Cancellation of National Test Centre (NTC) in-person Clinical examinations for 2021
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- Due to the current and ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns throughout Australia and consideration of the health and safety of examination participants, the AMC has found it necessary to cancel the AMC National Test Centre (NTC) in-person clinical examination dates scheduled for the remainder of 2021.
- A significant amount of work has been undertaken to ensure that recommencing the AMC’s in-person clinical examinations can be achieved in a safe manner according to government health guidelines and restrictions.
- With the cancellations of the NTC clinical examinations for the remainder of 2021, the AMC will endeavour to provide as much notice as practical to participants. Candidates previously scheduled in the cancelled examination dates have been offered alternate examination dates.
For further information please refer to – https://www.amc.org.au/cancellation-of-national-test-centre-ntc-in-person-clinical-examinations-for-2021/
Structure of the clinical examination
- The AMC Clinical Examination is an integrated multidisciplinary structured clinical assessment.
- The examination comprises 16 assessed stations and 4 rest stations. It is administered either online via a video conferencing format at a location organised by the candidate, or when health restrictions allow, at the National Test Centre in Melbourne (NTC).
- It assesses clinical skills in medicine, surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology, paediatrics and psychiatry. It also assesses ability to communicate with patients, their families and other health workers.
- Candidates will rotate through a series of stations and will undertake a variety of clinical tasks. All candidates in a clinical examination session will be assessed against the same stations.
- Most stations are of 10 minutes duration (comprising two minutes reading time, and eight minutes assessment time).
- Stations may use actual patients, simulated patients, or videotaped patient presentations. Other relevant materials, such as charts, digital images and photographs may also be used in the examination.
Pre-requisites for the clinical examination
- Candidates must have passed the MCQ examination before being eligible to proceed to the clinical examination.
Assessment criteria
- Stations will assess clinical skills relating to presentations of medical, surgical, women’s health, paediatrics and mental health problems. These will be in a variety of settings including community and hospital.
- Each station has a single broad “predominant assessment area”. These are:
- history taking
- examination
- diagnostic formulation
- management/counselling/education.
- Examples of material that could be included in the stations are:
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- taking the history of a patient with symptoms of shortness of breath [history taking station]
- taking a history from a third party such as the parent or carer of a patient (history taking station)
- physical examination of a patient with symptoms of suspected vascular disease [examination station]
- interpretation of a laboratory report result [diagnostic formulation station]
- diagnosis of a common skin lesion [diagnostic formulation station]
- educating an asthmatic patient on the use of an inhaler [management/counselling/education station]
- counselling a patient with obesity [management/counselling/education station]
- presenting a management plan for a patient presentation (management/counselling/education station).
- Online clinical examination
- The format of examination stations has been developed for online delivery. The assessment blueprint and criteria remain the same as the in-person NTC examination with the exception of hands-on components of physical examination.
- The candidate will be required to exhibit clinical reasoning, interpretation and detailed description of physical examination techniques and process.
- The candidate may be delivering this information to either the examiner, medical student, patient, family member, carer or health professional.
Refer to the Clinical Examination Specifications document for more information.
AMC Clinical Examination Scheduling process
Cancellation of National Test Centre (NTC) in-person Clinical examinations for 2021
Due to the current and ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and lockdowns throughout Australia and consideration of the health and safety of examination participants, the AMC has found it necessary to cancel the AMC National Test Centre (NTC) in-person clinical examination dates scheduled for the remainder of 2021. This includes the following dates –
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- 5/6/7 October 2021
- 19/20/21 October 2021
- 19/20 November 2021
- 3/4 December 2021
- In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the AMC has been successfully delivering online clinical examinations in 2021. Recognising the Covid-19 pandemic has created challenges and opportunities for positive change in medical education and assessment, the AMC has been working toward further development of the AMC Assessment pathway. The AMC is continuing to work towards conducting both the online clinical examinations and recommencing in-person examinations in 2022 to accommodate candidate demand.
- A significant amount of work has been undertaken to ensure that recommencing the AMC’s in-person clinical examinations can be achieved in a safe manner according to government health guidelines and restrictions.
- With the cancellations of the NTC clinical examinations for the remainder of 2021, the AMC will endeavour to provide as much notice as practical to participants and where possible reschedule examinations to online events or future 2022 examination dates.
- Candidates scheduled in the above listed cancelled examination dates will be offered alternate examination dates. Communication regarding the rescheduling will be emailed to candidates directly.
Examinations for 2022
- Examination dates for 2022 online and NTC examinations will be published to all eligible candidates on Monday, 1 November 2021.
- Scheduling for these examination dates will be available through the Candidate Portal on Thursday, 11 November 2021 at 10.00am AESDT. For more information regarding the scheduling process, please visit the AMC website at https://www.amc.org.au/assessment/clinical-examination/clinical-examination-events-and-dates/.
Process of a Clinical Examination
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Before the examination
- Ensure your contact telephone number and emergency number is up to date.
- Candidates must arrive at the venue by the time specified for the examination. Note the venue may be the NTC, or online and logged into the designated link. (All are referred to as the “venue”.) Candidates who are not present as required by the time indicated will not be permitted to commence the examination.
- The required dress standard for candidates is professional attire.
- Candidates who may require special assistance during the examination should inform the AMC as early as possible prior to their examination. This may include medication requirements or food intake due to a medical condition.
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During the online examination
- The candidate briefing video will provide information on the examination structure, examination stations, allowable and prohibited materials.
Candidate briefing video
Candidate conduct
- Candidates are expected to conduct themselves courteously in examinations, correspondence and in personal contact with examiners, patients (actual or simulated), employees or agents of the AMC and other candidates. Candidates whose conduct is disruptive, or is considered by the AMC to have been outside the bounds of reasonable and decent behaviour, may be excluded from the examination and/or refused the opportunity to sit future AMC examinations.
Refer to the Clinical Examination Specifications document for more information.
Examinations for 2022
- Examination dates for 2022 online and NTC examinations will be published to all eligible candidates on Monday, 1 November 2021.
- Scheduling for these examination dates will be available through the Candidate Portal on Thursday, 11 November 2021 at 10.00am (AEST).
Scheduling process
The Clinical Examination scheduling process includes –
- Once an examination is open for scheduling, candidates will be able to log into the candidate portal and directly apply for their preferred examination date. Please select ‘Clinical examinations’ on ‘Your AMC Candidate Portal’ as shown below.
- Payment of the examination fee is ONLY accepted by credit card. There will be a 15-minute time frame to complete payment for the examination, once this has lapsed, the placement will be released to the next candidate. Please note that Cheque payment is not accepted for scheduling of Clinical examinations
- Once payment has been successfully processed, a placement letter and receipt confirming candidate examination details will be available immediately to download from the Candidate Portal.
Please note scheduling is on a first come first serve basis as candidates apply through the Candidate Portal.
- Overseas candidates who wish to sit the online Clinical examination should consider the time zone differences. The online Clinical examination is held in the Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) time zone. The AMC is not able to alter the programmed examination times for candidates undertaking the online Clinical examination from overseas. The online Clinical examination timing can be up to 7-8 hours in order to allow time for admissions including environment and ID checks and other processes which take longer in the online environment.
Important note: Clinical examination dates are subject to change or cancellation.
If you require assistance or have questions regarding the scheduling process, please use the AMCs Contact Form.
Withdraw from clinical examination
- Once candidates have been scheduled in the clinical examination and then subsequently withdraw, there will be no refund – except in an exceptional circumstance as determined by the AMC Chief Executive Officer or nominee.
- To withdraw, a candidate must submit a Withdrawal Form.
Clinical examination fees
- The fee for the clinical examination will be payable at the time the candidate schedules for an examination session.
- Once payment has been made, a placement letter will be available for download via the candidate portal. The clinical examination fees are available on the fees and charges web page.
- For candidates paying by cheque a placement letter will be available for download via the candidate portal once payment has been received and processed.
- If a candidate decides they are unable to take the Clinical examination once scheduled, they must submit a Withdrawal Form. Please click here to obtain the Clinical examination Withdrawal Form.
- Once you have been scheduled in the Clinical examination and then subsequently withdraw, there will be no refund – except in an exceptional circumstance as determined by the AMC Chief Executive Officer or nominee. Such applications must be made in writing, accompanied by a Doctor’s certificate or Statutory Declaration. Please note that a withdrawal due to personal circumstances, such as minor illness or travel arrangements that are the responsibility of the candidate will not be accepted as exceptional circumstances. Any refund granted following consideration, will incur an administrative fee of $300.00
Payment options
- Candidates have the following payment option:
- credit card—Visa and MasterCard only
- Payments must be in Australian dollars by one of the options listed above. Cash will not be accepted.
Preparation for the clinical examination
The AMC has produced several publications, not only to assist international medical graduates to prepare for the AMC examinations, but also as an essential tool for clinical practice.
As part of your preparation for the clinical examination, please refer to:
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- AMC textbooks available for purchase on the AMCs online store
View other helpful publications in the:
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- Suggested reading list and
- Clinical examination resources
- View the Candidate briefing video
Clinical examination requirements
Clinical Exam Technology requirements
The following technology requirements MUST be strictly complied with, in order to be eligible to take the online clinical examination and for the examination to work properly, should candidates NOT comply with these requirements, they will NOT be permitted to sit for the examination.
- The device used to undertake the examination must be either a desktop or laptop computer. Tablets and mobile devices cannot be used. Candidates need to ensure they have administrator privileges on their device to enable software installation.
- The computer must be running the Windows 10 operating system. This can be PC, or an Apple computer set up to dual-boot into Windows 10. OS X is not supported.
- Screen size needs to be a minimum of 14 inches.
- A webcam positioned at roughly eye level.
- Headphone use is compulsory. Candidates must have a 2nd pair of headphones in the event that the first pair experience technology issues. Plug-in headphones / earphones with a microphone are required. Wireless or Bluetooth headphones are not permitted due to risks of battery failure and poor quality audio connection. Failure to wear headphones will result in the Candidate being withdrawn on the day of the examination.
- Reliable, high speed internet connection.
- Must have a room available with only themselves being present in the room during the examination and ensure that it is free of distractions for the whole examination.
Considerations regarding potential technology issues during an examination
- The AMC is undertaking significant effort to ensure the examinations can be delivered in a reliable manner with a high level of assessment quality and organisational professionalism. However, like all online activities the examination is susceptible to technology failures. This may include events such as the candidates’ own technology failing, internet related failures or even AMC technology.
- The AMC processes include post examination activities and technology investigations that can determine if a potential technology issue was legitimate or involved human intervention such as turning off a computer or internet connection. The processes and approach can also identify responsible parties (for e.g. the AMC or the candidate or other) to determine appropriate courses of action to ensure the integrity of the examination and fairness to all candidates.
Prohibited materials
- No books, textbooks, notes, items of jewellery, tie pins or other materials are allowed into the examination room, including recording devices, watches (smart, digital and analogue) or handbags. Candidates are not permitted to write any prompting material on their skin before or during the examination.
- In order for candidates and the AMC to communicate with each other in the event of a technical issue, candidates will be permitted to have their mobile phone switched to silent in the same room. Candidates will be required to show the invigilator that their phone is switched to silent. Only one phone is to be in the examination room.
- The invigilator may request to view any items or the examination room itself prior to, during, or after the examination if necessary.
- If candidates may require any medications during the examination, they should bring this to the attention of the AMC prior to the examination day and the invigilator before the examination starts.
Unsatisfactory results and irregular behaviour
- Any attempt to circumvent the objectives or processes of the examination, the reliability of candidate assessment or the security of the examination or examination content, may:
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- produce examination results which cannot be confidently accepted as reflecting a candidate’s true ability,
- compromise the integrity and security of the clinical examination and examination content, and/or
- detract from or impede the AMC purpose of protecting the health of Australian patients and communities.
Refer to the Examination Specifications document for more information.
Clinical Results
Pass requirements
- The 16 assessed stations will include two pilot stations. A pilot station is a station that is being used in a clinical examination for the first time.
Pilot stations:
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- Have been developed by a discipline writing group and approved by the Clinical Assessment Panel for pilot status
- Have no statistics from previous examinations.
- Pilot stations may also be stations requiring trialling for administrative purposes including stations with special operational and technology requirements.
- A candidate’s overall examination result (pass or fail) will be determined by 14 scored stations. Usually the scored stations will not include either of the two pilot stations, but if there is an issue with one or two of the non-pilot stations the Clinical Results Panel may determine that one or both of the pilot stations will be substituted. If this occurs the candidate’s result will still be determined on the basis of 14 stations. Over the 14 stations candidates will be graded as pass or fail, as follows:
Clinical examination scoring model
| Pass | Obtain a pass score 10 or more of the 14 assessed stations |
| Fail | Obtain a pass score in 9 or less of the 14 assessed stations |
There is no limit on the number of attempts a candidate may have at the clinical examination.
Candidate feedback
- A number of aspects of a candidate’s performance can be used to provide feedback to the candidate.
- It is important to note however, that the scores for the aspects of the marking that are reported as part of the feedback provided to candidates do not directly or numerically determine an overall result of a pass or a fail for the station. The pass/fail result is determined by the examiner making a separate global rating about a candidate’s performance across all aspects of the station, not just those for which feedback has been provided.
- Although the aspects of a station that are reported as part of the feedback provided to candidates may contribute to an examiner’s global rating, it is not possible to determine whether a global rating that would result in a station being passed or failed was obtained for a station simply by looking at the scores associated with the aspects of the station provided in the candidate feedback.
- Each candidate will receive a computer-generated breakdown of their performance against selected aspects of the station marks to assist with revision for future attempts.
Clinical Examination Results delivery
- As part of the update to the improved candidate feedback, a process has been implemented to allow candidates to download their feedback sheets by logging onto their AMC candidate account. It is planned that the candidate feedback will be available to download at 4.00pm on the next Friday, three weeks following the Clinical examination. This enhanced process has been designed to eliminate paper and manual processing and allows candidates to receive their detailed result feedback more promptly.
- Candidates will be able to download their feedback sheet via their AMC candidate account, once released three weeks following the clinical examination:
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- Log onto AMC candidate account
- Select Clinical Results (at the top of the menu list)
- Select the examination under the Details column
- Candidates will continue to receive via post, an official AMC result letter and those candidates who have passed will receive a Certificate Request Form.
Please note: Under no circumstances will results be given over the telephone.
AMC Certificate
- Candidates who pass either the MCQ and clinical or MCQ and WBA assessment processes, and whose medical qualifications were submitted to the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) for primary source verification will be issued with an AMC Certificate.
- A candidate’s certificate will be sent from the AMCs office approximately six to eight weeks after completion or passing thereof. It should be noted that the AMC Certificate is only delivered to candidates with Australian addresses.
AMC Clinical examination resources
National Inpatient Medication Chart
Clinical examination specifications
- The Clinical Examination Specifications document contains guidelines and specifications to assist candidates for the AMC Clinical Examination.
- The guidelines contain information about:
- the format and content of the examination
- the levels of clinical knowledge, skills and attitudes required to satisfy the requirements of the examination
- the areas and topics covered in the examination
- preparing for the examination
- suggested reading lists for the examination.
Suggested textbooks
- You can purchase AMC textbooks from our online store and view other helpful publications in the suggested reading list.
Bridging courses
- The AMC provides information about bridging courses providers as a service to candidates. The AMC does not endorse or accredit individual bridging programs. The bridging course listing on the AMC website is provided as an information service only. It is the candidate’s responsibility to check that the information is correct, and that the aims of the course match the candidate’s requirements.
Also read:
- Overview of AMC Exam
- AMC exam application: AMC Portfolio & documents verification
- AMC Standard Pathway
- AMC Specialist Pathway
- AMC MCQ Exam
Also Watch :
- AMC – Australian Medical Council clinical exam Youtube channel
- IMG Doctor Youtube channel
- How to Get Registered in Australia – Pathways from youtube channel “Career Doctor”
