Area of Focused Competence (Diploma)

An Area of Focused Competence (Diploma), or AFC (Diploma), is a highly specialized discipline of specialty medicine that addresses a legitimate societal need but does not meet the Royal College criteria for a specialty, foundation program or subspecialty.

An AFC (Diploma) represents either

• supplemental competencies that enhance the practice of physicians in an existing discipline, or a highly specific and narrow scope of practice that does not meet the criteria of a subspecialty.

An AFC (Diploma) does not prepare a physician for practice, but rather recognizes an area of supplemental or advanced training.

Physicians who have successfully completed all the requirements and who annually maintain their status as a Diplomate of the Royal College receive an added qualification known as a Diploma of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, or DRCPSC.