New Maintenance of Professional Competence Framework

From 1 May 2025, a revised, strengthened and more reflective Maintenance of Professional Competence (MPC) Framework Model will be introduced by the Irish Medical Council. This updated model upholds high standards of professional practice while maintaining self-directed CPD processes that are relevant to each doctor’s scope and stage of practice.

The revised framework has been developed to increase its relevance and usefulness for doctors and will further support them to maintain their professional competence, providing clarity and flexibility for doctors to achieve personal learning objectives, identify emergent developments and trends within research and patient care, as well as maintain awareness of international best practice.

The Medical Council has produced a booklet which provides a comprehensive update to annual Continuing Professional Development requirements under the Maintenance of Professional Competence Framework.

In anticipation of the framework being rolled out in May, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland has developed a dedicated webpage which outlines the new Maintenance of Professional Competence (MPC) Framework and details the Professional Competence requirements for 2025-2026; highlighting the key differences between the current and forthcoming requirements.

The Medical Council is the regulatory body for doctors registered in Ireland. The Council’s purpose is to protect the public by promoting and better ensuring high standards of professional conduct and professional education, training and competence among doctors. Maintenance of professional competence (MPC) is a key aspect of driving good professional practice, with all doctors registered in Ireland required to maintain their professional competence to keep knowledge and skills up to date.

For the majority of doctors, this entails annual enrolment on a Professional Competence Scheme (PCS) and following annual requirements set by the Medical Council. These annual requirements are defined in the MPC Rules and together with the processes by which doctors record their learning activity with the operator(s) of their PCS, constitute the MPC Framework.

For more information, visit the Medical Council website.