New Basic Specialist Training Taught Programme to be rolled out

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland (RCPI) is undertaking a project to review all mandatory teaching for Basic Specialist Training (BST) and Higher Specialist Training (HST) programmes. The aim of the project is to design a formal education programme for BST and HST which will incorporate current topics delivered in tutorials, study days and mandatory courses. The programme will be delivered in a series of modular elements to ensure formal education components of the curriculum are relevant and provided at the correct stage of training.

One of the first changes to be implemented, following the review, is a new BST Taught Programme which will be rolled out to all incoming Year 1 BST Trainees in July 2023. This is a pre-allocated programme of teaching and will consist of a series of modular elements spread across the years of training. Teaching will be a combination of online self-directed learning and live virtual tutorials. 

Read an overview of the new Taught Programme within Basic Specialist Training
This information will also be available in the training curriculum for each BST specialty.

Watch a short video which shows what the online content will look like for Trainees.

Trainees will also complete specialty-specific courses and workshops as part of the programme. Workshops will be offered regularly throughout the year and will be booked separately by the Trainees.

To support the new BST Taught Programme, we have appointed new Tutors who will be responsible for the facilitation of the live virtual tutorials to BST Trainees. In General Internal Medicine, Dr Mary Nwaezeigwe, Dr Maria Gabriella Rizzo and Dr Clare Miller will facilitate tutorials along with Dr Karen Dennehy who will teach as part of the Irish Clinical Academic Training (ICAT) programme. We are also joined by Dr Sinead McGlacken-Byrne for General Paediatrics, Dr Lindsey Clarke for Histopathology and Dr Niamh Barrett for Obstetrics and Gynaecology. We would like to welcome our new Tutors on board and wish them all the best as they embark on their exciting new roles.

It is expected that the new taught programme for HST will roll out to Incoming Year 1 HST Trainees in July 2024. A further update will be shared as the project progresses. 

We would like to extend special thanks to members of the BST and HST Programme Boards and Clinical Leads for their ongoing commitment to the project, your time and input are much appreciated.