Training pathway
The pathway to becoming an oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Ireland is somewhat different to the other specialties.
In order to be deemed eligible to progress into Specialty Training, you must be able to provide evidence that you have already completed your qualification in dentistry. Once you have provided this, you can progress through the standard surgical training pathway commencing with an entry in the National Surgical Training Programme at ST1.
The length of training for OMFS trainees is seven years (ST1 - ST7) excluding your dentistry degree. Within these seven years of training, you will undergo Core Surgical Training (CST) in ST1 and ST2 – core training is undertaken by all surgical trainees, irrespective of their future specialty aspiration and aims to introduce all trainees to the principles of surgery and give them the knowledge, skills and attitudes required in preparation for specialty training (ST3 - ST7).
Throughout these initial two years, you will be assessed via the Competency Assessment and Performance Appraisal (CAPA) process.
ST3 is entry-level into Specialty Training which completes at ST8. This is based on on-going progression assessment (CAPA), successful completion of the MRCS exam and a specialty interview (ST3 - ST7).
More information on the curriculum is available on Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) website.