Postgraduate Medical Education (PME) Project

Canada

The information listed for Canada was provided by individuals knowledgeable about PME in Canada. If you note errors or omissions or would like to provide additional information, click here.

Duration of studies

Most specialties: 4-6 years, depending on specialty pursued
Family Medicine: 2 years

Trainee selection process

Nearly all entry postgraduate year-one (PGY-1) positions are accessed through the Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS). Detailed information regarding eligibility, registration, and the matching process can be obtained from www.carms.ca. Applicants typically apply to several programs. They are then selected for interviews by the directors of the programs. Following the interviews, applicants submit a rank-order list of their preferred programs. Programs, in turn, submit a rank-order list of their preferred candidates. Candidates are then selected for programs by an algorithm that matches candidates to the highest possible program on their list, while taking into account the most preferred candidates listed by the programs. Match Day, the day on which candidates are matched to programs, usually takes place during the first week of March. A second iteration of the matching process is conducted later for remaining vacancies in programs, unmatched candidates, and those not eligible for the first iteration. The eligibility of international medical graduates for the first iteration of the CaRMS match is determined by each province.

Specialty curriculum authority

Accreditation of Canadian PME programs is the responsibility of the two national colleges. For Family Medicine programs, accreditation is the responsibility of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). All other specialty and subspecialty PME programs are accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).

Licensing authority

Licensing is the responsibility of provincial and territorial regulatory authorities in Canada. All postgraduate medical trainees must obtain an educational license.

Areas of specialization

College of Family Physicians of Canada specialties:
- Family Medicine
- Family Medicine – Emergency Medicine
- Family Medicine Military Officer Training Program
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada specialties:
- Anatomical Pathology: 5 years
- Anesthesiology: 5 years
- Cardiac Surgery: 6 years
- Community Medicine: 5 years
- Dermatology: 5 years
- Diagnostic Radiology: 5 years
- Emergency Medicine: 5 years
- General Pathology: 5 years
- General Surgery: 5 years
- Hematological Pathology: 4 years
- Internal Medicine: 4 years
- Medical Biochemistry: 5 years
- Medical Genetics: 5 years
- Medical Microbiology: 5 years
- Neurology: 5 years
- Neuropathology: 5 years
- Neurosurgery: 6 years
- Nuclear Medicine: 5 years
- Obstetrics and Gynecology: 5 years
- Occupational Medicine: 2 year subspecialty of internal medicine
- Ophthalmology: 5 years
- Orthopedic Surgery: 5 years
- Otolaryngology: 5 years
- Pediatrics: 4 years
- Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation: 5 years
- Plastic Surgery: 5 years
- Psychiatry: 5 years
- Radiation Oncology: 5 years
- Urology: 5 years

Legal references

[last update: March 1, 2010]