Guidelines for AGES Accredited Units

The following are requirements for satisfactory completion of the 2-year AGES training program:

1. Training Assessment
2. Procedural Assessment
3. Theoretical Assessment
4. Research Assessment
5. Bio-Statistics Course
6. Presentation Requirements
7. Workshops

 

1. Training Assessment
Each Trainee will be required to complete the following over each semester (6 month period) of their training:

a. Training Assessment Record (TAR) – Form 1

• • All trainees at all levels must complete and submit the specific AGES TAR
  • The TAR will document surgical procedures in a usual log book format
  • Non-surgical clinical skills will be recorded (gynaecological clinics or rooms/ultrasound/minor procedures)
  • Non-clinical skills will be recorded including meeting attendance, research project preparations and submissions, teaching and training activities, dry-lab

b. Training Supervisors’ Report – Form 2

• • • All nominated Training Supervisors must complete the Training Supervisors Report for each trainee at the end of each semester and submit it to the AGES Education Coordinator. Note, contributors to a training program who are not nominated training supervisors do not need to complete this form. Directors of training at each site are responsible for ensuring and distributing the Training Supervisors form/link to all nominated training supervisors and those that who are not nominated but considered necessary for an assessment.

c. Training Director’s Summary– Form 3
Once the Supervisors Reports are received by the AGES Education Coordinator, they are collated, and the details entered into a summary for the Director of Training at each accredited site.

A link to this document is then forwarded to the Training Director with the Supervisor’s Reports summarised for reference.

The Training Director then reviews, annotates, signs and submits the Summary, in consultation with the Trainee.

d. Timeline

• • Documents 1 and 3 are to be submitted to the AGES Secretariat every 6 months by August 31 (usual first semester) and February 28 (usual second semester).
  • There may be times when these dates need to be adjusted due to starting times of trainees
  • The final semester TAR is due by December 14 to enable revision of the submitted documentation in time for graduation at the ASM in the following March
  • Presentation of training certificates will be made to all completed trainees at the Gala Dinner of the ASM in the following March.
  • An elevation fee at final completion is payable prior to certification.
  • It is expected that Trainees register and attend this meeting in-person to accept their certificate
  • Reminders will be sent to Directors of training 4 weeks after these dates if they have not been received
  • Training sites that have not responded to two written reminders for the appropriate documentation from the AGES education coordinator will be removed as an accredited training site and will need to reapply for accreditation including the full $3,300 application.

 

 2. Procedural Assessment

a. Documentation

• • • Two Assessment of Procedural Skills (APS) documents are required to be submitted:
      • Total Laparoscopic Hysterectomy – this is mandatory for all trainees
      • One other procedure, at the discretion of the trainee, from the following list:
        1. Laparoscopic excision stage IV endometriosis
        2. Laparoscopic Pelvic Floor Repair
        3. Laparoscopic Myomectomy (an intramural myoma of >5cm diameter with layered suture repair)
        4. Laparoscopic lymphadenectomy
      • The online assessment forms may be found on the here AGES website

b. Timeline

• • Submission of Summative APS reports are required by December 14 in the final semester of training.

 

3. Theoretical Assessment

Trainees are required to complete a theoretical summative assessment (Multiple Choice Questions) to be held in conjunction with an AGES meeting (of which they are a fully registered delegate) and will be notified at least 6 months in .

MCQ’s will be determined by the education committee in a formalised meeting, with pre-determined pass rate prior to the initiation of the examination. The following procedures apply to the Theoretical assessment:

• Both 1st and 2nd years may sit the exam
• Should a 2nd year fail – a make-up exam will be held in February to allow graduation in March at the ASM
• Should a 1st year fail – the next exam they can do is the following November (or whenever the regular exam is to be held)

Exam results will be marked and ratified by the committee and trainees informed within 6 weeks of the exam.

The exam pass mark is determined by the education committee only after the examination has been set and the questions analysed.   A modified Angoff process is used to pre-determine the pass mark .

 

4. Research Assessment

Each trainee is required to complete a research project during their two-year training program.

The research program is deemed automatically passed if the project is published in a peer reviewed journal, with the trainee as first author.

Where the trainee is not first author, submission for consideration of assessment will be required, including a statement to the Chairman of Education as to the trainee’s role in the project.  The trainee may be required to present their research and their roles, responsibilities and understanding of the principles of research to a panel to be chosen by the Chairman of Education.

 

5. Bio-Statistics Course

A bio-statistics course must be completed within the 2 years of training.   Exemption to the statistics course may be applied for to the education committee where a course has been undertaken in the 5 years prior to the commencement of training, where there is a documented program and certification obtained from the course.

For courses >5 years prior to the onset of training, each case will be taken on merit.   Statistics as a contributor to an undergraduate medical program leading to a medical degree, course work leading to a masters or honours program are unlikely to be exempt.   Degrees where biostatistics or research methodology form a substantial and verifiable portion of the degree content or PhD program are likely to be acceptable, however will be assessed on an individual basis.

Current recommended bio-statistics course include:

• UQ
  • PUBH7620 – Biostats
  • PUBH7650 – EBM
• UTAS
  • CAM625 – Introduction to Biostatistics
• UNSW
  • PHCM2002 – Introduction to Biostatistics
• UWA
  • PUBH2203 – Foundation in Biostatistics and Epidemiology
  • IMED2003 - Medical Sciences Research Methodologies
• UMEL
  • POPH90013 – Biostatistics

 

6. Presentation Requirements

To meet this requirement, the trainee must have presented at one of the following DURING their training:

• An AGES affiliated scientific meeting (ASM/Pelvic Floor/Focus)
• The AAGL annual meeting
• The ESGE annual meeting
• The BSGE annual meeting

For presentations at other meetings, submissions may be made to the education committee for equivalence.  Please note that presentation at the RANZCOG annual (or other RANZCOG regional) meeting will not be considered acceptable.

 

7. Workshops

Trainees entering training from January 2019 will be required to complete ALL of the following workshops over the 2-year period of their training:

• Anatomy of Complications workshop or equivalent
• Anatomy of Dissection workshop or equivalent
• AGES Research Workshop or equivalent
• Training Workshop to be held at the Annual Scientific Meeting annually

For completion of other courses, submissions may be made to the education committee for equivalence.  Please note that submissions must include a copy of the course content, certification of completion and are subject to review.  Review will be considered by the education committee on a quarterly basis.