The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) is reviewing its training in Australia and New Zealand and calling for input from its members. Three main training aspects are under the microscope, it said:
Curriculum
The curriculum review, which was last done in 2015, is necessary for RANZCO to maintain its Australian Medical Council (AMC) and Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) accreditation. RANZCO is encouraging fellows to provide feedback through an online discussion board. RANZCO censor-in-chief, Dr Justin Mora, said the College is also carefully considering various forms of assessment, such as programmatic assessment (PA) to accompany exams. PA is described in the literature as “[aiming] to assess students more holistically and meaningfully with rigorous attention to trustworthiness and credibility of the whole assessment process.” Any changes made will apply across the whole training programme and are likely to be phased in so as not to adversely affect anyone already enrolled, added Dr Mora.
Rural Training
RANZCO has a number of training posts in regional Australian centres which have received special funding for training following requests from local ophthalmologists and is currently exploring the possibility of establishing a rural training network to further meet rural Australians’ needs. There are many similar issues in both Australia and New Zealand, said Dr Mora, but New Zealand already has a number of regional training posts and may not require much change.
