Medical Council agrees new competence rules for doctors

THE MEDICAL Council has formally agreed and published new rules about the maintenance of professional competence by doctors.

These rules will underpin the operation of schemes designed to keep doctors professionally up to date and will come into effect from next May.

From this summer, doctors seeking to renew their professional registration will be required to complete an annual declaration that they have enrolled in and are complying with the requirements of a specific competence scheme.

In practice, these schemes will be run by specialist bodies such as the Irish College of General Practitioners, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.

The rules, which were originally published in draft form last October, require doctors to undergo formal continuing education with an emphasis on patient safety and quality of patient care.

They also specify standards concerning a doctor’s relationship with patients; communication and interpersonal skills and collaboration and teamwork.

“Medical practitioners should ensure that there are clear lines of communication and systems of accountability in place among team members to protect patients,” the rules state.

They also require doctors to “systematically acquire, understand and demonstrate the substantial body of knowledge that is at the forefront of the field of learning in their speciality, as part of a continuum of lifelong learning.

“They must also search for the best information and evidence to guide their professional practice.”

Practitioners are encouraged to maintain competence through practice-based activities, including undertaking an annual audit.

Prof Kieran Murphy, president of the Medical Council, said the rules “modernise and strengthen the way doctors are regulated in Ireland and ensure our arrangements are in line with other jurisdictions. This new system allows the Medical Council to better safeguard the public.”