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Continuing Professional Development: Requirements

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Preamble

The purpose and duties of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia (the College) are:

  1. To serve and protect the public interest in the practice of medicine, and
  2. To preserve the integrity of medical professions and maintain confidence of the public and the professions in the ability of the College to regulate the practice of medicine.

Lack of participation in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a known risk factor for poor clinical performance. Continuing Professional Development programs mitigate this risk while helping registrants maintain and enhance their competence throughout their careers.

The Nova Scotia Medical Act Regulations2 require that all registrants on the Full and Conditional Registers must participate in Continuing Professional Development.

Purpose

This policy describes the College’s requirements for continuing professional development.

Scope

This policy applies to registrants practising under the following licence types:

  • Full licence
  • Defined licence (except Defined licence for Fellowship)
  • Temporary licence
  • Clinical Assistant licence
  • Academic licence
  • Restricted licence
  • Physician Assistant licence
  • Podiatrist licence

This policy does not apply to physicians on the Education Register, which includes the Clinical Assessment license, and Postgraduate Training licence and Postgraduate Practising licence.

Policy

Enrolment and Participation in CPD

  1. Physicians registered on the Full Medical Register, and the Conditional Register on a Defined licence, Temporary licence, Academic licence, or a Restricted licence must:
  • enroll with and meet the requirements of the Maintenance of Proficiency (Mainpro+) program3 of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC); or
  • enroll with and meet the requirements of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program4 of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC);or
  • Physicians on a Full licence who are currently American Board-certified with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)5 and satisfactorily participating in ‘Continuing Certification’ with their relevant Board may choose to enroll in one of the relevant Canadian programs outlined above or maintain their CPD through the relevant Member Board of the ABMS.

If physicians choose to enroll in an ABMS continuing certification process, they must provide the College with annual confirmation of their certification status and satisfactory participation in CPD.

American Board-certified physicians found to be unsatisfactorily participating in the CPD program requirements of the respective Member Board of the ABMS may be required to enroll and participate in the CPD program of the relevant Canadian certifying College (Mainpro+ or MOC).  If the physician is no longer American Board-certified or no longer participating in ‘Continuing Certification’, then they must enroll in the relevant Canadian program listed above.

Physicians enrolled in one of the above programs must meet both minimum annual requirements (adherence) and cumulative requirements (compliance) for CPD for their program.

  1.  All associate physicians and physician assistants must meet the CPD requirements of their respective Physician Extender Program at Nova Scotia Health (NSH) or the Izaak Walton Killam (IWK) Health Centre, as laid out in the College’s policy Physician Extender Programs6.
  2. All podiatrists must meet the CPD requirements as set forth by the Nova Scotia Podiatry Association (NSPA).
  3. Reporting completed CPD credits on an annual basis to the designated program is a requirement of satisfactory participation in a CPD program.
  4. The College does not accept direct reports from registrants regarding CPD activity to determine satisfactory participation.

Reporting CPD to the College

  1. All registrants must report whether they have met the requirements of their designated CPD program on the College’s annual licence renewal form.

    Note that the College is notified by the RCPSC, the CFPC, and the NSPA regarding registrants who have not participated satisfactorily in their required CPD cycle.

    The College will confirm satisfactory participation for American Board-certified physicians with the relevant American Board via the Federation of State Medical Boards7 database.

    The NSH and the IWK Health Centre report annually regarding physician extenders who are not participating satisfactorily in their programs.

Preliminary Approach to Unsatisfactory Participation in CPD

  1. Registrants who fail to enroll or participate satisfactorily in their designated program will be subject to the following:
    1. The College will contact the registrant in writing, with direction about next steps.  Direction could include, and may not be limited to, providing a written explanation for unsatisfactory participation, providing evidence of enrollment in a program, contacting the program for support in a CPD plan, and undergoing a practice assessment.
    2. The registrant must respond in writing to the College regarding all directives within 30 days from the date of the letter from the College.

Requirements for Physician Extenders with Unsatisfactory CPD

  1. Associate physicians and physician assistants who are not participating satisfactorily in their relevant CPD program, will be required to provide a written explanation for the lack of participation and the College will liaise with their program director to develop a remediation plan.

Requirements for Registrants with Unsatisfactory CPD

  1. The following table outlines the College’s requirements for registrants either not enrolled or not participating satisfactorily in their CPD program.
CPD ConcernRequirements
Lack of enrollment at time of initial licensureLicence is not issued until the applicant provides evidence of enrollment.
Lack of enrollment at renewalLicence may not be renewed.
Not meeting the minimum annual requirements for the programThe registrant may be required to work with their program to develop a CPD plan for the coming year.

At next licence renewal, the registrant must provide the College with confirmation from their designated program that they are adherent with the CPD requirements for the past year.
Not meeting the required CPD cycle with certifying bodyThe registrant will be required to comply with their program’s CPD remediation process.

At next licence renewal, the registrant must provide the College with confirmation from their designated program that they are compliant with the cycle for the past year.
Not meeting the requirements of the CPD remediation processThe registrant must undergo a customized assessment with a Quality Improvement lens, with a 6-12 month follow up review by a College-approved assessor.  The assessment will be linked to a CPD learning plan. 

All costs of the assessment will be borne by the registrant.

Depending on the results of the assessment, the College may refer the registrant to the Registration Committee to determine whether any conditions and/or restrictions need to be imposed on the licence, or whether the licence type should be changed.

Physicians holding a Full licence will have their licence converted to a Restricted licence for the duration of the assessment and until all conditions and restrictions relating to CPD are met.

For all other licence types, conditions and restrictions related to CPD would be added to the licence.  The licence type does not change.

Exemptions

  1. In certain circumstances, the registrant may request an exemption in writing from the Registrar.  Examples of such circumstance may include leaves of absence for parental or medical reasons, retirement, or exclusive work in an administrative role.

Appeal Process

  1. If the registrant disagrees with the imposed requirements, they may request the decision be referred to the Registration Committee.  The request must be made within 30 days after the Registrar’s decision.

Resources

  1. Medical Act
  2. Medical Act Regulations
  3. CFPC Mainpro+ Overview
  4. Royal College Maintenance of Certification Program
  5. American Board of Medical Specialties Continuing Certification Directory
  6. Physician Extender Programs
  7. Federation of State Medical Boards
Applicable Legislation: Sections 2(g), 5(c)(iv) and 11(1)(h) of the Medical Medical Act
Sections 17(1), 19(3)(f) and 39(1)(g) of the Medical Act Regulations
Approved by: Registration Policy Committee & Executive Committee
Approval Date(s):June 20, 2024 & July 22, 2024
Review Date:June 2027

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