project a reviewer identifies significant concerns in regards to Academic Integrity, the SOMANZ Training Committee will internally request 2 new reviewers to mark the project and reserves the right to only allow 1 opportunity to resubmit the same project if 2 or more areas are below the expected standard.

 

3. Attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy

At some point during their obstetric medicine training, trainees must attend an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy, for example, SOMANZ, ISOM, ISSHP, ADIPS or an update course in Obstetric Medicine such as UCOM Australia or The medical complications in pregnancy course in the United Kingdom.

 

4. Be a financial member of SOMANZ during the 12 months of training

All trainees are required to be financial members of SOMANZ during their 12 months of training.  Application for financial membership of SOMANZ.

 

5. Payment of training fees to RACP (if doing advanced training) or SOMANZ (post fellowship training).

For post fellowship trainees, following receipt and approval of the prospective application for training, an invoice will be submitted directly to the trainee to enable payment of training fees directly to SOMANZ.

 

SOMANZ Training Certification

Advanced Trainees

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 Executive Officer via email at admin@somanz.org:

  • Acknowledgment from the General and Acute Care Medicine Training Program Committee of satisfactory final supervisor progress reports in Obstetric Medicine for 12 months of training
  • Acknowledgement from the General and Acute Care Medicine Training Program Committee or another specialty training committee of completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine.  In addition to the confirmation of completion of a satisfactory project, it is recommended to send the original project in to enable the SOMANZ Training Committee to confirm that the project was indeed in the area of Obstetric Medicine.
  • Receipt from SOMANZ for payment of financial membership for the year of training
  • Copy of certificate of attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy

 

Post Fellowship Trainees

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

  • Acknowledgement from the SOMANZ Training Committee of satisfactory final supervisor progress reports in Obstetric Medicine for 12 months of training
  • Acknowledgement from the SOMANZ Training Committee of completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine
  • Receipt from SOMANZ for payment of financial membership for the year of training
  • Copy of certificate of attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy.

 

 

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 or an update course in Obstetric Medicine such as UCOM Australia or The medical complications in pregnancy course in the United Kingdom.

 

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.

Advanced Trainees

  • Application to the General and Acute Care Medicine ATC completed by February 15th if commencing training in February or 31st August if commencing mid year.
  • Payment of training fees to the RACP.
  • Acknowledgment from the General Medicine ATC of satisfactory final supervisors reports in Obstetric Medicine for 12 months of training
  • Acknowledgement from the General Medicine ATC of completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine
  • Receipt from SOMANZ for payment of financial membership for the year of training
  • Copy of certificate of attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy

Post Fellowship Trainees

  • Application to the SOMANZ Training Committee completed by February 15th if commencing training in February or 31st August if commencing mid year.
  • Payment of training fees to SOMANZ.
  • Acknowledgement from the SOMANZ Council of satisfactory final supervisors report in Obstetric Medicine for 12 months of training
  • Acknowledgement from the SOMANZ Council of completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine
  • Receipt from SOMANZ for payment of financial membership for the year of training
  • Copy of certificate of attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy

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:

  • Acknowledgment from the General Medicine ATC of satisfactory final supervisors reports in Obstetric Medicine for 12 months of training
  • Acknowledgement from the General Medicine ATC of completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine
  • Receipt from SOMANZ for payment of financial membership for the year of training
  • Copy of certificate of attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy
  • Acknowledgement from the SOMANZ Council of satisfactory final supervisors reports in Obstetric Medicine for 12 months of training
  • Acknowledgement from the SOMANZ Council of completion of a satisfactory project in the area of Obstetric Medicine
  • Receipt from SOMANZ for payment of financial membership for the year of training
  • Copy of certificate of attendance at an Annual Scientific Meeting of a society whose focus is on medical disorders of pregnancy

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

Dr. Siaw Hui Wong
Chair of the SOMANZ Training Committee
SOMANZ representative on the RACP Advanced Training Committee in General and Acute Care Medicine
Head of Medical Obstetrics, Northern Health
General & Obstetric Medicine Physician, Northern & Mercy Health
A: 185 Cooper Street, Epping VIC 3076
T: (03) 8405 8000 (hospital switchboard)
E: siaw.h.wong@nh.org.au