SATMOS

In 2017, the SA MET Health Advisory Council endorsed the development and implementation of a statewide Trainee Medical Officer (TMO) survey.

After receiving feedback from prevocational doctor groups, the SATMOS Working Group decided to focus on standardising and introducing a single end-of-term survey. This survey would address the needs of all South Australian Local Health Networks (LHNs), TMOs, and the SA MET Unit, reducing the number of surveys prevocational doctors must complete, ensuring consistency across LHNs, and covering all criteria outlined in the Accreditation Standards.

Stakeholder consultation included Medical Education Officers (MEOs), Directors of Clinical Training (DCTs), Executive Directors of Medical Services (EDMSs), TMOs, and interstate counterparts. Concerns relevant to these groups were identified and considered in the survey design.

In 2020, the survey was piloted for interns and participants in the Adelaide Prevocational Psychiatry Program (TAPPP) PGY2+ during terms 2 and 3. Later that year, it was made available to any South Australian LHN who chose to use it. The survey is conducted via the Survey Monkey platform.

Recent feedback from the MEO Sub-Committee indicated that the survey was too lengthy. A review was already underway to align the language and questions with the new AMC Framework. The review was then expanded to look at making the survey more concise to encourage greater participation from prevocational doctors.

On February 25, 2025, the Health Advisory Council endorsed the shortened version of the survey. The revised survey includes questions on monitoring, evaluation, continuous improvement, education, training, clinical experience, supervision, assessment, and prevocational doctor welfare.

The updated SATMOS survey is now available, and the Advisory Council strongly encourages all LHNs to adopt it.

Using SATMOS can reduce the number of accreditation-related surveys required by the Accreditation Committee, streamlining the process for all stakeholders.

For more information, please contact the SA MET accreditation team on 08 8226 7231 or email HealthSAMETAccreditation@sa.gov.au.