Ireland · RCPI HST Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics · 2027 intake criteria

RCPI HST Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics: points estimator and scoring guide

RCPI 2027 intake shortlisting and interview criteria (Entry Guidance page) Last checked

Rate yourself on each of the five rows RCPI scores to estimate your score out of 30, and see what you can still add before the next window.

Next applications expected October 2027

  • 527 doctor reviews
  • 4.7/5 rated for relevance

RCPI Clinical Pharmacology HST points estimator

Answer one question for each scored domain. We add up your points with the published rules shown on each step, then show what you could still add before the deadline, with dates. It takes about two minutes.

We'll show your result and email you a copy.

When are you applying?

We use this to date your plan. Applying this round, it works back from the deadline. Applying next year, you get the long-run version instead.

Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 30.

Maximum 10 pointsProfessional Qualifications/Education

Undergraduate performance, teaching awards, higher degrees

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 10 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Undergraduate performance, teaching awards and higher degrees.

Watch out. Worth 10 of 30. Teaching awards score here, not in the teaching row.

Caps. Category maximum 10. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 10 pointsPublication and Audit Experience

Publications, specialty publications, presentations, posters, audit

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 10 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Publications, presentations, posters and audit, together.

Watch out. Worth 10 of 30, a third of the form. Pharmacology research and prescribing audits fit naturally.

Caps. Category maximum 10. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 5 pointsClinical Practice

Candidate shows evidence that present achievement and performance is commensurate with the totality of the period of training, eg experience in specialty, attendance at specialty clinics, etc

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Performance in line with your whole period of training, specialty experience and attendance at specialty clinics.

Watch out. Keep a signed record of relevant clinics or medicines-safety work.

Caps. Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 2.5 pointsLeadership & Management Experience

Candidate demonstrates that they have held a leadership or management role eg. Lead NCHD, hospital committee membership etc

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

A leadership or management role such as Lead NCHD or hospital committee membership.

Watch out. A drugs and therapeutics committee seat is a natural fit and is “hospital committee membership”.

Caps. Category maximum 2.5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 2.5 pointsTeaching Experience

Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Teaching experience, or a higher qualification in teaching.

Watch out. Only 2.5 at shortlisting, but “Teaching and Prescribing” is 30 of 100 at interview.

Caps. Category maximum 2.5 of 30. No points per item are published.

Your review is ready

Tell us where to send it and we'll show it on the next screen too. You'll see your score, anything worth checking, and what you could still add before the deadline, with dates.

Applying to other specialties too? (optional)

We'll add their deadlines to your emails.

We'll email you a copy of your result now, plus a few RCPI Clinical Pharmacology HST emails until applications close. Unsubscribe any time. We store your email address and answers to send these. Privacy policy.

Where these numbers come from

  • 5 domains, worded as in the official guide
  • 2 official sources, each dated
Method and sources

Your score adds up the option you pick in each domain, using the published rules shown on each step. "Could still add" uses only steps the guide allows before the deadline. No competition figures are shown for Irish HST. Last checked 30 October 2026.

  1. RCPI HST Entry Guidance and Advice: Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics Shortlisting and Interview Criteria. 2027 HST intake. The page says “Applications for our 2027 Higher Specialist Training (HST) programmes are now closed.” The criteria are HTML tables in the “HST Shortlisting and Interview Criteria & Specialty Entry Requirements” section, not a PDF.
  2. RCPI HST Application Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions. 2027 intake (MRCPI Clinical by 31st December 2026; no documents accepted after the close)

RCPI scores Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics shortlisting out of 30: qualifications 10, publication and audit 10, clinical practice 5, and leadership and management and teaching at 2.5 each. RCPI publishes only the maximum for each row, so the panel decides each mark. The calculator at the top of this page is a self-estimate: you rate yourself against each row and it adds up your own estimate, not RCPI’s score. Applications for the 2027 intake closed at 5pm on 29 October 2026, and in-person interviews are on 11 February 2027, where teaching and prescribing is worth 30 of 100.

Where Teach the Teacher counts for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics

At shortlisting the teaching row reads “Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching”, worth 2.5 of 30. We claim Teach the Teacher there, and the panel decides. Be clear about what it is: a live online day (09:00 to 17:00, “6 hours of live teaching with an expert”) and a self-paced course of over 12 hours in 20 modules, each with a certificate. That isn’t a “higher qualification in teaching”, a phrase that most naturally means a postgraduate certificate or above, so the course supports the row as evidence that you are developing as a teacher. Upload the certificates with a dated log of the teaching you’ve done; prescribing teaching for interns and students is the most relevant kind.

Teaching matters far more at interview, where “Teaching and Prescribing” is 30 of 100, level with the CV. That is where a structured grounding in how to teach pays off. The 2027 window has closed, so new evidence counts towards the next intake.

Rules on the Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics form that change a score

Two-thirds of the shortlisting score sits in qualifications (10) and publication and audit (10), so a pharmacology degree, research and prescribing audits carry the most weight. Clinical practice asks whether “present achievement and performance is commensurate with the totality of the period of training”. Leadership needs a role you have “held”; a drugs and therapeutics committee is hospital committee membership. At interview, National Policy is worth 20, so know Irish medicines policy. Nothing can be added after the close.

How the Clinical Pharmacology interview is scored

The interview is scored separately, out of 100, in person on 11 February 2027 for this intake:

  • CV: 30
  • National Policy: 20
  • Teaching and Prescribing: 30
  • Knowledge and Vision: 10
  • Research and Audit: 10

Places are allocated “taking into account rank at interview and available places”.

RCPI Clinical Pharmacology HST HST Shortlisting Criteria (RCPI Entry Guidance and Advice) points at a glance

RCPI 2027 intake shortlisting and interview criteria (Entry Guidance page) Last checked

Your score is the total of the domain scores, out of a maximum of 30.

Out of 30: qualifications 10, publication and audit 10, clinical practice 5, leadership and management 2.5, teaching 2.5. Only category maxima are published. Interview (separate, out of 100): CV 30; National Policy 20; Teaching and Prescribing 30; Knowledge and Vision 10; Research and Audit 10. “Posts are allocated by the NSD(s) taking into account rank at interview and available places.” Self-estimate (owner ruling 30 Oct 2026): RCPI publishes only the maximum for each row, so the calculator asks you to rate yourself on each row (none, some, good, strong) and adds up your own estimate. These steps are ours, not RCPI's; the panel scores the real marks.

RCPI Clinical Pharmacology HST: every domain, what scores and the maximum
DomainWhat scores (official wording)Max
Professional Qualifications/Education
  • 0 points None yet
  • 3.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 6.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 10 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 10 points.

Category maximum 10. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

10
Publication and Audit Experience
  • 0 points None yet
  • 3.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 6.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 10 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 10 points.

Category maximum 10. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

10
Clinical Practice
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 3.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 5 points.

Category maximum 5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

5
Leadership & Management Experience
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1 point Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 1.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 2.5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points.

Category maximum 2.5. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

2.5
Teaching Experience
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1 point Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 1.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 2.5 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 2.5 points.

Category maximum 2.5 of 30. No points per item are published.

2.5
Total30

Dates for this round

  • Applications opened source
  • This round closed 29 Oct 2026 (2027 intake); nothing can be added to those applications source 1 source 2
  • MRCPI Clinical (relevant to the specialty) passed by source
  • Interview (in person) source
  • Next applications open (2028 intake), expected early October 2027 expected source
  • Next applications close (2028 intake), expected late October 2027: what you claim must be done by then expected source

What you can still add before 29 October 2027

What each of these adds is the difference between the option you would reach and the one you already hold, so it can be nothing if you hold that option already. The calculator works out the gain from your own answers.

  • Teaching Experience. For the next intake (window expected October 2027): complete the Erudical Teach the Teacher course (live day plus self-paced) and keep both certificates, and keep a dated log of teaching you deliver, with feedback where you can get it. Gets you to: Some (about a third of the marks).

Evidence traps

  • Teaching is only 2.5 of 30 at shortlisting, but “Teaching and Prescribing” is 30 of 100 at interview, the joint-largest category. Teaching and Prescribing | 30 source
  • Qualifications and publication and audit are 10 each, two-thirds of the shortlisting score between them. Publications, specialty publications, presentations, posters, audit | 10 source
  • The row accepts experience or a “higher qualification in teaching”; a course alone isn’t the second. Candidate demonstrates experience with teaching or higher qualification in teaching source
  • Everything has to be uploaded with the application. A paper accepted, a talk given or a course finished after the window closes can’t be added later. No, the Admissions Team is not in a position to accept any documents or updates to applications following the close of applications. source
  • The shortlisting score gets you an interview. Places are then given out on interview rank, so prepare for the interview criteria as seriously as the CV. Posts are allocated by the NSD(s) taking into account rank at interview and available places. source

Sources

For every category, the interview marks and the dates on one printable page, add your email and we’ll send you the PDF.

Email me the printable version

We'll email you the PDF in the next few minutes, plus a few RCPI Clinical Pharmacology HST emails until applications close. Unsubscribe any time.

Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics HST questions, answered

How many points is teaching worth for RCPI HST Clinical Pharmacology?

Teaching Experience is 2.5 of the 30 shortlisting marks. At interview, “Teaching and Prescribing” is 30 of 100, the joint-largest category with the CV.

Does a teach the teacher course count for Clinical Pharmacology HST in Ireland?

We claim it in the teaching row, and the panel decides. The row accepts teaching experience or a “higher qualification in teaching”; a course isn’t a higher qualification, so pair it with teaching you have done. It also prepares you for the 30-mark “Teaching and Prescribing” interview category.

How is RCPI Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics HST shortlisting scored?

Out of 30: qualifications 10, publication and audit 10, clinical practice 5, leadership and management 2.5, and teaching 2.5. Only these maxima are published.

What is the RCPI HST Clinical Pharmacology interview scored on?

Out of 100: CV 30, National Policy 20, Teaching and Prescribing 30, Knowledge and Vision 10, and Research and Audit 10. For the 2027 intake it is in person on 11 February 2027.

All Irish HST colleges and specialties