Professional Competence Scheme

 

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Introduction

The College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland (CAI) has established Professional Competence Schemes (PCS) under the auspices of the Medical Council to facilitate enrolled registrants fulfill the requirements of the Medical Practitioners Act, 2007.

 

The requirements of the Medical Practitioners Act, 2007 can be viewed on the Irish Medical Council website http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/FAQ/Professional-Competence. Information on the operation of Professional Competence Schemes can be downloaded at http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/Professional-Development/Professional-Competence/Guidelines/

 

　

 

Enrolment

The CAI will enrol Registered Medical Practitioners (RMP) where

 

1. The anaesthetist is registered on the register of medical specialists for Anaesthesia maintained by the Irish Medical Council.　　

 

2. The anaesthetist is a practitioner registered on the general or supervised divisions of the register maintained by the Irish Medical Council, whose postgraduate qualifications and/or experience and/or current practice in anaesthesia are　reviewed by the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland.

 

3. The RMP has a practice with a particular interest in Pain or Intensive Care Medicine. The College will review such postgraduate qualifications and/or experience and/or current practice as advised by the Faculty of Pain Medicine and Joint Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine of Ireland.

 

How to enrol

The CAI website enables you to submit an application to enrol. You will be guided through the application process, and asked to select enrolment into either the Specialist, General or Supervised Division Schemes. On completion of the details required, you may submit the application as advised. Alternatively, you may save your application for completion later using the password provided.

 

Once submitted, you will receive an immediate email confirming receipt of application and a commitment to process your application within 5 working days.

 

If you fulfill category (1) above under enrolment, and you are a Fellow of the College, your application will be processed on-line, and, once the detail is confirmed through the CAI database, an email confirming acceptance of application and fee applicable will be sent to you. Upon receipt of the enrolment fee (best done on-line), a further email will confirm that your PCS portfolio has been activated and you may proceed to log PCS credits or points. If you are not a Fellow of the College, verification of some application details may be required.

 

If you fulfill category (2) or (3) above, and are not active on the College database, verification of some application details may be required.

 

 

Procedure for application and assessment (category 2 and 3 above):

Practitioners listed on the General Division will contact the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland. The following process will apply:

　

1. Practitioner submits a detailed Application Form outlining training and experience to date

2. The College will review the Application Form and make an initial determination as to the suitability of the practitioner aligning with the College

　

 

If the application is accepted, an email confirming acceptance of application and fee applicable will be sent to you. Upon receipt of the enrolment fee (best done on-line), a further email will confirm that your PCS portfolio has been activated and you may proceed to log PCS points or credits.

 

If the application is unsuccessful the College will inform both the Applicant and the Irish Medical Council giving the reasons for the decision.

　

PCS Enrolment fee 2011

The enrolment fee shall reflect the start of the PCS year being May 1st 2011. It is intended for future years to have the enrolment fee reflect a calendar year. Thus the 2011 fee covers eight months of enrolment.

 

Enrolment Fees for 2011 are:

– €180 for CAI Fellows in Good Standing

– €220 for all other applicants

 

This fee structure is as agreed and set with the Medical Council. However, It is evisaged that on-going analysis of PCS costing post start-up should address how best to contain cost for all Fellows of the CAI.

 

　PCS Portfolio

The CAI software allows the enrolled RMP to maintain a full record of their PCS activities. This can only be submitted on-line through the PCS portal www.anaesthesia.ie. (Login with your username and password, and click the “My College” button on the top menu bar). The CAI cannot accept any paper records of PCS activities nor can it up-load activities on behalf of the RMP.

Annual Certificate

The CAI will issue a certificate annually to the RMP, according to the requirements of the Medical Council, reflecting the credits accrued within the submitted portfolio.

Maintenance of Records

It is the responsibility of the Registered Medical Practitioner to retain all evidence in support of on-line submitted PCS activities. These should be retained for a minimum of 6 years or as advised by the IMC. They are not to be submitted to the CAI unless requested as part of a verification process.