CAI SAT anaesthesia application: how the 100 marks are split

Specialist Anaesthesiology Training (SAT) is the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland’s six-year programme in anaesthesiology, intensive care and pain medicine. You enter it after internship, so there’s no separate HST entry point. Selection for July 2027 is out of 100: 35 for the application form and 65 for the interview. The form’s 35 are split into Professional Qualifications, Education & Exams (8), Clinical Practice in anaesthesiology in Ireland (5), Publication & Audit Experience (16), Prizes and Awards (2) and Discretionary Marks (4). The scheme publishes only those section totals, not how marks are given within each, so there’s no calculator for SAT. Applications opened at 11am on Monday 19 October 2026. The CAI training page gives the deadline as 4pm on Monday 9 November 2026, though the guidance document says “Monday 8th November”, which is a Sunday, so aim for the earlier date. SAT interviews are online on Thursday 4 February 2027.

Where Teach the Teacher counts for CAI SAT

It doesn’t. The 2027 marking scheme is direct: “Postgraduate Courses: (No Marks available) Please note there are no marks awarded for courses undertaken/completed.” That covers every course, clinical or teaching, whoever runs it. It’s a change from last year, when the guidance had a “Relevant Skills & Courses” section asking for a CPD certificate; the 2027 guidance has dropped it. Teaching itself has no line in the scheme either. The guidance asks you to “Highlight clinical experience relevant to this specialty, including clinical practice, teaching, audit, and management experience” in Section C, and the four Discretionary Marks are for “clinical and academic achievements not already included in Sections C and D”, but the CAI doesn’t say whether teaching earns any of them. Where teaching does matter is the interview, worth 65 marks, almost twice the form.

Rules in the SAT marking scheme that change a score

Publication & Audit Experience is the biggest section of the form, at 16. It covers “Publications (including letters, case reports, book chapters), presentations (national/international), posters, audit and quality Improvement projects relevant to the specialty”, and only work “in relation to Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine or Pain Medicine”. Each item goes in “one category only”. The evidence rules are strict: “No marks will be awarded if valid links to published material are not supplied”, “All journals musted be listed on PubMed”, every audit or QIP needs “A Letter of Completion signed by the audit supervisor”, and “Journal impact factor will be taken into consideration.” One rule works in your favour: “Podcasts will also receive marks as part of all level presentations.” Clinical Practice counts anaesthesiology experience in Ireland, “on the anticipation of 6 completed months by date of interview; maximum time recognised will be 2 years”. For your undergraduate performance, only a certified letter on university headed paper, signed by the Head of Faculty and giving your class centile, is accepted: “copies of university results will not be considered.”

Worked example: where an SHO’s CV lands

Picture an SHO with a year of anaesthesia in Ireland after internship. They have a class centile letter, an anaesthesia audit with a signed completion letter, a national poster on an anaesthesia topic, a co-authored case report with a PMID, no prizes, and two clinical courses. Their centile letter goes into Professional Qualifications, Education & Exams (out of 8). Their year in anaesthesia counts towards Clinical Practice (out of 5). The audit, poster and case report all go into Publication & Audit Experience (out of 16). They have nothing for Prizes and Awards, and the panel decides the Discretionary Marks. Their two clinical courses score nothing, and a Teach the Teacher course would score nothing too. Because the CAI doesn’t publish marks within sections, nobody can tell them their exact application score. The quickest gains are another anaesthesia-related presentation (podcasts count) or a completed audit or QIP with a signed letter before the deadline, and solid interview preparation.

For the SAT marking scheme, the evidence rules and the 2027 dates on one printable page, add your email and we’ll send you the PDF.

Anaesthesia SAT (IE) SAT Recruitment 2027 Marking Scheme: application form (35 marks) and interview (65 marks) points at a glance

SAT Recruitment 2027 Marking Scheme and SAT 2027 Guidance Document (College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland) · Last checked 30 October 2026

Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 100.

'APPLICATION: 35 MARKS', 'INTERVIEWS: 65 MARKS', 'TOTAL: 100 MARKS'. The application's 35 are Professional Qualifications, Education & Exams 8, Clinical Practice 5, Publication & Audit Experience 16, Prizes and Awards 2 and Discretionary Marks 4, and 'Postgraduate Courses: (No Marks available)'. No point values are published inside any section, so there is no calculator. 'Candidates must be successful at the shortlisting process in order to be called for interview.' SAT is a six-year programme entered after internship; there is no separate HST entry point.

Anaesthesia SAT (IE): every domain, what scores and the maximum

Domain	What scores (official wording)	Max
Section C: Professional Qualifications, Education & Exams (8)	no fixed value Undergraduate performance, postgraduate exams (Anaesthesia only), other degree. Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 8 points. Max 8. Only anaesthesia postgraduate exams count here.	8
Section C: Clinical Practice (5)	no fixed value Experience in Anaesthesiology in Ireland. ... maximum time recognised will be 2 years. Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Max 5, for anaesthesiology experience in Ireland, counted up to two years and as six completed months by the interview date.	5
Section D: Publication & Audit Experience (16)	no fixed value Publications (including letters, case reports, book chapters), presentations (national/international), posters, audit and quality Improvement projects relevant to the specialty. Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 16 points. Max 16, the largest application section. Entries must relate to anaesthesiology, intensive care medicine or pain medicine, and 'Each entry must include a specified topic and be submitted in one category only.'	16
Section D: Prizes and Awards (2)	no fixed value Proof of any relevant prizes and awards must be submitted as part of the application. Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2 points. Max 2.	2
Discretionary Marks (4)	no fixed value Marks awarded for clinical and academic achievements not already included in Sections C and D of the application form. Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. Max 4, for achievements not counted elsewhere. What qualifies isn't defined.	4
Postgraduate Courses (no marks)	0 points Please note there are no marks awarded for courses undertaken/completed. Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 0 points. No marks. In the 2026 guidance, Section C had 'Relevant Skills & Courses' with 'A CPD/CME certificate must be provided'; that section is gone from the 2027 guidance.	0
Interview (65)	no fixed value INTERVIEWS: 65 MARKS Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 65 points. 65 of the 100 marks. 'Interviews are organised by the College with faculty representation from all training hospitals.' SAT 2027 interviews are online on Thursday 4 February 2027.	65
Total		100

Dates for this round

• 19 October 2026, 11am SAT applications open source
• 9 November 2026, 4pm SAT applications close source 1 source 2
• 19 January 2027 SAT-RPL interviews (in person; separate programme) source
• 4 February 2027 SAT interviews (online) source 1 source 2

What you can still add before 9 November 2026

Nothing in this framework can realistically be added this round. Check that you have claimed everything you already hold.

Evidence traps

• Courses score nothing in SAT 2027, whoever runs them and whatever they cost. Postgraduate Courses: (No Marks available) Please note there are no marks awarded for courses undertaken/completed. source
• A publication or presentation without a valid link or reference scores nothing, and every journal must be on PubMed. Reference codes & links to journal publications must be supplied and letter of completion from audit supervisor is required. No marks will be awarded if valid links to published material are not supplied. source
• Only work in anaesthesiology, ICM or pain medicine counts in Section D, and each item goes in one category only. For this section, please enter in presentations, publications in peer review journals (Abstracts and Full text,) and published audits in relation to Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine or Pain Medicine. ... Each entry must include a specified topic and be submitted in one category only. source
• The interview is worth 65 of the 100 marks, almost twice the whole application. APPLICATION: 35 MARKS | INTERVIEWS: 65 MARKS | TOTAL: 100 MARKS source
• Your class centile only counts with a certified letter on university headed paper signed by the Head of Faculty; a transcript won't do. If applicable, please provide a certified copy of a letter from your university, on official university headed paper, confirming your class centile signed by the Head of the Faculty. Please note that only such a letter will be accepted; copies of university results will not be considered. source

Sources

• SAT Recruitment 2027 - Marking Scheme (College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland), July 2027 intake; uploaded July 2026 ('FINAL'). One page.
• SAT 2027 Guidance Document (Application Guidance Document 2027), SAT 2027; uploaded October 2026
• CAI Training: Specialist Anaesthesiology Training (key dates), 'Applications are now open.' Checked 30 Oct 2026
• SAT 2026 Guidance Document (previous year, for comparison), SAT 2026. Used only to show that courses had a 'Relevant Skills & Courses' section in 2026 that is gone in 2027.

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CAI SAT questions, answered

Do courses count for CAI SAT anaesthesia applications?

No. “Please note there are no marks awarded for courses undertaken/completed.” That applies to clinical and teaching courses alike.

How is the CAI SAT application scored?

Out of 100: the application form 35 and the interview 65. The form’s 35 are Professional Qualifications, Education & Exams 8, Clinical Practice 5, Publication & Audit Experience 16, Prizes and Awards 2 and Discretionary Marks 4. Marks within each section aren’t published.

Do podcasts count as presentations for anaesthesia SAT in Ireland?

Yes. The 2027 guidance says “Podcasts will also receive marks as part of all level presentations. Proof of presentation must be provided.” Like everything in Section D, it has to relate to anaesthesiology, intensive care medicine or pain medicine.

When do CAI SAT applications close?

The CAI training page says “Application deadline: Monday, 9 November 2026 at 4:00pm.” The guidance document says “Monday 8th November 2026, 4.00pm”, but 8 November is a Sunday, so submit by the earlier date to be safe. Interviews are online on Thursday 4 February 2027.