29/12/2024
What does FRANZCOG mean?
I am often asked what this - the official specialist qualification conferred by the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists - actually means. The terms “specialist”, “obstetrician” and “gynaecologist” are protected titles for those who have attained Fellowship (the exception to this would be GP Obstetrician which is common in many rural and remote parts of Australia).
FRANZCOG recognizes that an individual holds specialist registration as an Obstetrician & Gynaecologist with their professional body (RANZCOG), which is also reflected in their registration with the Medical Council of NZ (Specialist Vocational Registration). Attaining this involves passing two gruelling examinations - two 3 hour written examinations and one 3 hour clinical examination as well as progressing through (at minimum) 6 years of in hospital specialist training with credentialling in obstetric & gynaecologic procedures and basic ultrasound.
Not only does this entail a huge amount of work, time and personal sacrifice, maintaining Fellowship of the College is also a big responsibility! This means maintaining current professional knowledge and skills through requisite annual Medical Education training and conference attendance (CME), which is audited. In addition to CME, maintaining membership of FRANZCOG costs specialists around $5k AUD annually.
