In order to practise evidence-based medicine, it is essen- tial to have an appreciation for the strengths and weak- nesses of published research.Note that we chose to exclude fellowship of the Fac- ulty of Pain Medicine (ANZ College of Anaesthetists) which requires a previous eligible fellowship.The Royal Australian and New Zealand Col- lege of Radiologists (RANZCR) embraces 'fostering a
culture of research (and) actively supporting research as part of training and in the professional lives of our mem- bers' as one of its main goals.1 Until 2011, Australasian radiation oncology (RO) trainees were required to submit a report on their research to the RANZCR Faculty of Radi- ation Oncology (FRO) Research Committee in order to satisfy the Original Research Project component of the curriculum.Subsequently in 2013, with establishment of the 'Clinician/Scientist Pathway', a college initiative to combine specialist training with a for- mal graduate research higher degree, attainment of such a degree (MD, DMedSc, MPhil or PhD) became another way to satisfy the FRO trainee research requirement.2,3
Now that this structure has been in operation for some time, it is appropriate to review the impact on trainees and their departments, given that attempting to conduct and publish research is a major undertaking, especially as it is the first time for many trainees.However, in that year, FRO established an
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(C) 2019 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists
Assessment Executive Committee Working Group to revise aspects of the training requirements, one result of which was a decision to mandate submission of a (poten- tially) publishable manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal before being deemed eligible to sit for the final (Phase II) RO examination.Methods
There are 16 Australasian medical colleges conferring specialist fellowships listed on the Australian Health
Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) website.4 Four of them have multiple Faculties, Divisions, Chapters or Disciplines (RANZCR 2, and the Colleges of Surgeons 9, Physicians 34 and Pathologists 9).It was anticipated that most of the manuscripts would be submitted to the Journal of Medi- cal Imaging and Radiation Oncology (JMIRO) as the offi- cial RANZCR journal, although four other overseas RO journals, for which the process of progression through to peer review could be monitored by the College, were also listed as suitable.In January 2012, an extra tick box was added to the JMIRO online submis- sion process in order to flag trainee submissions for this purpose.