A code of practice for surgeons was launched at the 2018 RCSI Charter Day Meeting in February 2018.   Developed by RCSI, the professional training body for surgery in Ireland, the Code of Practice for Surgeons aims to consolidate the national guidelines which surgeons are obliged to follow. It also provides guidance on how a surgeon should deal with a situation where they feel their ability to meet their professional responsibilities is compromised.

According to RCSI President Professor John Hyland, “Supporting surgeons in their professional practice is at the core of our responsibility as the professional training body for surgery in Ireland. Surgical care is now being delivered in a very complex and rapidly changing environment. It is neither possible nor desirable to produce a ‘rule book’ that covers every situation. Instead, we have set out to articulate a straight-forward set of principles that surgeons can use to inform their own practice.”

The Code also provides guidance to surgeons on what they can do when they feel their ability to meet their professional responsibilities is compromised.  Professor Hyland explained that “it is appropriate that high professional standards are expected of surgeons. Increasingly complex demands in a challenging healthcare environment, are, however, putting surgeons under considerable pressure, resulting in burnout for some, and in others opting out of working on-call or choosing to retire early. This Code seeks to acknowledge this reality and provide guidance which helps surgeons in their everyday practice.”