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RCPI
HST Infectious Diseases
A five-year RCPI dual-certification SpR programme in Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine with the most itemised published shortlisting rubric of any RCPI medical scheme.
Duration: 5 years (SpR1-SpR5): four clinical years; dual CSCST with General Internal Medicine
Annual intake: 6 HST Year 1 trainees in 2024/2025 (41 infectious diseases 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): 9 February 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: 2025 curriculum: trainees must sit the Infectious Diseases Fellowship In-Training Examination (FITE) on at least two occasions (one early-stage, one later-stage) during HST.
HST Infectious Diseases is a five-year RCPI Institute of Medicine programme (four clinical years) leading to dual CSCST in Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine. Trainees sit the Fellowship In-Training Examination (FITE) at least twice during the programme, once early and once later in training.
Entry requires BST in General Internal Medicine (or equivalent) and MRCPI in General Medicine, with the clinical examination passed before interview. The published shortlisting rubric is scored out of 100 and itemises sub-scores - for example 10 marks for a first-author international publication and 13 for undergraduate centile performance plus a doctorate - while the interview is scored out of 100 with CV weighted at 30. Six trainees entered year 1 in 2024/2025.
How selection is scored
Shortlistingmax 100
Professional qualifications/education (top 10 centile 10; top 25 centile 5; PhD/MD 3)13
Relevant clinical experience30
Audit experience (institutional/national 5; departmental 3)10
Leadership/Management (formal leadership 4; national committee 4; local committee 2)10
Publication experience (1st author international 10; other author international 5; 1st author Irish 5; case reports 4; other author Irish 2)15
Presentation experience (oral international 5; poster international 4; oral national 3; poster national 2; institutional 1)12
Teaching (formal teaching role 7; teaching experience 3)10
Infectious Diseases publishes the most granular shortlisting rubric of the RCPI schemes, with itemised sub-scores.
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 (dual certification in Infectious Diseases and General Internal Medicine) 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.