During this pilot phase, RTP will undergo continuous review, with a view to extending the programme and making it a permanent, but not mandatory, element of the specialist training process.

For further information contact

Background - Responding to the needs of Ireland’s doctors

Historically, postgraduate medical training programmes have focused on the SHO grade (at Basic Specialist Training level) and SpR grade (at Higher Specialist Training level). However a national audit of SHO and registrar posts carried out in 2008 confirmed that there is a significant cohort of doctors, working primarily in the registrar grade, who are pursuing self-directed specialist training outside of any structured, recognised training programme.  Many have recently completed Basic Specialist Training (BST) and are furthering their training in registrar posts in order to gain entry to Higher Specialist Training (HST). 

Entry to HST is very competitive, and applicants must have passed the relevant membership examinations. The majority of doctors who complete BST require additional experience in their chosen (sub) specialty, as well as further opportunities to sit their membership examinations. Many doctors at this stage of their career enter registrar posts. However there is a lack of structure surrounding this practice and many registrars find that they are in a training/service limbo, with little formal mentorship, competence assurance, or guidance on career options and no credit which can be applied to further training.

At all other stages of their career, doctors in training have the protective, educational benefits associated with established postgraduate medical training programmes. As a result, both trainees and training bodies have tended to view time spent in registrar posts as an unregulated ‘gap’ in the course of specialist training - the only period prior to independent practice in which doctors are not formally enrolled on a structured, supervised training programme.

RCPI has developed a registrar training programme to constructively address this gap and this has been recently approved by the Medical Council and the HSE.

Approval and recognition of RTP

RTP has been granted formal recognition by the Medical Council, which means that doctors who are enrolled in RTP and working in recognised training posts will be eligible for inclusion on the Trainee Specialist Division of the Medical Council register. This is a significant benefit for both trainees in RTP and employers.

RTP also has the support of the HSE, which will be funding the programme as part of its overall funding arrangements for structured medical education and training. RCPI wishes to acknowledge the considerable support and guidance that has been provided by the HSE-METR Unit in relation to the development of RTP.

Within RCPI, RTP in each specialty will be provided by the relevant postgraduate training body, i.e. the Irish Committee on Higher Medical Training, Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Faculty of Paediatrics and the Faculty of Pathology.

The programme will commence, on a pilot basis, on 1st July 2010, and during this pilot phase, there will be regular appraisal of trainees’ progress through the programme and an evaluation of the educational opportunities offered by their posts.

Training Credit

Trainees who gain entry to HST, following completion of RTP, may receive a maximum of  six months HST credit for each year of RTP, up to a maximum of 12 months. Credit will only accrue for time spent on the programme post-Membership with the relevant training body.

Entry requirements

RTP is intended for doctors who have recently completed Basic Specialist Training (BST) and are furthering their training in order to gain entry to Higher Specialist Training (HST).

Entry to the programme will be competitive. There are strict limitations on the number of trainees that may be enrolled in each specialty. Applicants will be assessed for suitability for RTP; specifically with regard to facilitating their entry into HST.

Doctors who wish to enrol in RTP on 1st July 2010 must complete and return an application form, which will be made available on the RCPI website, www.rcpi.ie on Monday 17th May 2010.

There are four entry requirements for RTP:

1. Applicants must hold a certificate of completion of Basic Specialist Training (formerly General Professional Training) in the relevant specialty. Confirmation of equivalence of BST in the relevant specialty will also be accepted. Applicants who are completing BST on 30th June 2010 must submit a letter of provisional approval of BST, which is available from the BST office in RCPI.

2. Applicants must not have spent more than two years in Irish NCHD posts following completion of  Basic Specialist Training (excluding time spent in research/lecture posts).

3. Applicants must be eligible for inclusion on either the General or Trainee Specialist Division of the Medical Council’s register on 1st July 2010.

4. Applicants must hold, on 1st July 2010, either:
a. A registrar post that is currently approved for BST and that has been assigned a post number by the relevant training body.
b. An SHO post that is currently approved for BST and that has been assigned a post number by the relevant training body.

An application form will be made available on www.rcpi.ie on Monday 17th May 2010. The closing date for applications is 5.00pm Friday 28th May 2010. Late applications and/or supplementary information will not be accepted after the closing date.

Applications will be assessed for suitability for RTP by a panel convened by the relevent training body. Successful applicants will be notified on Friday 11th June 2010.

Special notice regarding registration with the Medical Council

Doctors who are accepted into RTP will be entitled to be registered on the Trainee Specialist Division of the Register with the Irish Medical Council in the first year of RTP only.

As acceptance into the pilot RTP commencing 1st July 2010 will be at a relatively late stage of the annual NCHD recruitment process, the Medical Council has agreed that participating doctors who are on the General Division of the Medical Council register on 1st July 2010 will have until 31st August 2010 to transfer from the General to the Trainee Specialist division of the Medical Council register. Doctors wishing to transfer to the Trainee Specialist division must make an application to the Medical Council by 1st July 2010.

Registration on the Trainee Specialist Division of the Register with the Medical Council is possible only while in the first year of the training programme. If a trainee is unsucessful in their application to HST and requires a second year of RTP, they will not be eligible for entry on the Trainee Specialist Division of the Medical Council Register. Trainees who require a second year in RTP will need to enter the General Division of the Medical Council register.

Registrar Training Programme - content and structure

Doctors accepted into RTP will be required to sign a training agreement with RCPI, confirming that they will fulfil the curricular requirements of the programme and that they accept the stated terms and conditions. In addition, they will work under the supervision of an RCPI-approved trainer (consultant).

Trainees in RTP will be required to:

• Follow the relevant curriculum
• Maintain a logbook
• Agree training objectives with their supervising consultants
• Attend annual assessments
• Attend study / training days
• Pass the relevant Membership examination if they have not already done so.

On completion of RTP a certificate of completion will be awarded by the relevant training body.

Entry to Higher Specialist Training

Trainees will secure a place in RTP for one year initially. Midway through their first year on the programme, and subject to meeting entry criteria, trainees will be required to apply for entry to HST in their chosen (sub)specialty. If unsuccessful, trainees may continue in the programme for a second year as deemed appropriate by the relevant training body.

Is RTP mandatory?

No. Completion of the RTP programme is not required for entry to Higher Specialist Training. The fundamental objective of RTP is to facilitate progression from Basic Specialist Training to Higher Specialist Training.

Will RTP lengthen the duration of specialist training?

The intention of the RTP programme is not to lengthen specialist training. Trainees who gain entry to HST following completion of RTP may receive a maximum of  six months HST credit for each year of RTP, up to a maximum of 12 months.  This will therefore shorten the duration of training at HST level for many doctors.

Who to contact

Queries about RTP may be directed to rtp@rcpi.ie