Ireland · RCPI HST Palliative Medicine · 2027 intake criteria

RCPI HST Palliative Medicine: points estimator and scoring guide

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

Rate yourself on each of the six rows RCPI scores to estimate your score out of 24, 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 Palliative Medicine 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 24.

Maximum 4 pointsProfessional Qualifications & Education

Professional Qualifications/Education Undergraduate performacnce, relevant professional awards, higher degrees (NFQ 9 or higher)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Undergraduate performance, relevant professional awards and higher degrees at NFQ level 9 or higher (masters and above).

Watch out. Only higher degrees at “NFQ 9 or higher” are named. Irish postgraduate certificates and diplomas are usually level 9 too, but they aren’t degrees, so whether they count is the panel’s call. (The official text spells “performacnce”.)

Caps. Category maximum 4. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 8 pointsProgression in Clinical Practice and Suitability

Candidate shows evidence of clinical practive and training history. Candidates must show their suitability for a career in Palliative Medicine.

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 8 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Your clinical and training history, and evidence of suitability for palliative medicine. This is the largest row (8 of 24).

Watch out. It’s worth twice any other row. Show palliative care exposure directly: hospice or palliative posts, MDT work, relevant courses. (The official text spells “practive”.)

Caps. Category maximum 8. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 0 pointsCommitment to speciality & personal attributes

Demonstrate a commitment to speciality & personal attributes

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 0 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Commitment to palliative medicine and personal attributes. The form prints “-” in the marks column.

Watch out. This row has no marks printed (“-”). It may be read at interview or within suitability; RCPI doesn’t say.

Caps. The marks column shows “-”. Recorded as 0 so the five numbered rows add up to the printed total of 24.

Maximum 4 pointsResearch Experience & Outputs

Evidence of quality research experience to date. Evidence of contribution to outputs such as peer-Reviewed publications or national/ international presentations; proof of same required.

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Research experience and outputs: peer-reviewed publications and national or international presentations, with proof.

Watch out. The examples are peer-reviewed papers and national or international talks. Local or hospital presentations aren’t named. Audit and QI don’t belong here; they sit under leadership and management.

Caps. Category maximum 4. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 4 pointsLeadership & Management Experience (including QI and Audit)

Candidate shows evidence of capabilities and experience in leadership and management roles e.g. engagement with team management activities, hospital committee membership, project management participation in clinical governance activities including Completed QI and audit processes. Proof of same required

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Leadership and management roles, committee work, project management and clinical governance, including completed audit and QI.

Watch out. Audit and QI score here, not under research, and only “Completed QI and audit processes” are named.

Caps. Category maximum 4. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

Maximum 4 pointsTeaching Experience

Candidate shows evidence of capabilities and experience with teaching roles and ability to teach others, e.g. formal teaching qualifications, supervision of others, leading or participation in educational activities, development of educational resources. proof of same required

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points. Pick the highest option you can evidence.

Teaching roles and ability to teach others. Examples: formal teaching qualifications, supervising others, leading or taking part in educational activities, developing educational resources.

Watch out. Listing teaching without proof. The row ends “proof of same required”.

Caps. Category maximum 4 of 24, about a sixth of the shortlisting score. No points per example 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 Palliative Medicine 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

  • 6 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: Palliative Medicine 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 Palliative Medicine shortlisting out of 24, and teaching is one of six rows, worth 4. The largest row is clinical practice and suitability (8); qualifications, research, and leadership and management (which here includes audit and QI) are 4 each, and commitment to the specialty has no marks printed. 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 19 February 2027, where teaching is a 15-mark category of its own.

Where Teach the Teacher counts for Palliative Medicine

Palliative’s teaching row is one of the more generous in RCPI’s set, because it lists examples: “formal teaching qualifications, supervision of others, leading or participation in educational activities, development of educational resources”. We claim Teach the Teacher there, and the panel decides. The course is clearly participation in an educational activity: 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. Whether the panel also treats it as a formal teaching qualification is its call; a postgraduate certificate is the safer claim under that heading.

The row starts with “capabilities and experience with teaching roles and ability to teach others”, so put the certificates next to what you have actually taught or supervised, and remember it ends “proof of same required”. Building an educational resource, such as a symptom-control guide for junior staff, is named too and is easy to evidence. Teaching matters more at interview, where it is 15 of 100. The 2027 window has closed, so new evidence counts towards the next intake.

Rules on the Palliative Medicine form that change a score

Audit and QI don’t go under research on this form. They sit in leadership and management, which asks for “participation in clinical governance activities including Completed QI and audit processes”, so an audit without its second cycle is weak evidence. Research is about outputs: “peer-Reviewed publications or national/ international presentations”, so a hospital grand round isn’t one of the named examples. Qualifications names higher degrees at “NFQ 9 or higher”, which in Ireland means a masters or above. And clinical practice and suitability is worth 8 of 24, double any other row, so make palliative care exposure obvious. RCPI adds that “There may be a requirement to shortlist applicants”, so in some years the interview may be the only scoring.

How the Palliative Medicine interview is scored

The interview is out of 100, in person on 19 February 2027 for this intake:

  • CV & Career Progression: 20
  • Clinical Exposure, reasoning and professional attributes: 25
  • Research, QI Experience and audit: 15
  • Management & Leadership: 15
  • Teaching: 15
  • Knowledge of the specialty: 10

Places are allocated “taking into account rank at interview and available places”. Entry needs completed or final-year BST in General Internal Medicine with MRCPI; GPs with MICGP are also considered, and anyone else needs a Letter of Equivalence from RCPI.

RCPI Palliative Medicine 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 24.

“There may be a requirement to shortlist applicants, as outlined below:” Out of 24: qualifications 4, clinical practice and suitability 8, commitment “-”, research 4, leadership and management (including QI and audit) 4, teaching 4. Only category maxima are published, so the panel scores each one. Interview (separate, out of 100): CV & Career Progression 20; Clinical Exposure, reasoning and professional attributes 25; Research, QI Experience and audit 15; Managment & Leadership 15; Teaching 15; Knowledge of the specialty 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 Palliative Medicine HST: every domain, what scores and the maximum
DomainWhat scores (official wording)Max
Professional Qualifications & Education
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 2.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 4 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points.

Category maximum 4. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

4
Progression in Clinical Practice and Suitability
  • 0 points None yet
  • 2.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 5.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 8 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 8 points.

Category maximum 8. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

8
Commitment to speciality & personal attributes
  • 0 points None yet
  • 0 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 0 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 0 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 0 points.

The marks column shows “-”. Recorded as 0 so the five numbered rows add up to the printed total of 24.

0
Research Experience & Outputs
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 2.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 4 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points.

Category maximum 4. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

4
Leadership & Management Experience (including QI and Audit)
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 2.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 4 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points.

Category maximum 4. RCPI publishes only the category, the description and the maximum; how marks are split inside it isn’t published.

4
Teaching Experience
  • 0 points None yet
  • 1.5 points Some (about a third of the marks)
  • 2.5 points Good (about two thirds)
  • 4 points Strong (full marks for this row)

Scores the single best option you can evidence, up to 4 points.

Category maximum 4 of 24, about a sixth of the shortlisting score. No points per example are published.

4
Total24

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

  • Audit and QI score under leadership and management here, not research, and only completed cycles are named. participation in clinical governance activities including Completed QI and audit processes. Proof of same required source
  • Clinical practice and suitability is worth 8 of 24, twice any other row. Palliative exposure has to be visible on the form. Candidate shows evidence of clinical practive and training history. Candidates must show their suitability for a career in Palliative Medicine. source
  • Only higher degrees at NFQ level 9 or above are named under qualifications. Undergraduate performacnce, relevant professional awards, higher degrees (NFQ 9 or higher) source
  • Teaching counts 4 of 24 at shortlisting and 15 of 100 at interview, where it has its own category. Teaching | 15 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

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 Palliative Medicine HST emails until applications close. Unsubscribe any time.

Palliative Medicine HST questions, answered

How many points is teaching worth for RCPI HST Palliative Medicine?

Teaching Experience is worth 4 of the 24 shortlisting marks. At interview, Teaching is its own category worth 15 of 100, alongside CV 20, clinical exposure 25, research and audit 15, management and leadership 15, and knowledge of the specialty 10.

Does a teach the teacher course count for Palliative Medicine HST in Ireland?

We claim it, and the panel decides. The teaching row gives examples including “formal teaching qualifications” and “leading or participation in educational activities”. A course is clearly participation in an educational activity; whether it counts as a formal qualification is the panel’s call. Upload the certificates and programme, since “proof of same required”.

How is RCPI Palliative Medicine HST shortlisting scored?

Out of 24: Professional Qualifications & Education 4, Progression in Clinical Practice and Suitability 8, Research Experience & Outputs 4, Leadership & Management including QI and audit 4, and Teaching Experience 4. Commitment to speciality has “-” in the marks column. RCPI says “There may be a requirement to shortlist”, so it’s used only if needed.

Who can apply for HST Palliative Medicine in Ireland?

Applicants “must have completed, or be in the final year of, Basic Specialist Training (BST) in General Internal Medicine, and must hold the MRCPI.” GPs with MICGP “will also be considered”, and anyone else needs a Letter of Equivalence from RCPI.

When is the RCPI HST Palliative Medicine interview?

For the 2027 intake, in person on 19 February 2027. Applications closed at 5pm on 29 October 2026.

All Irish HST colleges and specialties