Updated 22.02.21
General
A number of issues have been raised with the Medical Council in which the PGTBs are seeking clarification and to make compliance with PCS as easy as possible during this time. The information below will be updated with new details sent from the Medical Council. Further news can be found on the Medical Council website and will be sent out to all registrants through the training body.
Medical Council Advice
CPD Advice to PCS Enrolees 15.04.20
The Medical Council recognises that doctors’ personal and professional development has escalated recently through familiarisation with clinical and ethical guidance and changed provision of treatment and care for patients in a pandemic situation.
In acknowledgement of this the Medical Council will not be monitoring doctors’ compliance with maintenance of professional competence requirements for 2019/20.
This means that:
- Doctors will not be required to make a declaration about their maintenance of professional competence when retaining their registration in 2020.
- The Medical Council and Professional Competence Schemes will not verify or audit doctors’ CPD records for the 2019/20 Scheme Year.
- Doctors will not be required to make up any shortfall in CPD requirements for the 2019/20 Scheme Year.
- Please retain your enrolment with your professional competence scheme
CPD Advice to PCS Enrolees 31.03.20
As a result of Covid-19, the Medical Council will not be monitoring doctors’ compliance with maintenance of professional competence requirements for the Professional Competence Scheme year 2019 – 2020. The Medical Council acknowledges the extraordinary circumstances in which doctors are practising and while patient safety remains a priority, we know doctors’ continued personal learning and familiarisation with clinical and ethical guidelines has dramatically escalated. The Medical Council will keep maintenance of professional competence requirements under review over the coming months. Updates will be posted on the Medical Council website and circulated to doctors via their Professional Competence Schemes.
COVID-19 and CPD 28.02.20
Due to significant workload and potential travel disruptions, arising due to COVID-19, the Medical Council appreciate that some doctors may choose not to attend European and International medical education related conferences or have difficulty in recording their CPD. If, as a result of this you will not meet your CPD requirements can you please do the following:
- Advise your Professional Competence Scheme by email
- When completing the Annual Retention Application Form (ARAF), tick No you are not compliant.
By doing both of these your circumstances will be taken into consideration in the compliance monitoring process, and if your compliance with the requirements has been consistent in the past, this deviation should not cause you any great concern.
Maintenance of Professional Competence – Guidelines 2021/23
In the Professional Competence Year beginning on 1 May 2022 and ending on 30 April 2023, doctors will be required to undertake and record the following CPD activity with their Scheme:
- 25 credits (in any category: external, internal, personal, research/teaching); and
- One clinical/practice audit.
Maintenance of Professional Competence – Guidelines 2021/22
In the Professional Competence Year beginning on 1 May 2021 and ending on 30 April 2022, doctors will be required to undertake and record the following CPD activity with their Scheme:
- 25 credits (in any category: external, internal, personal, research/teaching); and
- One clinical/practice audit.
The Medical Council intends to reinstate its risk-based framework for monitoring doctors’ maintenance of professional competence. This means that doctors will be asked to make a declaration about their Maintenance of Professional Competence (MPC) when renewing their registration in 2021. Doctors’ MPC declaration will be compared with Professional Competence Scheme data to monitor that they are meeting their MPC requirements.
The 2021/22 CPD requirements as outlined above will be kept under review in light of a protracted pandemic. Should further updates be required, these will be communicated to doctors through their Professional Competence Schemes and on the Medical Council website.
Maintenance of Professional Competence – Interim Guidelines 2020/21
In light of the COVID–19 pandemic, the Medical Council has considered how Maintenance of Professional Competence (MPC) requirements should apply in 2020/21 and has agreed interim guidelines for the Professional Competence Scheme Year 2020/21 to:
- Help RMPs focus on the best possible care for patients and themselves
- Acknowledge the learnings gained by RMPs during the COVID-19 outbreak
- Reduce anxieties regarding the recording of CPD during this unprecedented time.
For the 2020/21 Professional Competence Scheme Year, the Framework for Maintenance of Professional Competence Activity found in the Maintenance of Professional Competence Guidelines for Doctors has been modified.
PCS Compliance
Every year Registered Medical Professionals are to achieve 20 external credits, 20 internal credits, 5 personal learning credits, a clinical audit project with 12 audit credits overal and 50 credits in total. However, due to the recent COVID-19 outbreak the Medical Council will not be monitoring doctors’ compliance with maintenance of professional competence requirements for the Professional Competence Scheme year 2019 – 2020.
If you are unable to obtain your minimum points in each category you must:
- Inform the Faculty here
- Select “no” when asked if you are compliant with PCS during the Medical Council Annual Retention
The Medical Council will keep maintenance of professional competence requirements under review over the coming months.
Verification Audits
The Faculty is required to perform a verification audit on a small percent of all enrollees to PCS each year. This process requires an amount of time and effort from those selected for audit. The verification audits have been reinstated by all Postgraduate Training Bodies for the PCS year May 1st 2020 - April 30th 2021.
Temporary Registration to the Medical Council
The Medical Council is in the process of restoring doctors to its register for a limited period, under Section 110 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007, to assist with the Covid-19 pandemic. Doctors who have restored to the register for Covid-19 seek to enrol on a Professional Competence Scheme (PCS) for professional support, their PCS fee will be waived and The Medical Council will produce a letter stating that the RMP is on the register for a limited amount of time and do not need to pay the PCS fee.
Open Disclosure E-learning programme
The HSE has launched Module 1 of its Open Disclosure E-learning programme which is available on HSELanD. The module is titled “Communicating Effectively through Open Disclosure”. This module provides information and tools for staff to assist them in preparing for and engaging in open disclosure conversations. This is an introductory module aimed at all staff. We are working on a further module which will focus on managing higher level open disclosure meetings and the complexities that can arise. This module will be available later in the year.
Contact Us
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