The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) is the professional body for general practice in Ireland. The ICGP is the representative organisation for education, training and standards in general practice with 4,200 members, and 1,044 trainees in supervised practice. It is responsible for training GPs on a four-year National Training programme.
This year, the ICGP will offer 350 training places, the highest number ever, which is a 20% increase on last year's intake. This number reflects the urgent need for more GPs to meet impending retirements, the expansion of free GP care, and the expanded workload from the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) programme. The ICGP has been steadily increasing intake in recent years, and there are now 1044 trainee GPs in the training programme, compared to 700 in 2019.
The ICGP Director of GP Training Dr Martin Rouse, said: "Population growth and manpower projections have spurred the HSE to facilitate the ICGP to increase available post-graduate training posts within general practice in the coming years. We know that in many areas, people are having difficulties registering with a GP, in towns and cities, as well as rural Ireland. Maintaining patient access to a GP is and will continue to be central to the ICGP's mission."
The Chief Executive Officer of the ICGP, Fintan Foy, said: "The College has responded to the urgent need for more GPs, with more places and schemes all over the country. The College is working with key stakeholders who include the HSE, DOH, Ministers Office and our internal stakeholders (Scheme Directors, Trainers, etc.) to establish new training schemes and/or additional day release within existing GP training schemes. We are working closely with the HSE NDTP, using a data-driven approach to target areas of high population growth and/or areas of unmet need."
The ICGP's recruitment campaign encompasses video interviews with recently graduated GPs and trainee GPs around the country, who describe why they chose general practice as a career.
The campaign, called #BEaGP, uses social media to promote a career in general practice. Since it began in 2018, the ICGP has received record numbers of applications, reflecting the growing popularity of a career that offers a flexible and rewarding life in any part of the country, at a time of unprecedented investment in primary care.
The ICGP has a dedicated website for the campaign at www.beagp.com
Applications open at 2pm on Tuesday, 02 October 2023, with an Application and Information Webinar at 6pm on Thursday, 05 October. Applications for Part (A) close at 10am on Monday, 23 October, with the online tests on Thursday, 26 October.
ENDS
Issued by: Aileen O'Meara, Communications Consultant, Irish College of General Practitioners.
Tel. 01 2542984 / 087 2239830 Email: media@icgp.ie
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