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Postgraduate Trainee News

This newsletter provides important information for physicians undergoing postgraduate medical education at Dalhousie University.

A group of young doctors having a meeting around a table in the hospital boardroom.

IN THIS ISSUE:

If you have any questions, please contact registration@cpsns.ns.ca.

Keep Your Contact Info Current

Update Your Email Address

Keep us informed of any changes in your email address. All correspondence from the College, including notification that it’s time to renew your Postgraduate Training licence, will be sent to you by email. Please send any changes to registration@cpsns.ns.ca.

Request for Cell Phone Numbers

The College has implemented text messaging to notify physicians when licence renewal opens. Please provide your cell number to the College by April 14, 2024, to opt-in to receive the text message.

Renew Your Postgraduate Training Licence

for the 2024-2025 Academic Year

Online postgraduate trainee licence renewal opens on May 1, 2024. Completion of your licence renewal form and receipt of payment is required to continue your postgraduate training program at Dalhousie University for the 2024-2025 academic year. The renewal fee is $200. 

  • If you have not renewed your postgraduate training licence by May 21, you will be subject to a $50 late fee.
  • If you have not renewed your licence by May 31 your licence will be suspended effective July 1, 2024.

Request a Certificate of Professional Conduct

If you are applying for a licence outside of Nova Scotia, you will need a Certificate of Professional Conduct (CPC). The College generally issues CPCs within five (5) business days. CPCs are sent directly to the licensing authority requesting the document.

We are here to help. Contact us at: registration@cpsns.ns.ca.

Postgraduate Practising Licences

Internal & External Moonlighting

If you hold a Postgraduate Practising licence for the 2023-2024 academic year, it expires on June 30, 2024. If you plan to provide locum coverage (moonlighting) during the 2024-2025 academic year, you must submit a completed application for a Postgraduate Practising licence.

Please:

  • Allow for processing time; we are unable to guarantee the issuance of a licence by a particular date.
  • Do not complete an application with physiciansapply.ca. Those applications are not intended for postgraduate trainees and cost additional fees that are non-refundable.

You cannot begin moonlighting until you have received confirmation from the College that you have been granted a Postgraduate Practising licence, doing so would be considered practising without a licence.

Completion of Training & Applying for Licensure

If you are nearing the end of your training program and want to practise medicine in Nova Scotia, you will need to apply for a new licence. 

If you are considering licensure outside of Nova Scotia, you must contact the appropriate provincial College of Physicians & Surgeons or licensing authorities in other jurisdictions.

To obtain a Full Licence to practise in Nova Scotia you must:

  • be a Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) or hold an Acceptable Alternative to the LMCC;
  • complete your postgraduate training program (this includes completion of any projects); and
  • be certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) or the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada.

If you have not passed the CFPC or Royal College certification exam, or you will not be sitting your certification exam until the fall or following spring, you may be eligible for a Defined licence. 

Click here for information on how to apply.

© 2025 College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia