In Australia, the most common pathway to become a surgeon is to complete your medical degree and registration, undergo internship and residency in a hospital and then complete surgical training depending on specialty.
Surgeons are medical doctors who have completed further training in a surgical specialty, qualifying them to conduct operations and other surgical procedures.
In Australia, Colleges such as the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS), Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons and Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists are eligible to grant Fellowships for doctors to practice in their speciality and obtain specialist registration with the Medical Board of Australia.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) is eligible to grant Fellowship in nine surgical specialties. Whilst training courses and exams are conducted by RACS, the administration and management of the training programs is conducted by the responsible specialist societies such as the General Surgeons Australia, Australian Orthopaedic Association, and the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia.
Qualifying as a medical doctor at the University of Sydney takes around eight years from high school. This includes a three-year undergraduate degree, a four-year Doctor of Medicine, and a further one-year internship in a hospital, at which point you may apply for registration through the Medical Board of Australia.
For more details on this process, see this explainer.
Upon finishing the intern year and gaining medical registration, doctors usually complete a residency in order to apply for specialised vocational training programs.
The required amount of residency varies depending on the specialty or sub-specialty sought. However, many people may choose to complete more than the minimum residency requirement while they work to be accepted into the training program of their choice. In practice, due to the competitive nature of surgical training entry, many residents will complete four-five years of residency before entering surgical training.
An example of becoming a surgeon in Australia is via fellowship of RACS (FRACS). This can be obtained through a training program. Applications for the training program are competitive and places are limited.
Completing the training program requires a number of years of registrar training, in a range of accredited training positions in clinical settings. The main components of the curriculum are rotations in hospitals, short skills courses, research and assessment.
The specialties available via RACS are:
Upon the completion of the RACS SET Training Program, including any relevant exams or assessments, you will be invited to apply for Fellowship and qualify for independent practice.
Other specialities in Australia include:
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