All applicants to the SHO Matching Scheme must be eligible for registration in the trainee specialist division of the Medical Council of Ireland on 1 July 2010. If you are applying this year, please read the following updated instructions carefully.

You must submit your current certificate of registration (a certified copy), or evidence that your application for registration has been processed or is in progress. We will only accept the following documentation as evidence of registration/application in progress:

• A certified copy of your current certificate of registration with the Medical Council of Ireland. Interns currently working in Ireland should submit their certificate of internship registration.

• OR a certified copy of a letter from the Medical Council stating: The Medical Council has decided that your application and documents permit you to apply for Trainee Specialist registration under the provisions of Section 11 of the Medical Practitioners Act, 2007.

If you are already in possession of this letter, you must submit it along with the rest of your application by Friday 29th January 2010. Otherwise, you must submit a copy of this letter to RCPI before 5.00pm Friday 12th March 2010. You are advised to follow up on any outstanding documentation with the Medical Council as a matter of urgency.

• OR (NEW!) a printed copy of an email from the Registration section in the Medical Council of Ireland acknowledging receipt of your application for trainee specialist registration. Your printed copy must not be altered in any way and must include the email address from which it was sent. The Medical Council has agreed to acknowledge applications by email, however you are advised to state on your application if you need this email.

If you submit this email, instead of the above documents, your application for registration must be approved/confirmed by 5.00pm Friday 12th March 2010. (It should be noted that first time applications for trainee specialist registration will take between four to six weeks to be processed.) Please bear this date in mind if you have any exams to sit in relation to your application.  If you cannot submit evidence that you are permitted to apply for Trainee Specialist registration by 5.00pm Friday 12th March 2010, you will not go forward to the first round of matching

If your qualifications are not recognised under EU Directive 2005/36/EC, please note that first-time registration with the Medical Council of Ireland can take up to a year. If your application for registration is not already in progress or complete, you may not be able to apply to the SHO Matching Scheme this year. Please see the Medical Council of Ireland website for more information - http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/registration/firsttime.asp

• Applicants who are currently in their F1 year in the UK may submit a certified copy of their General Medical Council certificate of registration. All other UK graduates, who have completed their internship/F1 year, must be registered with the Medical Council of Ireland. If you are not currently working in the Republic of Ireland, you must submit a certified copy of a letter from the Medical Council stating: The Medical Council has decided that your application and documents permit you to apply for Trainee Specialist registration under the provisions of Section 11 of the Medical Practitioners Act, 2007.

All queries regarding registration with the Medical Council of Ireland should be directed to the registration section in the Medical Council of Ireland.

To apply to the SHO Matching Scheme, please click here.