Specialist Registration

To practice medicine in Ireland a doctor must be registered with the Irish Medical Council.

Every doctor is responsible for ensuring that their registration is current and appropriate for their individual circumstances within one of these categories:

  • Trainee Specialist Division
  • Internship Registration
  • Specialist Division
  • General Division
  • Supervised Division
  • Visiting EEA Practitioners Division

To practice as an eye doctor you must be registered in the specialist divisions of ophthalmology or ophthalmic surgery. Applications for registration are made directly to the Medical Council. www.medicalcouncil.ie

Eligibility for Specialist Registration in the Division of Ophthalmology  - Transition period July 2018-July 2019:

The newly configured medical ophthalmology training program was launched in July 2018

It is a 3 year basic training program followed by 2 years of higher medical ophthalmology training and replaces the current 4 year program. 

In order to serve as a bridge between the old and the new medical ophthalmology training program, as of July 2018, a new assessment in the form of a viva voce will be mandatory for any trainee wishing to successfully exit from the existing medical ophthalmology training program and receive their CCST.  This will take the form of a viva voce in general medical ophthalmology with emphasis on glaucoma, paediatrics and medical retina.