If you want to practise medicine (including telemedicine) in Ireland you must:
Registering with the Medical Council
You are required, by law, to register with the Medical Council if you are practising medicine in Ireland. Registration requires annual renewal, and you will receive an email inviting you to renew within a dedicated timeframe. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are correctly registered and that the contact information you provide is up to date.
There are several divisions of the Register of Medical Practitioners in Ireland, and they are as follows:
Please see the relevant section of our website for information on how to apply for registration and the route which is most applicable to you.
Professional indemnity insurance.
Professional indemnity is a mandatory requirement to practise medicine in Ireland as set out under section 38A of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007. It’s required that you have indemnity cover appropriate to the nature of your employment/practice arrangement, your area of practice, and which aligns to the National Treasury Management Agency’s (NTMA) Minimum Levels of Cover. We are obliged to ensure that registered medical practitioners who fall into certain classes have minimum levels of indemnity in place during the registration process.
Professional indemnity will protect you against claims arising in respect of medical malpractice, negligence and other civil claims that arise from a breach of duty associated with your practice. You must ensure that you are aware of what your indemnity insurance covers, as often the legal costs associated with complaints about your practice that come before the Medical Council are not covered. We suggest that you ensure you are covered for legal costs associated with complaints that come before the Medical Council and other disciplinary proceedings.
If you are taking up a post wholly under a contract of employment with the Health Service Executive (HSE) you are covered by the Clinical Indemnity Scheme. However, you should bear in mind that the Clinical Indemnity Scheme does not provide cover for the legal costs associated with a complaint being made to the Medical Council under Parts 7, 8 or 9 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, in relation to your practice, or employment related issues. We therefore suggest that you put in place additional indemnity insurance that covers complaints before the Medical Council and other disciplinary proceedings.
If you are commencing work as a consultant with a private hospital you will need to put in place professional indemnity arrangements for practice that align to NTMA’s minimum levels of cover (Appendix A and Appendix B).We will require evidence during the registration process that the correct level of indemnity is in place. If you are taking up a post at senior house office (SHO)/ registrar level (or below) in a private hospital, you will be covered by the hospitals own indemnity policy, but we advise that you check you are covered for legal costs associated with complaints before the Medical Council and other disciplinary proceedings.
If you are working as a consultant in both public and private hospital settings, you will need to put in place professional indemnity arrangements in line with NTMA’s minimal levels of cover (Appendix A and Appendix B). Again, we will require evidence that the correct level of indemnity is in place.
If you are undertaking locum work in a hospital setting then you will need to clarify with any hospital where you will be undertaking locum work, what indemnity arrangements are in place. If the hospital indicates you will not be covered by their policy/arrangement, you need to put in place appropriate indemnity cover as set out in NTMA’s minimum levels of cover (Appendix B).
If you are undertaking locum work in a variety of non-hospital settings, then you will need to make arrangements to ensure that you have indemnity cover appropriate to your scope of practice in line with NTMA’s minimal levels of cover (Appendix B). Your place of work will need to ensure you have the appropriate level of cover in place before commencing work. Additionally, we will require evidence that the correct level of indemnity is in place.
If you are working outside of the hospital system, such as in general practice or another type of private clinic, then you will need to make arrangements to ensure that you have indemnity cover appropriate to your scope of practice in line with NTMA’s minimal levels of cover (Appendix B)
Please see the relevant section of our website for more detail on the requirements of professional indemnity insurance.
Maintaining professional competence
You are legally obliged to maintain your professional competence when practising medicine in Ireland by enrolling in a Professional Competence Scheme, also known as Continuous Professional Development (CPD).
Our Standards for the Maintenance of Professional Competence define the process to be followed, as well as outlining a framework for the types and quantities of activities to be pursued annually. The expectation is that you will complete 50 hours of CPD each year.
We have defined the Eight Domains of Good Professional Practice with the aim of setting out the principles on which good professional practice is founded. They describe the outcomes that you should strive to achieve, and you should refer to these domains throughout the process of maintaining your professional competence. Together in their entirety, these principles describe professionalism in action.
At the end of each year of professional competence activity you will receive a statement of participation from your Professional Competence Scheme which will set out your activity in that year, and your activity in each of the previous four years. Most of the Schemes provide an electronic system for recording your CPD and this is tallied at the end of Scheme year to produce your statement of CPD activity. This is an important document. If you are subject to a complaint that has been made to the Medical Council this Statement may be requested as evidence of your ongoing professional development.
When you apply to register or at annual renewal with the Medical Council, you will be asked to declare that you are maintaining your professional competence. It’s important that you are honest when completing this declaration. You should seek support from the Scheme you are registered with if you are struggling to meet the CPD requirements.
If you are not currently enrolled on a Professional Competence Scheme, it is important that you arrange this. We advise that you choose a Scheme most relevant to your education and training, and to contact the postgraduate training body which you think is most relevant to your area of practice. Please note, it is not essential to have a professional membership with a postgraduate training body in order to enrol in a Professional Competence Scheme. However, some of the Schemes will have essential enrolment requirements.
Please see our website for more information on each Scheme year.
Professional Conduct and Ethics
Registering with the Medical Council involves adhering to the Guide, which outlines values and principles that underpin professionalism and good medical practice that we expect you to follow. It also specifies how such values and principles apply to aspects of your professional practice. Whilst the Guide does not address all clinical scenarios, it’s written on the premise that applying the values and principles presented, will assist you to safely navigate situations that arise in professional interactions.
In addition to the Guide, you have a duty to comply with the laws and regulations pertaining to your practice. Your practice and conduct will also be informed by professional, clinical, and organisational policies and guidelines.
Resources
Please see the below weblinks to resources in this area to assist you with understanding key professional responsibilities and to support you in your role as a doctor in Ireland.