department of
health and community services

media release

Royal Darwin Hospital doctor takes top honour in Emergency Medicine exams

Thursday, 24 April 2008

A Royal Darwin Hospital doctor has shared first place honours in Australia’s Emergency Medicine exams on his way to becoming an Emergency Department specialist.

Dr Kris Bauchmuller was one of eight doctors from the Top End who passed the exams for the primary fellowship Emergency Medicine exams in Adelaide earlier this month. He shared top honours with a doctor from Victoria.

The primary fellowship exams are among the toughest for doctors who want to be admitted to advanced training in Emergency Medicine and are held twice a year. Candidates face up to two years of gruelling study to prepare for the three-day exams.

Doctors must then undertake a four year advanced program culminating in a fellowship exam and then consultant status.

The Royal Darwin Hospital currently have an unprecedented 23 trainees working toward specialist qualifications in Emergency Medicine, experiencing medicine not found anywhere else in the country.

Acting Director of Royal Darwin Hospital Emergency Department Dr Ian Norton said the primary fellowship exams were generally considered a "thousand hour exam" in that it is recommended it takes that much study to get through.

“Candidates must study pathology, physiology, pharmacology and anatomy … all relevant to the practice of emergency medicine,” he said.

Eight of the doctors who sat the exams came from Royal Darwin Hospital and one from Gove District Hospital.

Dr Norton said it was an outstanding result given Royal Darwin Hospital usually has only one or two candidates for the exams.

“While the doctors are studying they are also working full time in the hospital, so they have to combine work with intensive study,” he said.

“We are now preparing another 11 candidates for the next round of exams which will be held in September.”

Media inquiries: Michelle Foster 0419 818 414 or 8922 8833.