Am I eligible to sit the Diploma in ICM?

© James Austin 2002
Last updated 31 December 2005

To be eligible, you need to meet ALL of the following criteria:

A. You need to have passed the collegiate exam of your primary speciality, i.e.:

• FRCA, or
• FRCS, or
• MRCP

Equivalent overseas qualifications may be recognised by the Training Board (IBTICM) - you will need to write to the Credentials Committee to find out.

B. You need to have done a minimum of 3 months' ICU training at SHO level. Excess time as a SHO cannot be carried forward to the SpR requirement (below, C).

C. You need to have done a minimum of 6 months' ICU training at SpR level. This has to be done in the UK, in blocks of not less than two months.

D. You need to have done six months (or for surgeons, a year) of a 'complementary speciality' at SHO level. For anaesthetists this means six months of general medicine; for physicians this means six months of anaesthetics; and for surgeons, unfortunately, it means both six months of general medicine and six months of anaesthetics.

Once again, equivalent experience may be recognised by the Credentials Committee of the IBTICM. For example, I did a six-month medical casualty job as an SHO - this was recognised for three months of my 'complementary speciality' (this has now become standard, that the Credentials Committee will recognise three months of an A&E job towards the general medicine requirement). Similarly, someone who did not do ICU as an SHO but has done 9 months or more as a registrar might ask the Credentials Committee to accept this.

E. You need to register with the IBTICM. The sooner you do this, the better, as they can tell you whether your training so far will be recognised.

For the official line on the above, see the DICM Regulations from the IBTICM website. The 'Intermediate training' referred to in the Regulations basically means criteria C and D above - see Training in Intensive Care Medicine from the IBTICM website.