Both GP colleges scored high on registrar satisfaction, while the RACP and the intensive care college trail behind.
None of the specialist medical training colleges received an ‘A’ grade on this year’s AMA-produced registrar experience report card, but the Royal Australasian College of Physicians stands out as the single worst performer.
The RACP and the College of Intensive Care Medicine both had the dubious distinction of receiving either average or significantly-less-favourable-than-average feedback from registrars on all 23 criteria.
Both colleges received the lowest overall mark: D plus.
The only dimension in which the RACP received a “pass” mark was workplace environment and culture, where it received a C.
Even within this domain, though, the physicians’ college received significantly-less-favourable-than-average feedback for criteria related to whether the registrar had a good work/life balance and whether the registrar felt there were safe mechanisms for raising training and wellbeing concerns with the college.
The RACP received significantly-less-favourable-than-average scores on all criteria related to communication and engagement, including whether the college clearly communicated changes to training, whether the registrar knew who to contact with questions about training, whether the college sought registrar views on training, whether the registrars felt represented on the college training committee and whether the college provided access to mental health support services.
The data came from AHPRA’s 2025 Medical Training Survey and was analysed by an independent statistician for the AMA.
AMA vice president Associate Professor Julian Rait told Allergy & Respiratory Republic that the RACP result was perhaps unsurprising given the “public discourse” around the college over the last two years.
“We hope that they’re going to improve as a result of more stable governance, but I think that there’s areas to improve, particularly in terms of making sure that they provide not only timely feedback but more affordable training pathways,” he said.
Across all colleges, a common pain point for registrars was feedback on exam performance; just 39% said they had received useful feedback, and just 44% said that feedback was timely.
“Trainee doctors spend years and thousands of dollars preparing for these exams, so they really deserve better from our specialist colleges,” Professor Rait said.
“Now, that’s not to diminish the fact that, obviously, the colleges make a remarkable contribution and the fellows who voluntarily teach and supervise and mentor for the exams are terrific.
“We’re not trying to undermine all the work and effort that’s put into making Australia’s specialist graduates amongst the best in the world in terms of the quality of their training and their performance.
“But we just think that there’s room for improvement.”
When it came to exam feedback, the colleges could potentially learn a thing or two from ACRRM, which was the top performer. More than 60% of its registrars agreed that they had received useful feedback, and close to 70% agreed that the feedback was timely.
The RACGP, meanwhile, was the top scorer for work/life balance, with around 80% of registrars agreeing that their work-life balance was good. The GP college went from having had just over 35% of registrars agree with the statement “the college seeks my views on the training program” in 2019 to having more than 60% agree in 2025.
Professor Rait stressed that the low grades for the colleges across the board were not an indictment of Australia’s training system.
“There’s just a lot going on in health services at the moment that is not very conducive to a healthy work-life balance, and other things,” he said.
“I think that it just means that the colleges need to maintain their focus on engaging with trainees and supporting them as best as possible, given the sometimes-tumultuous experiences people have in the public hospital system.”
In response to the report card, the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges said it had recently committed to establishing a doctors-in-training college network to “tackle shared training issues, exchange ideas and deliver joint projects”.
