Dr James Reilly: 'We have trained these doctors up to Specialist Registrar level, with nowhere to go. That costs us nearly €1 million each. Yet, that is the very point at which we let them leave'
By Gary Culliton.
Doctors who are appointed to the new Associate Specialist grade will be “guaranteed to become consultants in a four- to five-year period”, the Minister for Health has pledged.
Speaking last week, Dr James Reilly said the long-expected move was about creating a “clear and attractive career pathway” for doctors who would otherwise emigrate. Elevation to consultant grade would be “subject to the usual rigours of peer review and suitable behaviour in the interim”, he added.
Dr Reilly told Irish Medical Times that he was “sending out a signal” to those who were considering leaving the country, that they should also consider that this opportunity would become available.
The Minister did not want the new non-consultant grade to become a “graveyard” for people who never get to become consultants. “That is not the message. I want that to be utterly clear,” he stressed.
A project team — chaired by Dr Ambrose McLoughlin, to agree a road map towards the proposed new Associate Specialist doctor grade — is due to report before the end of the month on the new role, which the Minister expects to be in place by July.
However, the concern remains that a group of doctors will have left before the new grade can be established and advertised. Yet Dr Reilly said it would be “premature” to advertise Associate Specialist posts before he received Dr McLoughlin’s report.
Parity of esteem with the existing consultant grade will also be a central issue.
“We have trained these doctors up to Specialist Registrar level, with nowhere to go. That costs us nearly €1 million each. Yet, that is the very point at which we let them leave,” the Minister said.
gary.culliton@imt.ie
About Gary Culliton
Loading ...
If they have been trained up to consultant level, why not just appoint them to be consultants?
Why drag them out for another five years?
“We have trained these doctors up to Specialist Registrar level, with nowhere to go. That costs us nearly €1 million each. Yet, that is the very point at which we let them leave,” the Minister said.
No, they have been trained to consultant/specialist level. On completion of speciality training, a person is finished with all training posts. They are also eligible completely to be employed as specialists/consultants.
Associate specialists will work under the direction of an already existing specialist/consultant. This is under-employment. Someone who does not work at specialist level but who is registered as a specialist will not be able to fulfill the requirements of continuous professional development.