RANZCR phase 2 examinations

The RANZCR Phase 2 examinations are a set of written and oral examinations that are typically first attempted in the second or third year of radiology training and are one of the requirements for the awarding Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (FRANZCR).

In order to be eligible to sit the Phase 2 examinations, trainees must have successfully completed the RANZCR Phase 1 examinations, as well as all the other training requirements of Phase 1 (which comprises the first 12 to 24 months of training). Trainees have a maximum of three opportunities for each written and oral Phase 2 examination.

The examinations are held twice a year: 

• written examinations: FebruaryMarch and July (results released in April and September)

• Objective Structured Clinical Examination in Radiology (OSCER) examination: early June and early November (results released in late June and late November)

Since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, theThe written examinations have beenare delivered via online proctoringat local Cliftons venues around Australia and New Zealand. The OSCER examination is currently held at Cliftons in Melbourne, Australia.

Written examinations

There are three written examinations that are held over two consecutive days and delivered electronically. Trainees must pass the written examinations before they are eligible to sit the OSCER examination.

The pathology examination is a 3-hour examination consisting of:

• 100 multiple choice questions (best of 5 possible answers, worth 1 mark per question)

• 10 short answer questions (worth 6 marks per question)

The clinical radiology examinations consist of two components:

• case reporting examination: a 3-hour examination consisting of

  • short cases (20 questions, worth 3 marks per question)

  • medium cases (10 questions, worth 6 marks per question)

  • long cases (5 questions, worth 12 marks per question)

• multiple choice examination: a 2-hour examination consisting of 100 multiple choice questions (best of 5 possible answers, worth 1 mark per question)

OSCER examination

The oral OSCER examination consists of seven stations:

• abdominal

• neuroradiology / head and neck

• thoracic and cardiovascular

• breast

• obstetrics and gynaecology

• musculoskeletal

• paediatrics

Each station is 25 minutes long, with 8 digital cases per station. The OSCER examination is held over fourthree consecutive days, however, each candidate completes all seven stations within a single 4-hour block.

Prizes

Each year, RANZCR awards two prizes to the most successful candidates in the Phase 2 examinations. The recipients are awarded a cash prize equivalent to the cost of their exam fee and complimentary early bird registration to the RANZCR Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) that year. The prizes are ²:

• MGF Donnan Prize:: best candidate in the pathology examination; named in honour of Dr Gordon Donnan, a radiologist who was instrumental in the formative years of the college.

• HR Sear Prize:: for the best candidate in Phase 2 clinical radiology examinations; named in honour of Dr Herbert Ray Sear, an early president of the college

NB: Details are correct at the time of writing. Please check with RANZCR for updated details.