PCS Enrolment Guidance

Irish College of GPs operates the PCS for registered medical practitioners in the following categories:

1. Irish College of GPs members
2. Doctors on the Medical Council Specialist Division for General Practice
3. Doctors on the Medical Council General or Non-GP Specialist Division who work 50% or more of their time in General Practice

All doctors should have a current registration with the Medical Council

The Medical Council and new PCS Framework now require a distinction between doctors engaged and not engaged in the practice of medicine and the type of CPD activity they need to undertake. This provides greater flexibility and clarity to doctors to direct their own development and meet their annual PCS requirements. Doctors will be required to choose the appropriate option at the time of enrolment or renewal.

Engagement in the practice of medicine by registered medical professionals includes any of the following activities

• Involved in the act of diagnosing, treating, or managing illnesses and medical conditions, including telemedicine consultations
• Provide medical advice
• Develop and/or deliver medical education
• Prescribe medications
• Perform medical procedures
• Develop and/or implement preventative programmes (e.g. CDM)
• Conduct relevant medical research
• Take any other actions which require medical knowledge and skills

Doctors who declare that they are not engaged in the practice of medicine when registering with the Medical Council are excluded from the entitlement to issue prescriptions.

Under the new Maintenance of Professional Competence Framework, doctors are required to enrol or renew their enrolment on the Scheme every year, no later than 60 days after 1 May.

Doctors who register with the Medical Council before 2 March must enrol on PCS within 60 days of registering. This applies to newly registered doctors, or doctors who are restored to the register.

Doctors who register with the Medical Council after 2 March do not need to enrol until the new PCS year commencing on 1 May of that year.

Doctors are required to inform us of any change of circumstances that would affect their obligations to carry out CPD within 14 days of the change taking place.

Doctors who relocate out of the Republic of Ireland during a PCS year must notify the College promptly by emailing professional.competence@icgp.ie.

Doctors registered with the Medical Council who live outside the State and practice medicine in Ireland for less than 30 days in a PCS year are not required to enrol on PCS. Note that telemedicine appointments with patients located in Ireland qualifies as practicing medicine in Ireland. Doctors must engage in CPD in the country where they are residing and make a declaration to this effect when renewing their registration with the Medical Council. They should keep evidence of their CPD in keeping with the Medical Council guidelines, including what they have completed abroad.

Doctors who relocate to the Republic of Ireland are required to enrol in a scheme once they are registered with the Medical Council. They may use some of their CPD activities that they completed abroad, including Accredited CE, to meet their annual requirement. They should ensure that they retain any evidence for such CPD in accordance with Medical Council guidelines. The PCS Helpdesk is available for questions about whether and how particular CPD activities can be recorded.

Doctors who relocate to Ireland and join PCS partway through the year should aim to complete the full annual requirement of credits as far as possible. Their Statement of Participation will be annotated to reflect that they joined the Scheme mid-year. Be sure to complete the PDP as promptly as possible on enrolment.

Doctors in one of the following categories are not required to carry out CPD in Ireland.

• Registered on the Trainee Specialist Division. The training which is being undertaken by such doctors is considered to be evidence of the doctor maintaining their professional competence.
• Registered on Internship Division.
• On the register of visiting European Economic Area (EEA) practitioners providing services on a temporary and occasional basis. It is considered that these doctors will carry out their CPD in the country in which they ordinarily provide medical services/practice medicine.
• Predominantly based overseas and working in Ireland for less than 30 days per year.

There are no exemptions for doctors working less than full-time, in a non-clinical role or retired. From the public safety perspective, it is essential that all doctors maintain professional competence, regardless of their working arrangements.

For more information Medical Council - Professional Competence

Doctors providing telemedicine are expected to maintain competence in their scope of practice as well as the technologies and communication skills required for telemedicine. Doctors based in the State are required to maintain professional competence in line with the Framework for the Maintenance of Professional Competence.

Doctors who complete their annual retention of registration with the Medical Council are required to declare that they are maintaining their professional competence. The declarations cover the preceding and current scheme years and will include one of the following

• That the annual minimum CPD requirements for the PCS year have been met and recorded
• That the doctor did not practice for a period of greater than 3 months in the PCS year due to illness, maternity, parental, carers, or other forms of statutory leave
• That the doctor practised medicine in the Republic of Ireland for less than 30 days during the previous PCS year and has complied with the CPD requirements in the other state in which they practised medicine
• That the doctor is on the trainee specialist division of visiting EEA practitioners’ register and therefore is not required to enrol on a Professional Competence Scheme.