Redesigning a national training program in radiology: The Australian-New Zealand experience

The national program for vocational specialist training in diagnostic radiology administered by The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) is highly regarded internationally, and has a long tradition of producing well-trained radiologists capable of a high level of general community practice, as well as equipping its graduates with the ability to become highly subspecialized and academic radiologists. Radiologists completing these programs have readily handled advanced subspecialty training fellowships in other countries, and several have gone on to highly successful international academic careers in Europe and North America. This training program and its corresponding examinations once closely followed the pattern for the Fellowship of the Royal College of Radiologists of the United Kingdom, but have diverged significantly from that program, especially in the last 30 years. The RANZCR program is unusual, in that the same accreditation and examinations are used for candidates from three different countries: Australia, New Zealand, and most recently, from Singapore. This chapter will focus on the specific steps taken to reform and modernize the training program for Radiodiagnosis in Australia and New Zealand. A new Radiodiagnosis curriculum has been in the planning and development stages for 5 years, and will be first implemented in January 2010.