Gastroenterology & GIM

Gastroenterology is the study of diseases involving the digestive tract, liver and pancreas, which include chronic inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune conditions involving the liver and pancreas, functional bowel disorders, coeliac disease, dysmotility disorders, GI cancers and many more.

Overview

Besides the theory behind GI disease, gastroenterologists spend a significant proportion of their time performing procedures ranging from basic diagnostic endoscopies including gastroscopies and colonoscopies to both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including enodscopic ultrasound, ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatopgraphy), double balloon enteroscopy and more advance interventional luminal endoscopy.

Within the specialty there is considerable scope for sub- specialisation, for example, hepatology (viral Hepatology, transplant Hepatology), luminal gastroenterology, functional disease, interventional endoscopy and pancreaticobiliary medicine with significant opportunity for research.

Training Body

Higher Specialist Training (HST)

Requirements

General entry requirements for HST:

  • You must have completed Basic Specialist Training in the relevant specialty (or an equivalent programme) by the start date for HST. Please note that not all BST programmes offer consideration of equivalence. Download guidelines on BST programme equivalence (PDF, 133KB).
  • You must have achieved a relevant postgraduate qualification such as MRCPI in General Medicine, General Paediatrics or Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Please note: we have reverted to the previous regulations regarding the examination which were in place before COVID-19. That is, all HST candidates must have successfully passed their MRCPI Clinical Examination relevant to their speciality before their HST interview date. There are no exceptions to this requirement.
  • You must be currently or previously registered on one of the divisions of the Irish Medical Council, or provide proof of eligibility for registration.
  • You must have proof of competency in the English language in line with HSE specifications (PDF, 506KB).
  • You must have demonstrated an aptitude for, and an interest in, that specialty.

Places in HST are allocated in the first instance to applicants who, at the time of application, are citizens of Ireland or nationals of another Member State of the European Union, Stamp 4 Visa Holders and UK nationals.