Research paper on GP training applications amended

A research paper examining applications to the National Specialist Training Programme in General Practice (NSTPGP) has been amended and republished.

The original paper, published in the Irish Medical Journal in August 2025, was placed under review shortly after publication. That paper has been retracted and an updated version of the research was published in November.

The paper is titled, ‘An analysis of applications and acceptances to the National Specialist Training Programme in general practice [in] Ireland from 2021–2024’.

The authors of the paper declined to comment to the Medical Independent (MI) on the republication.

Dr Cathy Cullen, National Director of Specialist Training in General Practice with the Irish College of GPs, told MI: “The Irish College of GPs notes that the Irish Medical Journal has agreed to retract and watermark the original research into GP training applications and has published a revised article to address the errors caused by coding issues with the original dataset provided for this research study.”

She continued: “The revised research shows that the number of applications from Republic of Ireland (RoI) medical schools increased from 308 in 2021 to 348 in 2024 – rather than decreased, as the original article suggested. This is an important clarification, as it addresses what could be seen as a misleading impression that the numbers of RoI graduates applying for GP training places had fallen.”

The revised paper concluded that “despite an increase in the number of training places on the NSTPGP recently, there was no corresponding increase in the proportion of applicants from RoI medical schools”.

“By contrast the number of applicants who graduated from other EU/EEA/UK or non-EU medical schools has grown substantially representing 73 per cent in 2024.”