SDR Advice

You should contact the Irish Medical Council to determine your eligibility for inclusion on the Specialist Division of the Register. Their contact details are:

Website: https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/registration-applications/

Tel: +353 1 498 3100

The IMC will provide you with an application pack for the relevant specialty.  This pack contains Guidance and a number of Specialty specific proforma templates that are required to be used in making your application.

By applying for stand-alone positions within the hospitals, e.g. vacancies advertised through publicjobs.ie or irishjobs.ie.  If you are successful in obtaining a stand-alone position, you must still be supervised by a Consultant and recognized Trainer for the Specialty you wish to apply for, and the site must be approved for training. It is equally important to have a different trainer every year, and that you do not spend more than 2 years in one institution that you are seeking training credit for. It is important for any future application through the IMC SDR route that you maintain full records of your training and you should seek confirmation of any competencies completed at the end of each post.

Credit can be awarded where evidence is provided that the training has taken place in a hospital/unit accredited for training at HST level in the specialty being applied for under the supervision of the recognized trainer by the relevant jurisdiction.  Evidence must also be provided of the competencies and skills attained by using the Structured references forms and providing a Post Summary form for the post.  Overseas training will be assessed on a case by case basis.  

Every time you complete a module or competency, you should arrange for your supervising Consultant to write a letter confirming that you have completed the module to the required standard and have been assessed as satisfactory in the module / competency. You should also ensure that satisfactory completion of the module is reflected in the Structured Reference that relates to your rotation in that hospital.

Yes.  If you complete a course that you feel is equivalent to the PGTB run course, you should submit sufficient information regarding the course (i.e. course program/curricula) to enable it to be assessed for equivalence.  This documentation should be submitted together with your certificate of attendance as part of your application to the Irish Medical Council.  

No.  The PGTB can only issue Certificates of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training (CSCST) to trainees who completed their training on the Formal HST Program.  

The following table is a current list of the Hospitals and specialties accredited by the RCPI. Note this list is correct as of September 2022 and will be reviewed annually in line with Site Accreditation model. 

Download Site Specialty List (PDF, 176KB)

The maximum time in any one hospital is 2 years and 1 year with any one trainer.  This can vary depending on the site.  It would be advisable to check with the site or relevant PGTB to confirm maximum duration that can be approved for training.  

The Irish Medical Council stipulate a minimum of 5 structured references.  However, you do need to provide a structured reference for ‘EVERY’ post for which you are seeking recognition. Including a post summary form. It will not be possible to assess any given year of training without a structured reference and a post summary for EVERY year where credit is being sought.

No. The Structured Reference templates are provided by the Irish Medical Council as part of your application pack.

No. You are applying to the IMC for registration. RCPI is providing advice to the IMC only. It is imperative you do not engage with RCPI or its assessors directly following your application to the IMC.