Hospitals currently approved for BST:

Approved Hospitals in Medicine
Approved Hospitals in Paediatrics
Approved Hospitals in Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Trainees are advised to pay close attention to the number of months that can be spent in their hospital.
Within hospitals approved for BST, individual posts may or may not be approved for BST. If a post has been allocated a post number (starting with GPT) it is approved for BST. BST post numbers are issued by Medical Manpower Managers/Personnel Departments in hospitals.
With regards to Histopathology, not all posts in Histopathology have been numbered, however if a post is part of a structured SHO rotation programme then it is approved for BST.

BST Post Numbers
All approved training posts in General Internal Medicine, Paediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynaecology have been allocated a unique post number, e.g. GPT/GIM/001/SHO/CAV/0605.
Posts in these specialties that do not have a post number are not approved for BST and cannot be counted towards a BST Certificate of Completion. Trainees are advised to obtain their BST post number from Medical Manpower before taking up a post.
Please note that it is planned that posts in Histopathology will be numbered by Spring 2009.

How long can I stay in one post?
SHO posts are approved for a maximum of 6 months training. Registrar posts (non-SpR) are approved for a maximum of 12 months training (except SIM registrar posts in specialist units which are approved for a maximum of 6 months).

Overseas Experience
Up to 6 months experience outside of Ireland may be counted towards the 24 months required for a Certificate of Completion of BST. This experience should be prospectively approved before entering the overseas post(s). To apply for this approval it is necessary to be registered for BST.  An up-to-date CV and a covering letter detailing the overseas post must be submitted to the BST Office.
Overseas posts must be equivalent to SHO grade (or higher) in a hospital that has been approved for postgraduate medical training in the following regions:

• EU – Posts Approved by the recognised training body in that country
• UK – Posts Approved by The Royal College of Physicians
• Australia and New Zealand – Posts Approved by The Royal Australasian College of Physicians
• US – ACGME Approved Residency Programmes
• Canada – Posts Approved by The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada

On completion of the post an original letter of reference from the Supervising Consultant must be submitted to the BST Office instead of a logbook. Trainees who spend part of an Irish SHO rotation programme overseas (e.g. Mayo Clinic, USA) are advised that a BST Logbook can be submitted as proof of satisfactory completion of training.

Locum Posts
A maximum of 3 months spent in locum posts may be accredited for BST provided that the locum appointment is for a minimum of 6 consecutive weeks in the same institution. During this time, the locum may rotate between a maximum of three different approved posts within that institution.
Only time spent in numbered and approved BST posts may be counted. A maximum of 3 months in aggregate may be counted towards BST. An appointment of 3 months or more in a single approved post is considered to be a substantive appointment and is not considered a locum post with regards to BST.

Supernumerary Posts
Unpaid or observer posts are not approved for BST.

Clinical Attachments
Short periods of clinical attachment to a specialist unit may be negotiated by making direct contact with participating consultants. These appointments are unpaid and not approved for the purpose of BST.

Retrospective Recognition of BST
Retrospective recognition of training that commenced on or after 1st July 2001 is no longer given. Since 1st July 2001 it has been mandatory for doctors in BST to register with the College and submit completed logbooks for all posts held.

For doctors who commenced some or all of their BST before 1st July 2001, retrospective recognition may be given but only for training acquired before that date. Applications for retrospective recognition should be made in writing to the BSTsection.

Should you have any further queries, please contact:
Ms. Jessica Ramsey or Ms. Aoife Ni Mhaitiu,
BST Team
Royal College of Physicians of Ireland,
Frederick House, 19 South Frederick Street, Dublin 2
Phone: (01) 863 9700 E-Mail: bst@rcpi.ie