Training & professional development

Conduct and ethics

The Medical Council’s Guide to Professional Conduct and Ethics for Registered Medical Professionals sets out the principles of professional practice that all doctors registered with the Medical Council of Ireland are expected to follow. Professionalism is at the core of the patient-doctor relationship; it is fundamental for patient safety and the delivery of high-quality health care. The guide provides guidance to doctors on a wide range of scenarios which could arise over the course of their professional careers. It also clarifies for patients the standards of care they should expect from their doctor.

Dress code

You should follow any dress code in place at the hospital where you work. Whether or not a code exists, we recommend you dress professionally.

• A smart, professional image should be projected by ensuring clothes are well maintained and adhere to infection prevention and control guidelines.
• Avoid wearing casual clothing (for example, ripped jeans or leggings) or revealing clothing.
• Fingernails should be kept short and clean. Nail varnish and false nails are not permitted under the hand hygiene policy.
• Long hair should be tied back while undertaking clinical activities.
• Jewellery such as rings and watches should be removed when undertaking clinical activities, as these can cause injury to patients and do not confirm with the hand hygiene policy. A single plain ring band (such as a wedding ring) may be worn.
• Footwear should be clean and well maintained. It should be practical and suitable for the workplace. Footwear such as sandals, flip-flops, and crocs should not be worn.
• Ties, if worn, should be tucked in for all clinical activity.
• To facilitate good hand and forearm hygiene, you should roll up long sleeves or wear short sleeves and remove any jewellery (a single plain ring band may be worn).
• A plastic apron should be worn where exposure to blood and/or body fluids is anticipated.
• Personal protective equipment (PPE) should be worn when coming into contact with a patient in an area where transmission-based precautions (contact, droplet, or airborne) are in place.

The HSE deems some employee training mandatory to ensure the safe delivery of its services. Training requirements can vary from clinical site to clinical site as well as within a given specialty. You will have a specific list of mandatory training you must complete as part of your employment. 

Delivery methods for mandatory training may differ by clinical site. In many cases, training can be completed on the HSE’s training platform, HSELanD (see below). In other instances, training will be delivered as a classroom or practical session. Once training is complete, please ensure you upload your training certificate to your NER account.

Common mandatory training requirements

To help you identify what training you should complete, where you can complete it, how often you should seek re-certification, and approximately how long it should take to complete, we have prepared a table of common training requirements. Remember that this is not a definitive list, and you should also refer to the list provided when you were hired.

HSELanD

HSELanD is the Health Service Executive’s national online learning and development portal. Many of your mandatory training sessions can be accessed here. You will need to create an account to gain access to the online sessions.

Learn more about HSELanD and register an account.