The specialty of Psychiatry provides for the assessment, diagnosis and management of mental illness in persons who are aged between 18 and 65 years. Adult Psychiatrists manage a patient population that includes those with psychosis, mood disorders, organic brain disorders, and personality disorders.

A thorough knowledge of pharmacological treatments, psychological approaches, and an understanding of the social factors contributing to the development and perpetuation of mental illness is required in this specialty and is emphasised in training. Various areas of specialisation after a period of higher training include academic psychiatry, addiction psychiatry, forensic psychiatry, liaison psychiatry, psychotherapy, eating disorders, early intervention psychosis, ADHD and social and rehabilitation psychiatry.

Postgraduate Training in Psychiatry in Ireland is operated and regulated by the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland under the aegis of the Irish Medical Council (IMC). The College of Psychiatrists is the only body recognised by the IMC to provide psychiatry training. In 2012 the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland introduced a new Curriculum with continuous assessment which facilitates competency-based rather than time-based training. This allows for credit to be given to those entering Psychiatry training from other specialties and other jurisdictions and provides a mechanism for Trainees to accelerate through training based on competency.

The Medical Council of Ireland recognises four specialties in Psychiatry:

• Adult Psychiatry
• Psychiatry of Learning Disability
• Psychiatry of Old Age
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Training Pathway

Basic Specialist Training in Psychiatry
Psychiatry Training in Ireland comprises a streamlined career path through Basic Specialist Training (BST) and Higher Specialist Training (HST) including integrated opportunities for research and teaching. Doctors that have completed a formal BST programme from another jurisdiction and hold MRCPysch (UK examination) or equivalent, may also be eligible to apply for HST in Adult Psychiatry & related disciplines.

Duration & Organisation of Training
As with other areas of medicine, there are a wide variety of sub-specialties in Psychiatry; for example focussing on working with adults, older people, children and adolescents, people with learning disabilities, those with addictions and those with combined mental and physical disorders.

The initial 4 years of specialist training (1 year foundation, 3 years BST) consist of 8 x 6 month clinical attachments providing exposure to these varied sub-specialties.

Higher Specialty Training in Adult Psychiatry & Related Disciplines

Following basic specialty training doctors may choose to continue training at higher specialist training level. Doctors must decide the specialty they wish to pursue, e.g., Psychiatry of Learning Disability, General Adult Psychiatry, Old Age Psychiatry and/or a sub-specialisation.

Duration & Organisation of Training of Higher Specialist Training in Adult Psychiatry

Specialisation within Psychiatry training occurs during the final three years of the career pathway at Higher Specialist Training level. The final 3 years of training consist of 3 x 12 month clinical attachments resulting in the award of a Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training.

In Adult Psychiatry, two of the final three years will be in general Adult Psychiatry clinical placements and the third year may be spent in General Adult Psychiatry, psychiatric research or one of the other Adult specialties, Learning Disability Psychiatry or Psychiatry of Old Age or subspecialties (Forensic, Liaison, Social & Rehabilitation, Addiction, Academic, Perinatal, Eating Disorders).

Those who chose higher specialist training in adult psychiatry may become specialists in Psychiatry (General Adult) alone (single certification) or in combination with, Learning Disability Psychiatry or Psychiatry of Old Age (dual certification). Dual Certification results in a longer duration of training, generally four years.