Medical education in Ireland

Medical education in Ireland is the education of medical students and qualified medical doctors across the island of Ireland.

Medical Schools
There are eight medical schools in Ireland from which students can obtain a medical degree, including six schools in the Republic of Ireland and two schools in Northern Ireland. Medical schools in the Republic of Ireland are accredited by the Medical Council of Ireland, while Northern Ireland is regulated by the General Medical Council. All schools except University of Limerick Medical School offer undergraduate courses in medicine.

Republic of Ireland
In the Republic of Ireland, medical education begins with a medical degree followed by a 12-month internship to achieve a right to practise medicine in Ireland. The National Doctors Training and Planning unit (NDTP) in the Health Service Executive (HSE) is responsible for the intern scheme. Internships are based with one of the medical schools in the Republic of Ireland and are employed by the HSE.

Following the internship, basic specialist training lasts 2-3 years followed by higher specialist training of 4-6 years. Alternatively, streamlined specialist training is a continuous block of training.

Foundation school
The Foundation Programme is a two-year generic programme aiming to bridge medical school and Specialist/General Practice Training. It includes a variety of placement specialities and settings. the programme is operated across the UK with a national curriculum and learning portfolio. The Northern Ireland Foundation School offers a programme exclusively within Northern Ireland.

General Practice
To train as a general practitioner (GP), after completing a Foundation Programme (not limited to Northern Ireland), a doctor must complete three years of speciality training (ST). This comprises a minimum of 12 to 18 months of posts in a variety of hospital specialities - often including paediatrics, psychiatry, geriatrics and obstetrics & gynaecology.

Hospital Specialty
After successfully completing a Foundation Programme (not limited to Northern Ireland), doctors can pursue Core Training (CT) that lasts two to three years which depends on the specialty. After completion of CT training, doctors can enter a ST post via open competition.

Alternatively, those who complete a Foundation Programme can apply for a run-through programme which lasts five to seven years.

Certificate of Completion of Training
A Certificate in Completion of Training (CCT) is a confirmation that a doctor has completed an approved UK training programme and can be entered on the Specialist Register or GP Register.

To qualify as a GP for example, a speciality trainee must complete the MRCGP, including the Applied Knowledge Test (AKT), Simulated Consultation Assessment (SCA) and Workplace Based Assessment (WBPA). Passing these three components in addition to 36 months in GP Training allows obtainment of a CCT.

Continuing medical education
Continuing professional development is now mandatory for all doctors, under guidelines from the General Medical Council.