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Palliative Medicine Credentials

For the development of specialized expertise in palliative medicine, we now have two certification routes developed for palliative care consultants: a Certificate of Added Competence through the College of Family Physicians of Canada and a Subspecialty in Palliative Medicine through the Royal College. Both routes support the development of consultant level, specialist palliative care expertise.

Recognition of these providers at the provincial level is necessary in order for us to begin to assess, measure and plan for human resources, including residency positions, needed across Canada to improve teaching, mentoring, research, program development, and access to palliative care.
Certificates of Added Competence (CACs) from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) provide a means of recognizing those family physicians who have achieved a defined level of competence and a commitment to maintenance. Physicians who hold CACs are a valued resource to other family physicians and to our patients. (Source: CFPC web site). Currently the only way to earn a CAC in Palliative Care is through the successful completion of an accredited enhanced skills residency program. Click here for the list of programs on the CSPM web site. The CFPC is also developing a practice eligible route, but the requirements and time line are not yet known. Updates from the CFPC will be posted here when available.

The first cohort of subspecialty Palliative Medicine residents began their two-year training programs on July 1, 2017. Any trainees interested in pursuing subspecialty training in Palliative Medicine are encouraged to contact the program directors (PD) at their institution. A list of programs and PDs is on the Training Opportunities page of this web site. A practice eligible route (PER) is also available for physicians who meet the eligibility requirements. Information about PER is on the Royal College web site. The Royal College has also announced the Practice Eligibility Route for the Subspecialty Examination Affiliate Program (PER-SEAP). PER-SEAP is a new route for internationally trained specialists who are practising in Canada in a subspecialty but are not Royal College certified in a primary specialty. Information about PER-SEAP.
For more information please contact: credentials@royalcollege.ca.

Palliative Care Competencies

Educating Future Physicians in Palliative and End-of-Life Care

PALLIATIVE CARE COMPETENCIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN CANADA


A competency-based model of medical education is being integrated across the trajectory of medical education in Canada — from undergraduate to postgraduate, to continuing professional development — as a way to ensure that Canadian physicians have the skills and abilities required to provide safe and effective medical care, and to guide lifelong learning, where physicians’ skills and abilities evolve along with changes in healthcare and in response to patients’ and societal needs. The competencies were initially developed from 2004-2008 and updated in 2018.

View the competencies by clicking on the following links:

• PALLIATIVE CARE COMPETENCIES FOR UNDERGRADUATE MEDICAL STUDENTS IN CANADA

•COMPÉTENCES EN SOINS PALLIATIFS ATTENDUES DES ÉTUDIANTS EN MÉDECINE AU CANADA

POSTGRADUATE COMPETENCIES FOR PALLIATIVE CARE: A GUIDANCE DOCUMENT


This describes the palliative care competencies that specialists from disciplines other than Palliative Medicine should have upon completion of their residency in order to provide a palliative approach to care for people with life-threatening conditions, and their families.

This will be circulated to Specialty Committees for whom the competencies are likely to be pertinent, including Family Medicine, and to stakeholders involved in palliative care medical education. The competencies for postgraduate learners build upon competencies for undergraduate medical students that were updated in 2018. The CSPM and champions in the medical education community will be advocating for inclusion of these competencies in the relevant curricula and examinations.competencies for undergraduate medical students that were updated in 2018. The CSPM and champions in the medical education community will be advocating for inclusion of these competencies in the relevant curricula and examinations.competencies for undergraduate medical students that were updated in 2018. The CSPM and champions in the medical education community will be advocating for inclusion of these competencies in the relevant curricula and examinations.

View the competencies by clicking on the following links:

•POSTGRADUATE COMPETENCIES FOR PALLIATIVE CARE: A GUIDANCE DOCUMENT

• COMPÉTENCES POSTDOCTORALES ATTENDUES POUR LES SOINS PALLIATIFS : DOCUMENT D’ORIENTATION