Please note: Portfolio submission for 2022 will be in electronic form only. Candidates are not required to submit a paper copy of their Portfolio. Please ensure that your electronic submission meets the specifications below.

About the MFOM portfolio

Your portfolio needs to show you can apply the principles of occupational medicine in a clinical setting and critically reflect on the medical condition and the occupational context.

You are required to submit five clinical cases and five projects.

Entry requirements

You must

• Hold a medical qualification from a medical school recognised by the World Health Organisation
• Be registered to practice medicine by the relevant body in your home country. You will need to provide evidence of this during the application process
• Have completed Basic Specialist Training or two year's full-time equivalent experience
• NEW for 2021: Have passed the LFOM Written exam and the MFOM Written exam
• Have passed the LFOM Portfolio - If you have not already passed the LFOM Portfolio, you must also apply for the LFOM Portfolio

We recommend completing an academic course in occupational medicine before you apply; see those listed below.

Clinical Cases

You are required to submit five clinical cases that you personally managed, of which two are injury.

The cases must relate to Occupational Medicine and cannot have been carried out in general medical practice.

Your complete clinical cases should not exceed 7,500 words (1,500 words per case). You will be penalised if you exceed the allowed word count.

Your clinical cases should contain:

• A title, e.g. Occupational Asthma
• Patient history - including occupational history
• Clinical examination
• Investigation and results
• Diagnosis and treatment
• Case management, emphasising occupational health management and prevention
• Follow up
• Discussion
• References

In your description of case management, be sure to consider aspects of rehabilitation, legal context, task analysis, communication to the employer and their response.

The case discussion is important and should include an appraisal covering the association between the clinical condition and its occupational context. In addition, issues such as causation and options for management should be discussed.

You must carry out a relevant literature review in regard to the case and all citations should be referenced according to the Vancouver convention.

Projects

You are required to submit five workplace projects.

Your projects must cover the following:

Two walk-through surveys of the workplace

These should include a detailed hazard survey or risk assessment and relevant interpretation with recommendations. Marks will be allocated as indicated in the provided templates. The walk through surveys should be numbered Projects 1 and 2.

Workplace assessments must not be related to a medical facility. Candidates need to look outside the clinical and associated administrative environment and concentrate on basic non-medical work processes.

Three projects relating to policy development, audits or improvements in occupational health matters

The remaining three documented projects must be in relation to policy development, audits and projects concerning improvements in occupational health matters.

You must demonstrate considerable personal involvement in these three projects. Simply copying an existing OH department document or using a Powerpoint presentation will not be acceptable.

These are examples of acceptable projects: 

• Formal audit of some aspect of your occupational health practice
• An example of how your practice influenced change in an organisation
• An example of your development of a policy, guidelines or operational procedures in your occupational health department
• Your own choice of topic relevant to current occupational health practice, excluding projects listed above. For example, impact of pandemic influenza in an organisation; introduction of a computer system into an occupational health department; the role of occupational health in managing sickness absence

Relevant literature should be cited and all citations should be referenced according to the Vancouver convention.

Your projects should not exceed 7,500 words in total (1,500 words per project).

The projects, numbered 1 to 5, should contain:

• Title of the project
• Introduction
• Description of the project
• Discussion
• References

You can request more detailed guidance and advice on what is expected of you by contacting the Examinations department at the details below.

Finalising your portfolio

Your portfolio must be written in plain English, using the active voice whenever possible.

In addition to a table of contents, you should include a brief curriculum vitae (separate document) including details of your current occupational health commitments. This will not be included in the total word count.

Declaration

You must include the following declaration in your portfolio:

I declare that this dissertation consisting of ..... words and ..... pages (insert the appropriate numbers in figures) is all my own work. Where I have relied on the work of other people, I have acknowledged this according to the normal academic conventions. I understand that my dissertation may be subject to electronic scrutiny. I consent to the publication of an abstract or abstracts on the Faculty's website

Signed:

Name in print:

Date:

Formatting

Your portfolio should be formatted as follows:

• The margins should be 2.5cm
• Either 1.5 or double line spacing

Marks are awarded for presentation so you are strongly advised to review and proof read your work prior to submission.

You must respect the normal rules of citation practice. A random selection of portfolios will be tested for plagiarism.

Submitting your portfolio

You are required to submit an electronic copy of your portfolio during the online application process for this exam.

The electronic copy should be in Word document or PDF file format without password protection. Each case/project must be uploaded as an individual document. Your name should not be included in the document. The file name should be in the format "RCPI ID - Case x"; this text should also be included as a header in the document. Applications will not be accepted until files in this format have been submitted.

For 2022, a printed copy of your Portfolio is not required. 

What to include with your application

There is an online application process for this exam. When you apply you will need to upload

• a scanned attested copy of your primary medical degree
• a scanned copy of a completed declaration form (available to download below)
• your portfolio (for each case a separate word or PDF document must be uploaded with the only identifier being your RCPI ID)
• a copy of your CV (must be submitted as a single separate document)
• any other relevant documents

Your medical degree can be attested by:

• An Garda Siochana (Irish police force)
• The issuing University or Medical School
• A solicitor/ notary public/ lawyer
• A Commissioner for oaths
• An Irish or British Consulate
• Your Embassy or High Commissioner

Official translations will only be accepted if they have been prepared and/or authenticated by:

• The issuing University or Medical School
• An Irish or British Consulate
• Your Embassy or High Commissioner

Application fee

The fee to apply to this exam is €550. The method of payment is credit or debit card, taken at the end of the online application process.

Don't forget, if you're in Ireland you can claim a refund under the HSE Clinical Course and Examination Refund Scheme

Recommended courses

We recommend completing one of the following courses before you attempt this exam:

• The Occupational Medicine course organised by the FOM RCPI and the Irish College of General Practitioners (Run by the ICGP)
• The Diploma/MSc courses in Occupational Medicine run by the University of Manchester
• The Diploma/MSc courses in Occupational Medicine run by the IOEM at University of Birmingham
• The Occupational Medicine course organised by the Malaysian Occupational Health and Medical Services
• The MSc/Graduate Diploma in Occupational Health run by University College Dublin
• The MSc/Advanced Diploma run by the School of Medicine, Cardiff University
• The course in Occupational Medicine run jointly by ADNOC and FOM RCPI, Abu Dhabi, UAE
• The DipOccMed and MOccMed courses, run by the Dept of Occupational and Aviation Medicine, University of Otago

Examinations Calendar 2023

Please click the button below to visit the RCPI Examinations Calendar for 2023. This includes examination dates, application opening and closing dates and examination fees.

Applying for this exam

MFOM Portfolios are accepted once a year. Please note that only candidates who have passed the LFOM Written and MFOM Written exams are eligible to submit the MFOM Portfolio.

For 2023, the submission deadline will be 27 February. 

Candidates who have not previously completed the LFOM are required to also apply for the LFOM Portfolio.

Cancellation policy

Before you apply, please read our Cancellation policy

Contact us

We have a dedicated examinations support team in our Dublin headquarters. They are there to guide you through your full exam journey, from application to conferring. They are present at every exam and always happy to answer your questions.