Registration

Trainee Specialist Registration

The Medical Council, in consultation with approved postgraduate training bodies and approved clinical sites for delivery of medical specialist training, maintains a record of postgraduate training posts within the State and their occupancy. Medical practitioners intending to practise in a postgraduate training post must first undergo the below application process and must have been issued with an Acceptance Letter which states that they are eligible for trainee specialist registration. They must inform the Medical Council of the details of that post and pay the appropriate registration fee in order to be registered, using Application Form TSR1.pdf. The Council resolution regarding individually numbered, identifiable training posts can be downloaded below;
Council Resolution.pdf

For information relating to Trainee Specialist Registration for January 2010 posts please click here. This notice is also important for doctors who previously held temporary registration in the General Register of Medical Practitioners in accordance with the Medical Practitioners Act, 1978.

Limitations of Trainee Specialist Registration

Trainee specialist registration in individually numbered, identifiable training posts only permits the practice of medicine within the clinical site/health service setting stated on the Certificate of Registration or clinics/health service settings formally connected with that training post. Trainee specialist registration permits the prescribing of controlled drugs only for those patients of the clinical site/health service setting in which the medical practitioner is employed. These limitations do not apply where, in the final year of their training, a trainee specialist is acting up at Consultant grade in that specialty or a GP Registrar is acting up as a General Practitioner, for a period of up to three months.

Medical practitioners can only hold trainee specialist registration while occupying individually numbered, identifiable training posts within the State. If eligible, a medical practitioner can apply to have their name transferred to another appropriate Division of the Register while they undertake training/research in another country.

Application Procedure

There are three different levels to the application process for trainee specialist registration. The levels a medical practitioner is required to complete will depend on whether or not they are exempt from that Level:

  • Level 1 - submission of an application form, fee and required documentation for assessment and verification by the Medical Council. This level applies to all applicants.
  • Level 2 - (PRES) a Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) examination of the candidates factual knowledge in the main clinical disciplines. This level only applies to certain applicants.
  • Level 3 -(PRES) an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) of the applicants clinical skills. This level only applies to certain applicants.

Medical practitioners applying for trainee specialist registration for the first time should complete the Generic Application Form.pdf

Medical practitioners applying for trainee specialist registration, who currently hold general or specialist registration should complete the application form TSR1.pdf

Once declared eligible for trainee specialist registration, the applicant will receive an Acceptance Letter and must submit a form TSR1.pdf in order to be registered in an individually numbered, identifiable training post.

Additional Information