Guideline for Standards for Completion of Family Medicine Residency Program
Source: Department of Family and Community Medicine
1. Program Length
a) The residency program is 24 months in duration. (Please see policy below regarding
Consideration for Reduction in Program Length).
b) For residents who have transferred into the Family Medicine residency program from
another postgraduate training program, the expectation is that 24 months of training in
Family Medicine will be completed. However, upon review of prior postgraduate training
experiences, and on the advice of the Site Director, the Director of Postgraduate
Education may grant a transfer resident up to 6 blocks (1 block = 4 weeks) credit for prior
training in experiences relevant to Family Medicine. Decisions regarding credit for
previous training will be made after the resident has been observed for a minimum of 4
blocks as a Family Medicine Resident. The Director of Postgraduate Education will then
apply to the College of Family Physicians of Canada Board of Examinations and
Certification on behalf of the resident to obtain approval for a shortened family medicine
residency no less than 18 months.
c) A resident who successfully completes a period of remediation will normally extend
his/her program by the length of the remedial period.
2. Educational Experiences
a) Family Medicine - 8 block months or the equivalent in a longitudinally structured program
must be successfully completed. This includes full attendance at half-days back (except
while ill, on vacation, teaching practice, etc.).
b) Core experiences in related areas (including for example, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics &
Gynecology, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, Psychological Medicine, Geriatric
Medicine, Palliative Care, Surgery, Musculoskeletal Medicine etc.) must be successfully
completed. The content and design of these learning experiences will be determined by
site directors.
3. Assessments:
a) Residents must receive satisfactory evaluations at the completion of each core learning
experience (as defined in 2a and 2b above) and elective experiences (as defined by the
Site Director). Residents receiving marginal or unsatisfactory evaluations after partial or
full completion of an educational experience may be required to successfully complete
remedial experiences, at the discretion of the Site Director and Director of Postgraduate
Education, Residency Program Committee and Board of Examiners - Postgraduate
Programs.
b) 3 completed progress reviews with Site Director
c) Obtain an adequate number of Field Notes in each core family medicine rotation to
support Site Directors and supervisors in the completion of ITERs
d) Residents must generate an adequately complete practice profile by logging all patient
encounters in Family Medicine and Teaching Practice using the Resident Practice Profile
(“ResPro”) tool (procedures to be logged on all rotations)
e) Residents must successfully complete the required PGCorEd modules.
4. Resident Projects
a) Residents must attend the Quality Improvement (QI) session and complete a satisfactory
QI project.
b) Residents must satisfactorily complete the academic project in its written and oral form by
the date designated by the Site Director. Projects deemed unsatisfactory may require
additional work (at the discretion of the Site Director).
5. Resident Evaluations of Learning Experiences/Faculty
a) Residents must complete evaluations of faculty and all major learning experiences as
required by the POWER Evaluation System.
6. Certification in Family Medicine
Trainees in good academic standing will be eligible for the Certification in Family Medicine
Examination provided they meet the eligibility requirements of the CFPC.
Updated: July 2019
