RESIDENCY ELIGIBILITY
Residency eligibility for certification by examination applies
to:
- Graduates of CFPC-accredited family medicine residency programs who have
successfully completed a minimum of 24 months of training
- Successful graduates of postgraduate family medicine training programs in
jurisdictions where the standards for accreditation of postgraduate
family medicine training are judged comparable and acceptable to
the CFPC
Approved jurisdictions with equivalent accreditation standards for
family medicine training include:
- United States of America: Graduates of family medicine residency programs
that have been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education (ACGME)
- Australia: Graduates of Australian General Practice Vocational
Training programs that have been accredited by the Australian Medical Council
(AMC) and meet the standards of the Royal Australian College of General
Practitioners (RACGP)
In order to be considered for residency eligibility all candidates
must:
- be registered with the College of Family Physicians of Canada as a
resident member.
- have completed a medical degree and acceptable accredited postgraduate
training in family medicine as described above.
- Residents must be recommended to the CFPC by the dean for postgraduate
medical education and the postgraduate director of the Department of Family
Medicine or by the institution’s equivalent officers.
- Residents are eligible to sit the examination in the last six months of
their training program.
- All credentials obtained outside Canada must be source verified by the
Physician Credentials Registry of Canada (PCRC)
Before certification will be awarded to a residency eligible
candidate, successful completion of training (a minimum of 24 months)
must be confirmed by the postgraduate dean and the postgraduate director of the
Department of Family Medicine for CFPC-accredited family medicine residency
training programs, or by the PCRC for all other acceptable accredited programs.
All training requirements, including duration of training, must be completed
within three years of successfully passing the certification examination.
APPLICATION FORM
Limits on Residency
Eligibility
Residency eligibility expires after three years or three attempts from the
date of the completion of training whichever comes first, but in no circumstance
shall it extend for more than three years. If a candidate's eligibility expires,
the candidate will be permitted to re-apply to sit the examination as a practice
eligible candidate and must meet all of the practice eligible criteria in place
at the time in order to qualify. In order to maintain eligibility, all
candidates must maintain a full unrestricted license to practice family medicine
and they must remain in continuous full-time active family practice consistent
with their category of eligibility.
Candidates may also re-qualify for the examination by undertaking remedial
residency training. In such cases there will be a need to apply for special
consideration.
Maintenance of Certification
The successful completion of the Certification Examination in Family Medicine
is one of the essential prerequisites for an individual to be granted
Certification in Family Medicine (CCFP) by the College of Family Physicians of
Canada. In order to maintain their certificant status, certificants are
required to maintain membership in the College and to meet the College's
continuing medical education requirements for certificant
members.
Credits for Relevant Training in Disciplines
Other than Family Medicine
- It is possible for individuals who enter training programs other than
family medicine to obtain credit for some portion of this training towards
their family medicine residency eligibility. These individuals should
approach the family medicine postgraduate director of the program they wish to
enter for an evaluation of their training.
- Following the evaluation, and if the program deems it appropriate to
provide credit for previous training, it is the responsibility of the
postgraduate director of the receiving residency training program in family
medicine to apply to the CFPC Board of Examiners on behalf of the trainee, to
seek approval of a shortened family medicine residency not to be less than 18
months.
- The application to the Board of Examiners will be dealt with on the basis
of individual consideration and should include the outcome of the evaluation
of previous training, an outline of the proposed curriculum and an explanation
of how the proposed curriculum will address learning needs of the individual
trainee.
Leaves of Absence and Waivers of Training
Policy
A. Leaves of Absence
Residents in family
medicine must successfully complete 24 months of training. Normally these 24
months would be completed in sequence. The Postgraduate Dean, on recommendation
of the Postgraduate Director of the Department of Family Medicine, may grant
interruptions which require a leave of absence from the training programs. It is
expected that the time lost or rotations missed will be made up with equivalent
extra time in residency upon the resident’s return to the program.
B. Waivers of Training
A leave may still
result in a waiver of training requirements, but only in exceptional
circumstances. Such circumstances will be determined by the Postgraduate
Director of the Department of Family Medicine with the approval of the
Postgraduate Dean. The Board of Examiners of the College of Family Physicians of
Canada must be notified that a waiver of training was granted under these
circumstances, if the candidate wishes to maintain their residency eligibility
for certification. Such notification must be provided prior to the submission of
completion of training for each individual.
To be eligible for the certification examination in family medicine and for
being granted a CCFP, the maximum length of a waiver of training for residents
in family medicine residency training programs will be 4 weeks.
Family medicine residents registered in enhanced skills programs of one year
or less in duration MUST complete the entire duration of training to be eligible
for CFPC examinations leading to certificates of special competence and/or
attestations of completion of training.
Modifications to Curriculum
If a resident in a CFPC accredited program has had his/her residency altered
to exclude core elements of the curriculum due to illness, disability or other
factor, that resident must have their altered curriculum reviewed and approved
by the CFPC Board of Examiners to determine their eligibility for certification.
It is the responsibility of the postgraduate director of the program in question
to initiate this review on behalf of the resident. The examination will not be
modified in any way to accommodate the candidate.
CFPC Policy on Part-time or Shared Residency
Training Schedules
Residents in family medicine would normally complete 24 consecutive months of
training. There may be residents who will require their training schedule to be
modified, interrupted or extended in order to accommodate illness, disability or
other unforeseen circumstance. The Postgraduate Dean, on recommendation of
the Postgraduate Director of the Department of Family Medicine, may grant
modifications to training schedules under the following conditions:
-
that any part-time commitment be equal to 50% or more of that of a
full-time resident
-
that the overall length of the training program not exceed four years
from the date the program commenced*
In the event that an interruption in training or a circumstance requires a
resident’s schedule to extend beyond the limits outlined above, that resident
must have his or her modified training schedule reviewed by the CFPC Board of
Examiners to determine their eligibility for certification. It is the
responsibility of the Postgraduate Director of the program in question to
initiate this review on behalf of the resident. The CFPC Board of Examiners
will review, on a case-by-case basis, the maximum number of years allowable to
complete the family medicine residency training program.
*The above guidelines will apply to family medicine residents registered in
enhanced skills programs of one year or less in duration, provided that the
overall length of the training program does not exceed double the normal
duration of training.
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