CPD FAQs

Active Members Returning to Residency Training

Active members who halt their practice to pursue additional full-time residency training (e.g., emergency medicine, psychiatry, or other) will have their current MAINPRO® cycle stopped and be assigned a temporary Resident member cycle (they may continue to report Mainpro credits as per usual with no restriction on the number of credits that may be earned and reported). Upon completion of residency training, these individuals will be assigned to a new five-year Active cycle; they may carry forward a maximum of 30 Mainpro-M1 and five Mainpro-C credits from their Resident member cycle to this new Active cycle. These individuals are eligible for a reduced membership fee only if pursuing full-time residency training (please contact the membership department for more information).

Note: Training courses and projects that are considered part of a residency program/curriculum are not eligible for Mainpro credits (these are considered medical education versus continuing medical education).

New! Effective January 1, 2010, Active members returning to residency training must submit Mainpro credits online; paper-based submissions will no longer be accepted.

Active Members Completing Post-Graduate Didactic or Enhanced Skills Training

Active members who pursue additional post-graduate education (e.g., Masters of education, PhD in epidemiology) or participate in enhanced skills training (e.g., three months training in obstetrics, pain management or other) will remain Active members and may continue to report Mainpro credits as per usual (no restriction on the number of credits earned and reported). Individual consideration for cycle extension must be made in writing to the CPD Manager; individual consideration for membership fees must be made in writing to Membership Manager.

Active members who pursue post-graduate education and enhanced skills training programs may be eligible to earn 25 Mainpro-C credits upon program completion. Contact the CPD Department for more information, or visit the Mainpro Credits Submission Forms page.

Members residing in countries other than Canada and the United States may claim credit for local CME activities provided that:

• The activities fulfill the CME requirements of a national college or academy of family physicians in which they are members, or;
• The activities are judged to be equivalent in quality and standards to those approved through Mainpro.

Individuals must submit a copy of their annual credit profile or information regarding CPD activities completed to the CFPC CPD Department. For programs being held in the United States of American, please visit our AAFP page to read more about AAFP and ABFM activities.

Sustaining members are physicians who are no longer actively engaged in providing medical care to patients, but who are engaged in another medical or medically-related field (e.g., hospital administration, health care consulting). There are two categories of Sustaining members, each with different CPD/MAINPRO® requirements:

1. New Sustaining members (those who were placed in the Sustaining member category on January 1, 2005, or later) must submit 250 Mainpro credits in every five-year Mainpro cycle, of which:

• At least 125 must be Mainpro-M1 and/or Mainpro-C*; 
• The remainder may be Mainpro-M2, Mainpro-M1 and/or Mainpro-C. *Those awarded Fellowship (FCFP) in 2004 or later must submit at least 25 Mainpro-C credits in every five-year cycle to maintain the FCFP designation.

2. Longstanding Sustaining members (those who were placed in the Sustaining member category prior to January 1, 2005) 

• Participation in Mainpro (submission of CME/CPD credits) is highly recommended but not mandatory. 
• Participation in Mainpro is particularly recommended for members whose scope of work is in a province where revalidation of licensure has or is being implemented.

Participation in Mainpro is recognized as meeting provincial licensing authorities’ requirements for revalidation. Mainpro is a flexible program, which respects the decisions physicians make regarding their continuing professional development (CPD) needs. If you have participated in or are considering registering for a CPD activity that is meaningful to you and your scope of work but not Mainpro accredited, please do not hesitate to contact our CPD department to request individual consideration.

To be eligible for Fellowship, you must:

• Be a Certificant (CCFP) member of the College in good standing for a period of at least 10 years; 
• Successfully complete two consecutive MAINPRO®- CPD cycles; 
• Report at least 25 Mainpro-C credits in every five-year Mainpro CPD cycle.