Maintenance of Professional Competence for Medical Professionals
The Minister for Health & Children has signed an Order bringing Part 11 of the Medical Practitioners Act 2007 into effect from Saturday 1 May 2010. This means that all registered medical practitioners in Ireland will be legally obliged to demonstrate that they are maintaining their professional competence from one year later i.e. 1 May 2011. In practice this means that every doctor is now required to register with a Professional Competence Scheme and to being a process of engagement in Professional Competence activities such as continuing professional development (CPD) and clinical audit within the next 12 months.
Doctors on the General or Specialist Divisions of the Register must be registered with a professional competence scheme by the 1 May 2011. The Professional Competence Schemes will be administered by the Post Graduate Training Bodies and doctors are requested to contact the Training Body which they believe to be most relevant to their area of clinical practice to begin the process of applying to a Professional Competence Scheme. They need not necessarily be a member of a training body to participate in its Professional Competence Scheme.