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Information for Event Organisers

Accreditation of PCS Points for Educational Events

Applications for CME Accreditation for a Meeting or Event will only be considered when persons on the Specialist Register for Anaesthesia of the Irish Medical Council are listed amongst the teaching faculty. If there is only one such person amongst the faculty, the application must be made by that individual, to confirm that he/she is familiar with the proposed educational content of the programme. Applications must be made at least 30 days before the event or else they may not be considered.

Requirements for PCS Recognition (CPD Points) with the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland

Internal Credits:

It is not necessary for a hospital or department to apply for recognition of internal credits. A record should be maintained of the activity / meeting for which internal credits are being claimed and a log of those attending.

External Credits:

Please note that the CAI allocates CPD points for External Meetings held in Ireland only.
Where external credits are awarded for professional development activities outside of Ireland, a certificate of attendance with identified awarding body for PCS should be retained.

The Application Form provided below should be fully completed and emailed to ProfessionalCompetence@coa.ie.

Applications must be made at least 30 days before the event or else they may not be considered.

The PCS committee accepts that educational meetings require the support of industry, and would rely on the good judgement of the organisers delineating between sponsorship versus promotion.

Fee for PCS Accreditation of Commercial Educational Activities

A fee structure of €1500 applies to commercial organisations seeking PCS accreditation. For PCS accreditation of such meetings, please submit the requirements above along with the required fee.

Events will not be considered unless all above items are submitted

If this is an annual meeting and you have been awarded CPD points in the past, you must reapply each year for CPD Points as the programme content, hours and faculty will have changed.

Event organisers should not specify the number of credits awarded on printed or other published material until such time as confirmation of CPD points has been issued by CAI. Confirmation of CPD points will be issued in writing to the event organisers.

The Event organiser must provide a certificate of attendance to each delegate which should reference the specific Domains of Professional Practice covered as identified on page on of the template.

At the end of an event each delegate at the event must receive a certificate showing that they attended the event. The certificates should only be distributed at the end of the event. Where an event runs over two or more days a certificate of attendance should be distributed to delegates at the end of each day showing the CPD points awarded to that day only. The delegates name should appear on the certificate. The delegate must keep the certificate for a period of five years as proof of attendance.

The Forum of Post Graduate Training Bodies has adopted the following guidelines

Pharmaceutical/Medical Device Sponsorship

  • Events organised and funded by a single pharmaceutical company could not garner CPD credits. Events funded by a single pharmaceutical company must have an independent organising committee and the educational component of the meeting should be standalone and should not be exclusively related to any company or product promotion.Wherever possible, sponsorship should be obtained from more than one company to avoid the perception of undue influence or favouritism.
  • Events funded by an unrestricted educational grant with multiple pharmaceutical companies involved are eligible for CPD credits.
  • All events funded, either partially or wholly, by one or more pharmaceutical companies cannot be influenced by the company (ies) on the planning, program content, selection of speakers or support material.
  • It is acceptable for the funding source to restrict donated funds to certain elements of a program, e.g. speaker costs, travel, refreshments or materials.
  • Educational component of any meeting should be standalone and should not be exclusively related to any company or product promotion.
  • Only unrestricted educational andresearch grants are acceptable.
  • Where there is a contribution from a pharmaceutical company, medical device company or other commercial interestthis should be clearly stated.
  • All promotional activity should be confined to the exhibition area.
  • Pharmaceutical representatives should not speak or present during the educational component of the meeting.
  • Where events are industry funded it is important that the nature of the relationship between sponsor and individual speakers is clarified.
  • If speakers are paid, a copy of the contract should be provided on the application for PCS accreditation.
  • All paid speakers (and speakers with any other conflicts) should have a conflict of interest slide in their presentation that indicates the nature of their conflict.
  • Slides may not have a company logo.

Should you have any question, please contact the PCS helpdesk at ProfessionalCompetence@coa.ie