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RCPI
HST Dermatology
A five-year single-CSCST RCPI SpR programme in Dermatology, entered after BST General Internal Medicine and MRCPI, with a 100-mark shortlisting matrix and a 50-mark interview.
Duration: 5 years (SpR1-SpR5); a minimum of three years must be spent in clinical dermatology posts
Annual intake: 8 HST Year 1 trainees in 2024/2025 (32 dermatology SpRs across all years) - HSE NDTP Medical Workforce Report 2024-2025, Table 7
Applications: 2026 intake: applications opened 1 October 2025 and closed 29 October 2025 (application fee EUR 100). Next application cycle opens October 2026. Interview (2026): 4 March 2026.
Entry: After BST in General Internal Medicine (or approved equivalent) + MRCPI in General Medicine. The MRCPI Clinical Examination relevant to the specialty must be passed before the HST interview. IMC registration eligibility, English language competency and eligibility to work in Ireland required at application.
Exams: No specialty examination requirement identified in the 2025 curriculum beyond MRCPI held at entry.
HST Dermatology is a five-year Specialist Registrar programme run by the RCPI Institute of Medicine leading to a CSCST in Dermatology; at least three of the five years must be spent in clinical dermatology posts. Unlike many RCPI medical schemes it is a single-specialty CSCST without a General Internal Medicine dual component.
Entry requires completed BST in General Internal Medicine (or equivalent) and MRCPI in General Medicine, with the clinical examination passed before interview. Shortlisting is marked out of 100, weighted equally (25 each) across qualifications, clinical experience, and publications/audit, with the remainder for leadership and teaching; the interview is marked out of 50 and includes a clinical scenario. Eight trainees entered year 1 in 2024/2025.
How selection is scored
Shortlistingmax 100
Professional qualifications/education/achievements25
Publication & audit experience25
Leadership & management experience13
Interviewmax 50
CV (qualifications, achievements)20
Research/Audit/Teaching10
Where you train
Named hospital lists are not published per specialty; SpRs rotate through RCPI-approved training sites nationally in preapproved 6- or 12-month posts. At least one clinical year must be completed in a training site outside the Dublin area; a maximum of two clinical years may be spent in the same site.
Where this leads
Award of CSCST confers eligibility for entry on the Specialist Division of the IMC register and for consultant posts. Documented post-CSCST routes: the RCPI/HSE register of approved Post-CSCST Fellowship posts and HSE NDTP Aspire Fellowships, open to doctors within two years of CSCST.
Facts last verified 2026-07-27. Scheme details change year to year; always confirm against RCPI's current documentation.