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Subspecialty Training Requirements In Adult Palliative Medicine

2017

VERSION 2.0

These training requirements apply to those who begin training on or after July 1^st, 2017

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Royal College Certification in Internal Medicine, Anesthesiology, or Neurology, or enrolment in a Royal College accredited residency program in these disciplines (see requirements for these qualifications).

Entry from other specialties may occur but must follow completion of the primary specialty training and must include the prerequisites of:

• Twelve (12) months of clinical medicine-based rotations with a minimum of six (6) months at a senior level* designed to allow achievement of competencies in the consultation and care of complex medical patients, interprofessional care, and effective communication skills.

All candidates must be certified in their primary specialty in order to be eligible to write the Royal College certification examination in adult Palliative Medicine.

MINIMUM TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

1. Two (2) years of approved residency in Palliative Medicine. A maximum of one (1) year of Palliative Medicine training may be undertaken during the fourth or final year of residency training in Internal Medicine, Anesthesiology, or Neurology with the joint approval of the program director in the primary specialty and the program director of the adult Palliative Medicine program. The two years of training must include:
   1. Twelve (12) blocks of adult Palliative Medicine, a minimum of four blocks of which must occur in the second year of training. This must include:
      1. Six (6) blocks in-patient acute, tertiary or quaternary setting
         1. Minimum of one (1) block in which adult Palliative Medicine is the attending team
         2. Minimum of two (2) blocks of consultative care
      2. Two (2) blocks or longitudinal** equivalent of sub-acute and chronic palliative care in the community
      3. Two (2) blocks or longitudinal equivalent of sub-acute and chronic palliative care in any setting
      4. Two (2) blocks or longitudinal equivalent in ambulatory care
   2. One (1) block of Medical Oncology
   3. One (1) block of Radiation Oncology
   4. Six (6) blocks or longitudinal equivalent of training in medical disciplines, selected from a minimum of four (4) of the following:
      1. Cardiology
      2. Critical Care Medicine
      3. Gastroenterology
      4. Geriatric medicine
      5. Infectious diseases
      6. Nephrology
      7. Neurology
      8. Respirology
   5. One (1) block of pediatric palliative medicine
   6. Two (2) blocks or longitudinal equivalent of scholarly activity, which may consist of research, quality assurance, or an educational project, relevant to Palliative Medicine
   7. A minimum of one (1) and a maximum of three (3) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent of the following, with no more than one (1) block in a single selective:
      1. Additional clinical training in Palliative Medicine, which may include any of the following:
         1. Additional clinical training as described in section 1.1
         2. Rural palliative medicine
         3. Palliative care in vulnerable or marginalized populations
         4. Community or hospice palliative care
      2. Anesthesiology
      3. Chronic pain
      4. Education and/or administrative training relevant to Palliative Medicine
      5. Family Medicine
      6. Grief counselling
      7. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
      8. Psychiatry
      9. Public health
      10. Research relevant to Palliative Medicine
      11. Spiritual care
      12. One (1) additional block from the options in 1.4

REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATION:

Royal College certification in adult Palliative Medicine requires all of the following:

1. Certification in the primary specialty in Canada;
2. Successful completion of a two (2) year Royal College accredited program in adult Palliative Medicine;
3. Successful completion of a scholarly research, quality assurance, or educational project relevant to adult Palliative Medicine; and
4. Successful completion of the certification examination in adult Palliative Medicine.

The two (2) year program outlined above is to be regarded as the minimum training requirement. Additional training may be required by the program director to ensure that clinical competence has been achieved.

This document is to be reviewed by the Specialty Committee in Palliative Medicine by December 2018.

• REVISED – Specialty Standards Review Committee – October 2015
• REVISED – Specialty Standards Review Committee – December 2016

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