Firstly, congratulations on choosing Ireland’s market leader and #1 preferred supplier of permanent and locum general practitioners (GP’s) to primary care clients in Ireland. You’ve made an excellent choice. Med Connect will assist you with, registering with the Irish Medical Council (IMC) to work as a doctor in Ireland, to setting up your bank account. It is a legal requirement to be registered with the Irish Medical Council in order to work as a doctor in Ireland and you must hold a medical indemnity also – no exceptions!

When you arrive in Ireland, you can expect to meet your Med Connect recruiter at our offices in Dublin. We will ensure that you are fully prepared and have all the necessary paperwork to start working in Ireland. Although this might be perceived as a hardworking process. Ireland is one of the best and safest countries to work in, in the world, making us the preferred destination in Europe for GP doctors, practice nurses and support staff.

It is important to note that Irish, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand GP’s are considered to undertake best in class GP vocational training which consists of 2 years hospital rotations (General Medicine, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology & Psychiatry) and 2 years in private practice under an appointed GP trainer to apply training obtained in hospital rotations of General Medicine, Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynaecology & Psychiatry. In addition to this training, most trainee GP’s will do additional diploma’s in a specific specialty such as paediatrics, women’s health, sports medicine, urgent care/emergency medicine etc.

Criteria

Firstly, you must meet the basic minimum criteria of being eligible for registration with the IMC. You can check if you are eligible by clicking here. Once you have checked your eligibility, you then need to meet the criteria for working as a GP in Ireland bearing in mind that you will be held to the same standards Irish GP’s are held to and thus must be prepared to adjust to a new culture, way of practicing medicine and way of working.

Thus, what is the criteria for working as a GP in Ireland, well as mentioned above, you must have completed rotations during your hospital or GP vocational training in the following four field:

• General Medicine
• Paediatrics
• Obstetrics & Gynaecology (Women’s Health)
• Psychiatry
• Accident & Emergency (should you wish to work in an urgent care setting)

If you do not meet the above criteria

You will not be eligible to work as a GP in Ireland and Med Doc Healthcare or any of our clients as well. However, that does not mean that you cannot work as a GP in Ireland, in the future once you have obtained the necessary experience. We would be strong advocates that if you want something badly enough and with Ireland being one of the best countries to live and work in the world, we would really recommend you obtain the necessary experience if you do really want to work here.

Once you meet the criteria

We want to hear from you and can assist in advising on how to obtain IMC registration if you have any queries. You can also view the IMC website for what to expect when living and working in Ireland as a GP doctor by clicking here.

Once you meet the job specification criteria, you will need to interview for vacancies and will do a pre-interview with one of our experienced recruiters to ensure you are the right fit for our clients and what they will expect of you. We will also assist you on an on-going basis while you are in Ireland be it on a contract (temporary) or full-time basis.

Comprehension of English Language

This is an essential element of working in Ireland if English is not your first language. You will need to sit the IELTS exam if you have not qualified from an EU State Country (EUSC) obtaining a score of 7.0 or higher so that you can get IMC registration and may be required to sit the IELTS exam if you have qualified from an EUSC should you have a poor comprehension of the English language. The reason for this is that if a patient cannot understand you or vice versa, it will be impossible for you to work as a GP doctor.

In addition to IELTS, the IMC accepts any of the following as evidence of effective communication skills:

1. You have a current Academic IELTS Certificate (dated within the last two years) with an overall band score of 7.0 and a minimum score of 6.5 in  each module; or
2. You have passed another equivalent English language test*; or
3. Satisfactory proof that you have been awarded a Higher Qualification listed in Appendix A of the Registration Rules which was awarded by a postgraduate training body in a country where English is the language spoken by the vast majority of the population; or
4. Satisfactory proof that your basic medical degree and internship training were completed through English in a country where English is the language spoken by the vast majority of the population, e.g. in Australia or New Zealand over 97% of the population speak English; and in the USA over 95% of the population speak English. This is comparable to Ireland, where over 98% of the population speak English.
5. Cambridge ESOL Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) – CEFR Level C1or C2.
6. You have an OET (Category – Medicine) dated within the last two years, with a minimum grade of B in each module.
7. USMLE if all of part 1 and part 2 Ck and Cs have been completed.
   
   *If without the Clinical Skills (CS) component, an applicant must provide alternative evidence of language skills such as those included above.

What is an acceptable IELTS Score?

A current Academic IELTS Certificate (dated within the last two years) with an overall band score of 7.0 and a minimum score of 6.5 in each module is the score accepted.

I completed my medical degree and/or internship training in English but not in a country where English is an official language. Is this acceptable?

Both your medical degree and internship training must have been completed through English in a country where English is the language spoken by the vast majority of the population. This is to ensure that you have been completely immersed in the English language throughout the duration of your medical studies. The Council does not consider whether or not English is an “official” language in that country. It considers whether or not the vast majority of the population speak English, in order for you to have been immersed in the language. For example, over 98% of the Irish population speak English.

I have a Higher Qualification listed in the Registration Rules for exemption from the PRES. Am I exempt from the IELTS?

Yes, if Higher Qualifications were obtained and awarded through English by an approved postgraduate training body in a country where English is the language spoken by the vast majority of the population

I have a Higher Qualification which is equivalent to a qualification listed in the Registration Rules for exemption from the PRES. Am I exempt from the IELTS?

Evidence that you have been awarded a Higher Qualification obtained through English in another country, which is equivalent to a Higher Qualification listed in the Rules, can be submitted for consideration. However, Council may take some time to reach a decision and a positive outcome cannot be guaranteed.

Additional Documentation

There will be additional documentation that you will need to submit to Med Doc which one of our recruiters will discuss with you in detail.

If you feel you meet the above criteria, please do not hesitate to get in contact with Medconnect. Contact us at: +353 1 9011306 or email your CV to register@medconnect.ie

Stay safe & keep well from all @ Med Connect.