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RCPI
HST Respiratory Medicine
A five-year RCPI dual-certification SpR programme in Respiratory Medicine and General Internal Medicine, one of the largest adult-medicine HST intakes in Ireland.
Duration: 5 years (SpR1-SpR5), four of them clinical; one year may be gained from full-time research; dual CSCST with General Internal Medicine
Annual intake: 15 HST Year 1 trainees in 2024/2025 (70 respiratory 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: 2023 curriculum: trainees are strongly encouraged to sit the European HERMES examination in respiratory medicine before the end of their second clinical respiratory year (no later than year 3).
HST Respiratory Medicine is a five-year RCPI Institute of Medicine programme (four clinical years, one of which may be full-time research) leading to dual CSCST in Respiratory Medicine and General Internal Medicine. Trainees rotate between accredited units - no more than two years in the same unit - and are strongly encouraged to sit the European HERMES examination by year 3.
Entry requires BST in General Internal Medicine (or equivalent) and MRCPI in General Medicine, with the clinical examination passed before interview. Shortlisting is scored out of 50 across six categories (criteria document labelled 2022) and the interview out of 100, including a 10-mark GIM domain. Fifteen trainees entered year 1 in 2024/2025, the second-largest adult-medicine intake after geriatric medicine.
How selection is scored
Shortlistingmax 50
Professional qualifications/education/achievements10
Clinical experience in specialty10
Career development & suitability to specialty10
Publication & audit experience10
Leadership & management experience5
Published criteria document is labelled 2022.
Interviewmax 100
CV (qualifications, achievements)20
Career progression & interview performance and professionalism30
Knowledge and experience of specialty20
Research/Audit/Teaching/Management experience20
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. A specialist registrar may not remain in the same unit for longer than two years of clinical training, or with the same trainer for more than one year (RCPI specialty description).
Where this leads
Award of CSCST (dual certification in Respiratory Medicine 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.