The mandate of the Committee on Medical Education and Accreditation (CMEA) is to provide its opinion on subjects related to under- and postgraduate medical training and policies, procedures and standards to be followed with respect to medical education and accreditation. The CMEA is responsible for the accreditation of postgraduate training sites.
The CMEA is also responsible for the continuing professional development (CPD) accreditation of medical organizations that provide CPD activities in Quebec.
Postgraduate training programs and sites
The Collège des médecins du Québec (Collège), the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) are jointly responsible for the accreditation of postgraduate training programs offered by Quebec’s faculties of medicine.
The three colleges conduct accreditation visits on a cyclic basis in order to guide universities towards excellence in specialized medical education. They ensure that joint standards of professional training relating to the governance, structure and academic content of the postgraduate programs developed under the auspices of the faculties are being applied.
On July 1, 2019, the CanERA (Canadian Excellence in Residency Accreditation) accreditation management system, which is based on an eight-year accreditation cycle, was launched.
The specialties recognized by the Collège and accredited postgraduate training sites are listed in the List of accreditations approved by the CMEA.
The List of accreditations may be consulted online by university, specialty or site.
All applications relating to the accreditation of a training site must be completed by the program director and submitted for approval to the associate dean of postgraduate medical education who then forwards the information to the Collège.
Continuing professional development (CPD)
Continuing professional development (CPD) refers to educational activities designed to support physicians in maintaining their competence across a continuum of training and thereby ensuring patients receive optimal quality care.
Various organizations operate in the field of CPD for physicians in Quebec: the faculties of medicine, the medical federations and organizations (Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec – FMOQ; Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec – FMSQ – and its affiliated medical associations; Médecins francophones du Canada – MdFC; Collège québécois des médecins de famille – CQMF). Each organization has its own structure, but one of its components usually has a more specific CPD mission (CPD Unit).
Accreditation of a faculty of medicine’s CPD Unit is carried out jointly by the Collège and the Committee on the Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CACME). However, the Collège alone is responsible for accreditation of the medical federations and organizations.
Following on the work of the Future of Medical Education in Canada (FMEC) project and of the three colleges (the CFPC, the Collège and the Royal College) to harmonize accreditation standards and adopt an eight-year accreditation cycle, the Collège reviewed all the procedures and terms for the accreditation of CPD provider organizations in order to simplify processes and adapt them to the current context. This review is also in keeping with the adoption of new National Accreditation Standards for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Provider Organizations, with an emphasis on self-assessment and continuous quality improvement.
For further information, write to: agrement@cmq.org.
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See also: |
Accreditation activities (regular review, external review, action plan outcomes report):
New accreditation standards for postgraduate training programs and sites
Training sites that participate in residency programs
Continuing professional development (CPD)