RCSI has today announced the 2020/2021 Continuous Professional Development Support Scheme for non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) working in the fields of surgery and emergency medicine. This year’s programme offers a newly expanded choice of modules. Eligible NCHDs have until Wednesday, 30 September to enrol on the programme.

The programme, which is now in its eleventh year, is commissioned and funded by the HSE to facilitate NCHDs within the public health service, who are not on training schemes, to maintain their professional competence in line with Medical Council requirements and provides a structured means of achieving 20 external CPD credits.

For the 2020/21 course, RCSI will offer participants an expanded range of classes in surgical skills, emergency medicine, along with clinical audit, quality improvement orocesses, research and ethics, IT skills, personal development and a range of e-learning activities. All modules will be taking place in the National Surgical and Clinical Skills at RCSI’s state-of-the-art facility at 26 York Street.

Professor Oscar Traynor, Director, National Surgical Training Centre, RCSI, said: "The RCSI Continuous Professional Development Support Scheme (CPD-SS) assists NCHDs to satisfy their professional competence requirement. The programme provides highly relevant courses for emergency medicine and surgery NCHDs at both SHO and Registrar level, to maintain and enhance the skills and technical expertise needed in order to excel in their speciality."

Professor Frank Murray, National Programme Director for Medical Training, HSE said: "The CPD-SS provides a structured curriculum for NCHDs to achieve up to 20 CPD credits per annum, with a choice of modules tailored for both surgery and emergency medicine now available. We strongly encourage all eligible NCHDs who are in non-training posts to enrol on the programme in order to avail of professional development activities which are supported by the HSE."

The CPD-SS is open to NCHDs who are registered on the General Division or Supervised Division of the Register of Medical Practitioners maintained by the Medical Council. NCHDs must hold the 2010 NCHD contract and be working within the public health service. To successfully enrol on the CPD-SS applicants must have paid the annual Professional Competence Scheme (PCS) fee for 2020/2021. 

Since 1 May 2011, it has been mandatory for all doctors to register with a PCS run by one of the postgraduate training bodies. RCSI has been designated by the Irish Medical Council to run PCS for Surgery and Emergency Medicine. 

Information on the scheme, including how to enrol is available here. The scheme runs until May 2021.