In light of the COVID–19 pandemic, the Medical Council has considered how Maintenance of Professional Competence (MPC) requirements should apply in 2020/21 and has agreed interim guidelines for then Professional Competence Scheme Year 2020/21 to:
- Help RMPs focus on the best possible care for patients and themselves;
- Acknowledge the learnings gained by RMPs during the COVID-19 outbreak; and
- Reduce anxieties regarding the recording of CPD during this unprecedented time.
For the 2020/21 Professional Competence Scheme Year, the Framework for Maintenance of Professional Competence Activity found in the Maintenance of Professional Competence Guidelines for Doctors has been modified.
Old Framework for Maintenance of Professional Competence Activity
Annually doctors are required to record one clinical/practice audit and a total of 50 CPD credits which comprise of:
- A minimum of 20 external CPD credits;
- A minimum of 20 internal CPD credits;
- A minimum of 5 personal CPD credits; and
- A minimum of 2 research/teaching CPD credits (desirable).
Revised Framework for Maintenance of Professional Competence Activity for 2020/21
For the 2020/21 Professional Competence Scheme Year only the following will apply:
- Doctors will not be required to record a clinical/practice audit with their Scheme;
- Doctors will not be required to record 25 CPD credits of the 50 CPD credit total with their Scheme.
- These credits will be considered as met arising from increased learnings by doctors during COVID-19.
- Of the 25 CPD credits remaining, doctors will be permitted to record these credits in any CPD category (external, internal, personal, research/teaching). CPD targets for each category will not apply for 2020/21.
Doctors will be asked to make a declaration about their maintenance of professional competence during the 2021 annual retention process.
The 2020/21 CPD requirements as outlined above will be kept under review in light of a protracted pandemic. Should further updates be required, these will be communicated to doctors through their Professional Competence Schemes and on the Medical Council website.
MPC advice issued to doctors in April 2020 remains:
- The Medical Council and Professional Competence Schemes will not verify or audit doctors’ CPD records for the 2019/20 Scheme Year.
- The MPC declaration has been removed from the 2020 retention of registration process.
- Scheme enrolee 2019/20 Statements of Participation will be annotated to indicate extenuating circumstances which prevented engagement in and recording of CPD activity for 2019/20.
- Late enrolment in a Professional Competence Scheme will be facilitated by Postgraduate Training Bodies.
All information is available at the following link: https://www.medicalcouncil.ie/covid-19
Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at pcs@rcsi.ie
