About

RCSI has been educating surgeons in Dublin since our inception in 1784. Today, we continue to be committed to providing leadership in supporting the journey that our policymakers, our clinical and non-clinical healthcare partners, our regulators, our trainees and our Fellows will make to deliver the standards of surgical care that our patients expect and deserve.

We are the accredited postgraduate training body for the delivery of surgical and emergency medicine training programmes in the Republic of Ireland. We are recognised for this purpose by the Irish Medical Council and the Health Service Executive. We are also the advisory body for all matters in relation to Core and Specialist Training in Surgery and Emergency Medicine, and make recommendations for the awarding of the Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training (CCST).

Surgery at RCSI is one of Ireland’s leading providers of professional education programmes and certified training courses for the disciplines of surgery and emergency medicine, and many other medical specialties. We offer a comprehensive suite of NUI-accredited Masters programmes, all of which are positioned at Level 9 on the National Qualifications Framework. We are also engaged by the HSE to deliver a range of CPD courses for non-consultant hospital doctors, under the Continuing Professional Development Support Scheme and we deliver a range of accredited short courses in Advanced Trauma Life Support®, Basic Surgical Skills and Care for the Critically Ill Surgical Patient.

Surgery at RCSI supports a community of over 10,000 surgical Fellows and Members, practising in 87 countries worldwide. We also conduct MRCS (membership) exams in Ireland and at numerous overseas locations including Bahrain, India, Jordan, Malaysia, Malta, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. FRCS exams are delivered in Ireland, Great Britain and internationally in partnership with the Surgical Royal Colleges of Edinburgh, England and Glasgow.

In terms of surgical practice, RCSI is responsible for operating the Professional Competence Scheme (PCS) for surgeons and doctors working in surgery and emergency medicine on behalf of the Irish Medical Council and we undertake and support a range of projects that are aimed at improving the experience of patient and staff in the health service. We are also home to the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) which maintains a portfolio of prioritised national clinical audits.

Our goal as a research unit is to support the College’s Surgical Science and Practice research pillar and to partner with industry, domestic and international health research institutions and other bodies to ensure that patient-focussed research remains at the heart of RCSI’s research activity.