Curriculum framework

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Our curriculum framework aligns the core elements of the program’s educational design. It sets out how trainees develop the knowledge, skills, and professional behaviours needed for safe, independent practice. 

The framework is built on three integrated pillars, operationalised through a three-stage program structure, with progression based on demonstrated capability:

  1. Curriculum: articulates the capabilities expected of graduates on their first day of independent practice.

  2. Teaching and learning: describes how these capabilities are developed.
     
  3. Assessment and feedback: guides learning, provides feedback and confirms the development of competence over time.

Together, these pillars form the backbone of AOA 21.

Curriculum Framework1.1


The AOA 21 program is structured across three stages, with flexible timing and pathways within the stages to accommodate individual needs.

Introduced in 2017, the Curriculum for Education and Training in Orthopaedic Surgery defines the competencies required of an orthopaedic surgeon on their first day of independent practice.

Key features

  • Competency-based, collaboratively developed and responsive to emerging needs.
  • Focused on preparation for independent practice.
  • Informed by the internationally recognised CanMEDS framework1, with a strong emphasis on non-technical skills.

The three interlinked sections of the curriculum

  • Foundation competencies: the core professional behaviours and capabilities that underpin high-quality patient care.
  • Medical and surgical expertise: the essential knowledge and general skills required of all orthopaedic surgeons across practice settings.
  • Applied medical and surgical expertise: advanced clinical expertise across six domains, applying foundation competencies and general skills in real-world contexts.

 

 

 

Further details

Access and feedback

AOA protects its intellectual property, including the Curriculum for Education and Training in Orthopaedic Surgery and associated materials. Members are reminded not to share, adapt, or redistribute content without permission. Non-members may request access via training@aoa.org.au

AOA also welcomes feedback from members to ensure the curriculum remains current, relevant, and reflective of best practice. Comments can be sent to training@aoa.org.au

The AOA 21 Training Program combines structured teaching with immersive practice-based learning. Trainees take a central and intentional role in their development journey: they plan, track, and reflect on their progress, guided by the curriculum and supported by consultants, an assigned trainee supervisor and a director of training.

How the program supports trainee development

  • A strong foundation: Training begins with a short residential Bone Camp, followed by regular Bone School sessions. A suite of prescribed courses cover core knowledge and essential skills: Training in Professional Skill (TIPS); Care for the Critically Ill Surgical Patient (CCrISP); Early Management of Severe Trauma (EMST) or Advance Trauma Life Support (ATLS).

  • Learning in practice: Training is undertaken in accredited hospital settings. A director of training oversees training at each setting, with day-to-day guidance provided by an assigned trainee supervisor. All consultants contribute through teaching, role-modelling and appropriate entrustment.

  • Curriculum-aligned development: Learning is aligned to curriculum competencies, ensuring exposure to the full range of capabilities in real clinical settings.

  • A staged pathway: Training progresses through defined stages, with increasing expectations. The final stage prepares trainees for independent practice and Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
  

Further details

Assessment and feedback play a central role in supporting safe, high-quality orthopaedic training. Across the AOA 21 Training Program, assessment is programmatic: trainees are observed in everyday clinical practice and receive regular feedback to guide their learning and development and to assesses attainment of the competencies outlined in the curriculum.

Over time, evidence from multiple sources (including workplace-based assessments, portfolio review and examinations) is brought together to build a clear picture of each trainee’s progress through the training program toward independent practice. The eLog documents trainees involvement in surgical procedures and reflects the delegation of increasing responsibility as skills and experience grow.

Assessment and feedback are designed to

  • support learning in everyday clinical practice
  • provide evidence to inform increasing levels of entrustment as competence develops
  • inform progression decisions and readiness for independent practice.

How assessment is structured across the training program

Ongoing: Embedded in daily clinical practice; recorded frequently

  • Feedback: provided continuously through daily clinical interactions, with selected feedback recorded as written, logged entries (recommended fortnightly).
  • Workplace-Based Assessments (WBAs): structured observation of trainees in practice, with detailed feedback on performance (typically  fortnightly).

Periodic: Formal review at defined intervals

  • Performance appraisals: structured assessment of trainee performance in the previous three-month period, led by trainee supervisor.
  • Progress reviews: six-monthly review of progress against training stage requirements, led by director of training.

Stage-linked: Milestone assessments aligned to stages of training

  • Orthopaedic modules: demonstration of competence through achievement of orthopaedic modules.
  • Examinations (OPBS, FEX): formal summative assessments at defined points in training.
  • Stage reviews: holistic assessment of readiness to progress at the end of each training stage, informed by the full body of accumulated evidence, led by a panel.

Together, these assessment activities support learning while providing robust evidence to inform decisions about progression and readiness for independent practice.

Further details

The AOA 21 Training Program is structured into three stages, providing both flexibility and a clear pathway for progression. Progression from one stage to the next is based on demonstration of competence and completion of stage requirements, rather than yearly advancement. This ensures that training is tailored to individual development while maintaining high standards for safe, independent orthopaedic practice.

The three stages of AOA 21

  1. Introduction to orthopaedics – establishes foundation competencies and basic surgical skills with a focus on trauma care, providing the platform for future development.

  2. Core orthopaedics – develops clinical assessment, management, and surgical skills to a level of proficiency across the breadth of general orthopaedic surgery.

  3. Transition to practice – refines advanced foundation competencies in preparation for independent specialist practice, with opportunities for focused development in areas of interest.


Key features

  • Flexible pathways: trainees progress when competencies are demonstrated, rather than through completion of fixed training time.
  • Time-frame parameters: minimum and maximum timeframes provide structure and consistency while accommodating individual variation.
  • Comprehensive exposure: trainees gain experience across a wide range of orthopaedic topic areas and clinical settings, revisiting key topics and refining skills in progressively more complex clinical situations (spiral learning).

Progression

Progression is based on sequential assessment of competence, using evidence accumulated and synthesised over time. 

Progression is monitored and supported through: 

  • Regular progress reviews: at the end of each 6-month term, directors of training review trainees’ progress and provide direction for the next term.
  • Stage reviews: once training requirements are met, a panel reviews the trainee’s portfolio to assess readiness for progression.

This approach supports individual development while ensuring consistent and transparent progression decisions. 

Further details (members only)