Australian Medical Council Examinations – My Experience
The AMC exams were one of the most challenging exams that I had to face and I am definitely not claiming to be an expert but I think it would be worthwhile to share my journey here. The AMC exam consists of 2 parts, Part 1 (CAT MCQ Exam) and Part 2 (Clinical Exam) and I will be elaborating a bit further about both parts.
AMC CAT MCQ EXAM
So, most of the basic information regarding the exam process, dates, venues and fees are very clearly outlined in the official AMC website.
https://www.amc.org.au/assessment/mcq/
Briefly talking about the exam, it is a computer administered MCQ exam of 150 MCQs to be completed in a session of 3.5 hours’ duration (one correct answer to be chosen from five options, no negative marking). The subjects covered are Medicine, Surgery, Women’s Health, Child Health, Mental Health and Population Health.
I would like to list some other aspects that I think are essential to consider.
1. Making an AMC portfolio and verifying your credentials with ECFMG, EPIC
If you have decided to
give your exams, this is probably the first thing you should do, even before
you start studying. I say this because your credentials need to be verified by
your university by post. This process took 3 months for me and that wasn’t even during a
pandemic. True, the excessive delay in my case could have been an isolated
issue but it is always best to get the administrative stuff out of the way.
2.Book an exam date
For me, this was a huge source of motivation and helped me plan my study
schedule.
3. Collect sources and materials to read
I found the online Facebook community super helpful, be it for sharing tips or study materials. The Telegram app is another excellent source. The resources I used for this exam are,
BOOKS
- AMC Handbook of MCQs (Must read - most questions that come in the exam are based on topics covered in this book)
- AMC Anthology of Medical Questions (try to familiarize yourself with the pictures as they tend to be repeated in the exam)
- USMLE Medical Ethics by Conrad Fischer, 100 cases – it covers almost all the essential points of ethics questions
- RACGP Red Book – very important for preventive guidelines, especially the tables
https://www.racgp.org.au/clinical-resources/clinical-guidelines/key-racgp-guidelines/view-all-racgp-guidelines/guidelines-for-preventive-activities-in-general-pr/preamble/introduction
- Driving manual - FIT TO DRIVE- for questions concerning driving fitness
https://austroads.com.au/publications/assessing-fitness-to-drive/ap-g56
- Australian Immunisation handbook
- Kaplan step 2 CK series
- John Murtagh’s General practice (to refer commonly repeated topics)
CLINICAL PRACTICE GUIDELINES
- Royal Children’s Hospital website for paediatric guidelines
https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/about_rch_cpgs/Welcome_to_the_Clinical_Practice_Guidelines
- RACGP website
https://www.racgp.org.au/clinical-resources/clinical-guidelines/guidelines-by-topic/view-all-guidelines-by-topic
- Cancer council website
https://www.cancer.org.au/health-professionals/clinical-practice-guidelines
- Royal Women’s Hospital website
https://www.thewomens.org.au/health-professionals/clinical-resources/clinical-guidelines-gps
4. Caution while reading recalls
This may be an unpopular opinion but I personally feel that since these recalls are written by people after they endured a grilling exam spanning over 3
hours, there is always going to be a risk of them having missed crucial points
in the question stem. The most ideal method of studying recalls would be to
note down the topics that are repeated often and study the topics thoroughly
from appropriate resources. However, I wasn't able to do this because I found it way too time consuming.
5. Subscribe to a Question Bank / Join a course
Since I didn’t do recalls, how I kept track of questions that were
frequently repeated was by subscribing to 2 question banks.
MplusX Q bank - I subscribed to this bank for a month. It had an extensive number of questions and was really helpful.
I hadn’t joined a course but I imagine it would help considerably, especially with regards to structured learning and meeting people for further group study.
6. Timing of study
Now this is tricky
because it is subject to your baseline knowledge and recency of practice and
familiarity with the said subjects. It can be anywhere from 2 to 8 months
depending on how comfortable you feel with your preparation.
7. The exam
The exam format itself is a standardized computerized MCQ exam but it can be a bit tedious, being 3.5 hours long with extra time required for registration process. Bathroom breaks are permitted during the exam but you are required to do your biometric scan and security check to re-enter the exam hall.
As with any MCQ format exam, practicing how to manage time is very important and practicing consistently with a timer in the last weeks before the exam will definitely make it a lot easier.
AMC CLINICAL EXAM
This exam is being conducted both Online via
Zoom at a location organized by the candidate or Face to face at the
National Test Centre in Melbourne. It consists of 20 stations - 16 assessed stations
and 4 rest stations. Each station is of 10 minutes duration (2
minutes reading time, and 8 minutes assessment time) and the aim of
the exam is to assess clinical skills relating to presentations of Medical, Surgical,
Women’s Health, Child Health and Mental Health problems. Again, the AMC
website delivers comprehensive and detailed information regarding
the exam process and fees.
https://www.amc.org.au/assessment/clinical-examination/
1. Booking the exam
The time and date on which the clinical exam slots would be available for booking are announced formally on the AMC website. A word of caution, getting dates for the clinical exam is not as easy as for the MCQ exam, the primary reason being the mismatch between the large volume of candidates and limited exam slots and the fact that the clinical exam had been cancelled for a year due to the pandemic. However, it is totally doable, if one is proactive and books it as soon as the dates are released.
2. Attending a training or bridging course
The 2020 AMC Annual report states that the pass percentage of AMC Clinical exam was 28% in 2018 and 2019. Considering that this is an exam with a pass percentage that low, I personally feel that doing a training course prior to this exam is ideal.
There are many AMC Clinical courses available in both online and face to face formats, of varying duration and cost. These courses basically have sessions of subject-based role play sessions where the students are given opportunities to practice doing a timed station with their tutors, followed by constructive feedback and a detailed discussion including differentials and latest treatment protocols.
The main reason behind doing a course would be to familiarize yourself with the topics and the concept of time management and effective communication. Another positive thing that help procrastinators like me read is the directed study schedule of the course.
I did the 12 weeks’ AMC clinical bridging course by HEAL and I would say the course was very instrumental to me passing my exam. The tutors were thorough and the role play sessions and mock exams were extremely helpful in self-assessment as were the communication sessions. I also discovered a wonderful group of kind and supportive people in the course and we continue to stay in touch.
3. My Study Resources
- AMC Handbook of Clinical Assessment - This is THE most important resource for this exam. There is a wealth of information in this book and I would suggest reading this book thoroughly, as many times as possible.
- Guidelines
It is very crucial to check the latest Australian clinical practice guidelines for all important topics, including the ones in the Handbook as the book has not been updated in a very long time.
1. Royal Children’s Hospital website for paediatric guidelines
https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/about_rch_cpgs/Welcome_to_the_Clinical_Practice_Guidelines
2. RACGP website
3. Cancer council website
4. Royal Women’s Hospital website
- Recalls
Recalls are very crucial for this exam and there are various compilations, done by the dates of exam. As mentioned before, it is always ideal to refer the topics from official clinical guidelines’ sources.
- Physical Examination
I made my PE notes from the following
1. Talley & O’ Connor’s Clinical examination
2. https://geekymedics.com/ (simple, easy to understand, yet elaborate)
3. Examination videos from YouTube (practically, I went by the highest number of views rather than following specific channels only)
- HEAL Course presentation slides
For a quick read of differentials and latest treatment protocols
4. Role play and practice case scenarios
This has to be one of the most important aspects of preparation for this exam. I did not have a study partner but I practiced cases from the Handbook with my husband (who is a non-medico) and that helped me significantly.
It helps to practice different kind of cases across different specialties, including the case scenarios one would consider as easy. In the exam, you just get 8 minutes to convey your knowledge and along with taking an adequate history and/or effectively counselling your patient, you have to ensure the key points are covered. And as hard as all that sounds, it does comes naturally with enough practice.
5.Do a trial exam
I would say doing a trial exam is as important as doing the course because it lets you experience a simulated test environment, which considerably abates the anxiety before the real thing.
I did
the ARIMGSAS trial exam and I got the exact same score as I got on my main
exam. It was a nicely conducted trial exam and concluded with a session where the examiners
in each station discussed the key points of their respective stations and all
the candidates received a feedback about their performance, on the same day. A gap of 7 to 10 days between your trial and main exam is ideal.
6. Timing of study
3 to 4 months of rigorous dedicated studying is
definitely required for the clinical exam. Beyond this, any amount of revision
or role play practice, will help you get a further grasp on time management and communication skills.
7. The Exam
The exam itself isn't as nerve-racking as the preparation process.
- The 2 minute reading time is very crucial to read the stem, think of possible differentials and formulate a plan of approach to the patient.
- In the online exam, the stem of the question is visible throughout the exam and any additional information will be displayed as a pop-up right next to the stem.
- As far as time management is concerned, almost all the stations (except the Physical examination stations) have a timer prompt for each question within the station, which lets you manage your time a whole load better than without.
- Physical examinations stations are a bit trickier and most exam-givers say that practicing to finish these stations in 6 minutes really helps in managing time during the exam.
This exam process wasn't easy but the sense of achievement I feel after finishing it, makes up for all of that. Of course, the journey ahead may be tons harder but here I am, taking one step at a time, celebrating my little milestones.
Till next time.
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