BPT Recruitment Basics
All eligible basic physician trainees must apply for positions in Victoria through a statewide job match, which assigns candidates to employing health services based on their mutual preferences, and is administered by the Postgraduate Medical Council of Victoria (PMCV). Eligibility criteria for entering the PMCV match may be found via: http://computermatching.pmcv.com.au/public/howto/eligibility_bptmatch.cfm.
Dates to Remember:- Hospital Applications Open – Saturday, 29th May 2010
- PMCV Match Opens - Monday, 7th June 2010
- PMCV Match Closes - Monday, 16th August 2010
- Hospital Applications Close - Monday, 16th August 2010
- Interview Period - Tuesday, 17th August to Thursday, 2nd September 2010
- PMCV Match Results - Monday, 13th September (10:00am)
- Start of 2010 Recruitment Year - Monday, 7th February 2011
Any vacancies remaining after the PMCV match will be offered to suitable doctors who have not obtained a position through the match, or who are not eligible to enter the match.
Regardless of status within or outside of the match, all applicants additionally need to submit applications and curriculum vitae to the individual employing health services. In the Greater Western Consortium, the employing health services are:
- Melbourne Health - submit an online application here or visit the Melbourne Health website;
- Western Health - submit an online application here or the Western Health website; and
- Ballarat Health Service - visit the Ballarat Health Service website.
Interviewing and selection criteria
The interviewing and selection process for the recruitment of basic physician trainees for the 2011 clinical year will be Consortium-based. Physicians and medical administrators representing the Consortium Secretariat and member health services will conduct interviews between Tuesday, 17th August and Thursday, 2nd September 2010. Candidates short-listed for interview will only be interviewed once at their preferred parent hospital. The results of the interview will then be used by all three employing health services in the Greater Western Consortium.
BPT Recruitment Terminology
Three terms relating to the recruitment of basic physician trainees often cause confusion: "BPT" year, "PGY" and "HMO or Medical Registrar".
BPT year refers to the year of basic physician training according to the RACP. BPT1 thus refers to the first year of basic physician training (when registration with the RACP is voluntary), BPT2 refers to the second year of basic physician training (when registration is compulsory) and BPT3+ refers to the third or subsequent year of basic physician training (when trainees sit their examinations).
PGY (Post-Graduate Year) refers to the number of full-time years (or equivalent) that a doctor has engaged in clinical work after graduation from medical school. For instance, PGY3 is the third full-time year (or equivalent) that a doctor has been in clinical practice since his/her graduation from medical school.
HMO (Hospital Medical Officer) jobs refer to hospital doctor positions that generally have a higher degree of supervision, usually by a Registrar and a Consultant, than Medical Registrar jobs. A number may follow the acronym "HMO" to denote the number of full-time years (or equivalent) of clinical experience that is suitable for employment in the job. Hence, a HMO3 job is suitable for a doctor in their third full-time year (or equivalent) of clinical practice.
While there is often correlation between the terms, e.g.: a BPT2 (a doctor in the second year of basic physician training) is often a PGY3 (a doctor in the third full-time year or equivalent of clinical practice) working in a HMO3 job (a position suitable for a PGY3) - differing individual career paths and hospital rostering practices may break this pattern. For instance, a PGY5 who has worked in various clinical jobs may be enrolled as a BPT2 with the RACP, but on account of his/her pre-basic physician training clinical experience may be working as a General Medical Registrar.
