REQUIREMENTS FOR SUPERVISING A LIMITED OR PROVISIONALLY REGISTERED IMG
All IMG’s with Limited or Provisional AHPRA Registration require Supervision to practice as a General Practitioner.
There are various factors involved with supervision that both doctors and practices need to be aware of before applying for AHPRA Registration.
We will go over these factors in this blog to ensure you are ready for Supervision!
HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR SUPERVISORS?
AHPRA require all IMG’s to have a Principal Supervisor and at least 1 Co-Supervisor.
To be eligible to Supervise, General Practitioners will require the following:
- Specialist AHPRA Registration in General Practice
- Your Supervisor can have Specialist AHPRA Registration only or Specialist and General Registration
- 3 years Specialist experience in General Practice
If your AHPRA Registration is approved and the supervisors have not previously offered supervision, they will need to complete the Board’s online education and assessment module.
If your Principal Supervisor or Co-Supervisor only has General AHPRA Registration, it is unlikely that your Supervision arrangements will be approved.
HOW MANY IMG’S CAN BE SUPERVISED AT ONCE?
A Supervisor who is concurrently consulting their own patients, can supervise up to 4 IMG’s. However, they are only permitted to supervise up to 1 IMG under Level 1 Supervision.
If a Supervisor is not consulting their own patients whilst the IMG is practicing, they can supervise up to 4 IMG’s across all Supervision levels.
If you Supervisor is planning on offering Supervision to more than four IMG’s must provide the AHPRA board with a proposal outlining how they plan to provide supervision to each IMG.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SUPERVISION?
Supervision can be offered from Level 1 to Level 4. AHPRA generally prefers for most IMG’s to start at Level 1 Supervision for at least the first 3 months to ensure safe practice and support for the IMG.
The Supervision Levels have the following requirements:
Level 1 Supervision:
The Supervisor is directly responsible for every patient seen by the IMG. For this reason, they must be physically present at the practice whenever the IMG is providing care to patients. Additionally, the IMG must consult their Supervisor about the management of a patient during the consultation or before the patient leaves.
Level 2 Supervision:
The Supervisor shares responsibility for each patient with the IMG. The supervision must be primarily in person with the Supervisor physically present in the workplace at least 80% of the time. If the Supervisor is not physically present, they must be accessible via telephone. The IMG will inform the supervisor about their management plans for patients daily.
Level 3 Supervision:
The IMG will take primary responsibility for each patient. The IMG is permitted to practice alone but their Supervisor must be accessible via telephone. Additionally, it is the responsibility of the Supervisor to ensure there are mechanisms in place to ensure the IMG is practicing safely.
Level 4 Supervision:
Under Level 4 Supervision, the IMG will take full responsibility for each patient. However, the Supervisor must oversee the IMG’s practice and be available for consultation if required. Moreover, the Supervisor must periodically conduct a review of the IMG’s practice.
FORMAL AND INFORMAL SUPERVISION REQUIREMENTS
The type of Supervision provided will depend on the IMG’s Level of Supervision and their individual needs.
Formal Supervision is scheduled time for in-depth discussion and reflection on the IMG’s practice. This meeting will provide time to review and provide feedback on the performance of the IMG, identify weaknesses, discuss difficult or unusual cases and conduct medical record reviews.
Informal Supervision involves day-to-day observation of the IMG’s practice and discussion of management plans. The Principal Supervisor will provide guidance, support and advice during this time.
HOW DO I CHANGE SUPERVISION LEVELS AFTER I HAVE REGISTRATION?
After 3 months of practice, you will be required to complete a work performance report, in addition to an orientation report. Within this report, your Supervision can request a change in the level of Supervision. Based on the report, AHPRA will consider your Supervisors feedback and may grant a change in supervision level.
After 12 months of Supervision and achievement of the AMC Certificate, you will be eligible for General Registration with AHPRA. Doctors will not require Supervision whilst they hold General Registration with AHPRA.
WHAT DO I DO IF I CANNOT MEET THE SUPERVISION ARRANGEMENTS?
AHPRA does aim to be flexible and will consider each application on its individual merit as long as safety of patients is ensured. Therefore, if your Supervision arrangements do not meet the guidelines set by AHPRA, you can prepare your case to demonstrate how your Supervision will take place and why your Supervisors are fit to offer Supervision.
However, this can be risky, so we recommend ensuring all supervision arrangements can be met prior to applying for a PESCI and for AHPRA Registration.
HOW WE CAN HELP YOU:
If you are looking for further guidance on Supervision or would like to ask further questions about the information mentioned, this is something our team can help you with. Contact us directly on help@peoplemedical.com.au.
Information for this blog has been taken directly from:
- file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/Medical-Board—Guidelines—Supervised-practice-for-international-medical-graduates—4-January-2016%20(10).PDF
People Medical Consulting are a team of professionals with a passion for guiding those specialising in the Medical industry to find their career pathway and settle into Australia. Working with both Australian trained and Overseas trained professionals, we have extensive experience in Recruitment of General Practitioners and Document Assistance for those requiring support with RACGP, AHPRA, 19AA and 19AB Medicare Exemptions.
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