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Continuing Professional Development

Lifelong learning and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) are fundamental components of a physician’s commitment to practise medicine competently and ethically.

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We require all Ontario physicians to participate in a CPD program that meets requirements set by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). You must also track your credits with a recognized organization.

Approved CPD Tracking Organizations

It is a regulatory requirement for all registrants (formerly members) of the College to report their continuing professional development (CPD) activities to one of the three approved CPD tracking bodies: 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The following FAQs address commonly asked questions, including exceptional circumstances where the College has determined compliance with CPD tracking may not be feasible. 

  • The Quality Assurance Regulation (O. Reg. 346/11 under the Medicine Act - Section 29, Part 1) requires all registrants of the College to “participate in a program of continuing professional development that includes a self-assessment component and that meets the requirements for continuing professional development set by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)” or the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada (MDPAC). 
  • All registrants of the College are required to report their CPD activities to either the RCPSC, or the CFPC, or an organization approved by the College that meets the CPD requirements of the national bodies. Currently, the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada is the only College-approved organization that meets the CPD requirements of the national bodies. Only physicians whose practice is fifty percent or more primary care mental health, psychiatry or psychotherapy can enroll with the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada to track their CPD. 
  • If you are reporting your CPD to an international organization, you are still required to enroll with one of the three approved organizations. However, you may not have to participate in any additional CPD. The RCPSC now recognizes over 60 international CPD systems as substantively equivalent with the MOC (Maintenance of Certification) Program in Canada and the CFPC recognizes CPD achieved through the American Board of Family Physicians as equivalent. We would advise you to speak to a specialist at the RCPSC or the CFPC to verify if your international CPD has equivalence here. 
  • Yes, you still must join one of the organizations. The three approved CPD tracking organizations do not all offer CPD activities; they set requirements for the types and number of activities for one-year and five-year periods and track completion of those activities. It is up to you to identify CPD relevant to your practice and complete a sufficient number of those activities on a regular basis. Specialists at the CFPC and RCPSC are available to assist in identifying what might constitute meaningful learning opportunities for your practice. CPD can be taken in many areas other than clinical knowledge such as communication or practice management skills.
  • All registrants of the College are required to participate in CPD and track their activities with one of three approved CPD tracking organizations. 

    There are three circumstances, however, where the College has determined that compliance with the requirement may not be feasible: 
    1. if you are ill/on disability;
    2. if you have fully retired from the practise of medicine in any form; or
    3. if you are only practising outside Ontario. 
    In these three cases, a Cease to Practise Undertaking has been created to address circumstances where registrants cannot comply. It requires that you not practise any form of medicine in Ontario or use your certificate of registration professionally in any form or setting. If you sign a Cease to Practise Undertaking, you are not required to sign up with one of the CPD tracking organizations. 
     
  • If you meet the criteria for the Undertaking and wish to choose this option, submit a portal message through the Portal. 

    The Undertaking requires that you forward a request to the General Manager of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (“OHIP”) that your billing number be deactivated for the duration of the Undertaking. If your OHIP billing number is currently inactive, please contact the Service Support Contact Centre (MOH) at 1-800 262-6524 or [email protected] to confirm and forward a copy of this correspondence for our records. 
  • Yes. Once signed, the Undertaking constitutes specified terms, conditions, or limitations on your certificate of registration. 

    Your class of registration will automatically change to the Restricted class. 

    All the terms of the Undertaking and the basis for it, i.e., out-of-province, illness, or retired from practice, will be included on the College’s public register. 
     
  • Yes. The College will provide notice of your Undertaking to OHIP, Ontario hospitals, other Canadian medical licensing authorities, all US state medical boards (via the Federation of State Medical Board organization), and other international medical regulators. The notice will indicate that your Undertaking is voluntary and non-disciplinary. 

    If you presently have hospital privileges or are licensed in another jurisdiction, we strongly encourage you to contact these organizations in advance and inquire about the implications of your Undertaking with them. 
  • If you have signed the Undertaking and wish to re-enter practise in Ontario, you will need to meet the following conditions: 
    • Provide a minimum of 45 days’ notice to the CPSO of your intent to return to the practice of medicine.
    • Provide the College with proof you have enrolled in a program of CPD that meets the requirements for CPD of the RCPSC, the CFPC, or an organization approved by the College that meets the CPD requirements of the national bodies (currently, the only College-approved organization is the Medical Psychotherapy Association of Canada).
    • Proof of enrollment will include receipt of the official confirmation document (electronic or paper) you receive from the tracking organization that includes the organization’s logo, assigned ID number, statement of confirmation, signature of the approving staff person and the specific category for enrolment (if joined as a member or for the purposes of tracking CPD only).
    • If you have been continually out of clinical practice for a period of two years or more, you will be required to complete a re-entering clinical practice application. View more information on re-entering clinical practice.
    The College will need to approve your return to the practice of medicine. 
  • Yes. If you are retired, out of province, or have otherwise ceased to practise and do not intend to resume practice in Ontario in the foreseeable future, you may resign using the Portal. For instructions, please visit our Resignation from Membership page.

    Once resigned, your CPSO registration immediately expires. Your authority to practise in Ontario, including your prescribing of medications, immediately ceases. 

    If you resign and wish to regain CPSO registration in the future, you would need to apply and meet all requirements in force at that time. No assurances could be offered as to your future eligibility for registration. 
  • The complete text of the regulation is available in section 29 of Ontario Regulation 114/94: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/regulation/940114#BK6 
     
  • If you have questions about the regulation, please contact the Physician Advisory Services at 416-967-2606 or Toll Free: 1-800-268-7096 Ext. 606.