Health care delivery system in Australia and its effect on surgical education and training.

Surgical education and training in Australia and New Zealand are based on 6-year undergraduate medical curricula covering the scientific foundations of medical practice. One-year rotating internships are required in all states of Australia to allow medical graduates to satisfy statutory requirements for completing basic medical education prior to gaining credit for training within a specialty. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons defines the duration and content of training as well as the standards of supervision and guidance that enable surgical trainees to satisfy the requirements leading to Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. Licensing authorities in several states and the Commonwealth of Australia recognize the award of Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons as sufficient evidence of competence to practice as a specialist surgeon. No formal process of recertification of surgical competence has yet been promulgated in Australia.