The Clinical Component of the Amc Exam consists of an entire morning or afternoon spent assessing your clinical skills though stations. These scenarios will contain a clinical scenario and you will be asked a number of tasks - most of the time it is essentially generic - a short clinical preamble, and then 'Take a history and proceed' as your instruction. The exam is 20 stations - four of which are rest stations, so you are assessed on 16 stations. Before each station you have 2 minutes (the beginning of which is sounded by a bell) to move your next station and to read the printed information attached to the outside the door. A bell sounds and you will have 8 minutes to walk in and complete your task - the examiner will be assessing you on a number of different levels: Emergency Skills and emergent presentation - do you miss serious pathology (or the potential for serious pathology), or are you safe?? Do not forget that this is supposed to assess your clinical competency - if you know full well that you would ask for advice - ask for it! Say you would make a call, or if this option is refused, state what your concerns are and Be Safe. No one should fail you for bringing someone in for observation. But you will be failed for sending someone home who should go to hospital. Communication - this will range from how sensitive you appear, how well you explain things, or simply how good your English language ability is. The harsh reality of life, however fair or unfair, is that the AMC are assessing your ability to work as an OTD amongst the Australian population - they have to be assured that if you have to tell a patient that he or she has cancer, or whatever other information is required, you can do it accurately, sensitively, and are fully understood by the recipient. Cultural differences - Doc I have the wog. - can you take a sexual history? Talk about abortion? Notice if someone has bruising and ask and advise about sexual abuse and domestic violence? Whatever your cultural background or personal values, by sitting the exam you are accepting the cultural standards and norms of Australia - if this means doing a pap smear or talking about sex to a 16 year old girl, then whatever your personal cultural beliefs you had better be comfortable doing it. Handling difficult situations - would you be able to reason with a patient unreasonably refusing treatment? Do you understand the rights of australia patients Understanding of the Australian Health Care - do you appreciate that the facilities at a rural and/or remote hospital are so very different to a tertiary centre in a city? Do you appreciate that seriously unwell patients need to be flown out of a rural hospital by Royal Flying Doctors if they need expert urgent medical treatment?
