Becoming a CPD provider: Accreditation standards

Below are the accreditation standards for organizations that the Royal College reviews for accredited continuing professional development (CPD) provider status.

(Note that the Committee on Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CACME) also conducts reviews, specifically of university offices of CME. For a list of CACME accreditation standards, please visit the website.)

The Canadian Accreditation Standards for CPD Provider Organizations are organized into four domains:

  • DOMAIN 1: Institutional governance
  • DOMAIN 2: Education program
  • DOMAIN 3: Program organization
  • DOMAIN 4: Continuous improvement

Domain 1: INSTITUTIONAL GOVERNANCE

Standard 1.1 Organizational CPD Mission

An accredited CPD provider organization must have a formally approved (for example by a board of directors, faculty of medicine) written mission statement for its CPD program that describes the:

  • target audience(s);
  • overall purpose; and
  • measurable goals.

University offices of CME (or equivalent title) must have a formally approved strategic plan for its CPD program that considers societal needs and describes the:

  • target audience(s);
  • overall purpose; and
  • measurable goals.

Standard 1.2 Operations

An accredited CPD provider organization has implemented an operational plan to support the achievement of the CPD program’s purpose and measurable goals or strategic plan including:

  • a budget that allocates sufficient financial resources;
  • adequate volunteer and paid staff resources supported by a training and support strategy; and
  • adequate access to appropriate physical (for example office space etc.) and technical resources (for example databases, media resources etc.) for the development and/or implementation of CPD.

Standard 1.3 Educational Independence

An accredited CPD provider organization has implemented written policies and procedures based on the National Standard for Support of Accredited CPD Activities that addresses:

  • how relationships with other organizations are managed to ensure independence of the planning process from commercial influence;
  • the process(es) by which individuals who contribute to or develop the content for learning activities disclose all real or potential conflicts of interest; and
  • the process(es) used to manage identified conflicts of interest.

Standard 1.4 Professional and Legal Standards

The accredited CPD provider organization has implemented policies and procedures to ensure its governance, operations, planning processes and records management comply with applicable professional and legal standards including the protection of privacy, confidentiality and copyright.

Domain 2: EDUCATION PROGRAM

Standard 2.1 Assessing Needs

An accredited CPD provider organization uses various methods to identify perceived and unperceived professional practice needs of members of its target audience(s) across the CanMEDS (or CanMEDS FM) Physician Competency Framework, to plan and select the format of educational initiatives.

Standard 2.2 Development of Learning Objectives

An accredited CPD provider organization develops learning objectives for each activity to address identified professional practice needs. The learning objectives for the overall activity and individual sessions (where applicable) are;

  • written from the learner’s perspective;
  • consistent with the chosen educational format; and
  • provided prior to the activity for review by potential participants.

Standard 2.3 Educational Content Development and delivery

An accredited CPD provider organization has an effective process to support the development of content that is:

  • distributed across the CanMEDS Physician Competency Framework;
  • responsive to various practice needs; and
  • informed by scientific evidence.

Methods used to deliver programming are evidence-based and aligned with the nature of the subject matter.

Standard 2.4 Promoting Self-Learning

An accredited CPD provider organization has implemented strategies, services or tools to promote self-learning that encourages participants to (for example):

  • Raise and answer questions stimulated by practice or from participation in group learning activities
  • Identify areas for future learning based on assessments (including self-assessments) of knowledge, competence or performance
  • Develop a continuing professional development plan
  • Document practice outcomes from participation in learning activities
  • Reflect on learning outcomes from participation in learning activities
  • Participate in self-assessment

Standard 2.5 Scholarly Activities in Health Education

An accredited CPD provider organization approaches its work in a scholarly manner by using evidence of the effectiveness of educational interventions or new innovations to inform the design, development and implementation of its activities.

University offices of CME (or equivalent title) must participate independently or collaboratively in scholarship (sharing projects or innovations through presentations or publications) or original research in medical education, continuing professional development, or healthcare professional education.

DOMAIN 3: PROGRAM ORGANIZATION

Standard 3.1 External Program Review

An accredited CPD provider organization has implemented written policies and procedures (including quality control measures) for reviewing individual educational activities developed by other organizations for CPD credits. Where applicable, the policies and procedures support consistent adherence to educational and ethical standards established by:

  • the Conseil Québécois de Développement Professionnel Continu des Médecins (CQDPCM);
  • the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC); and/or
  • the Royal College.

DOMAIN 4: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Standard 4.1 Assessing Effectiveness

An accredited CPD provider organization has implemented a process, at least once every accreditation cycle, to:

  • assess the degree to which the CPD program’s purpose and measurable goals or strategic plan have been achieved; and
  • identified opportunities and plans for improvement.

Standard 4.2 Evaluation Strategies

An accredited CPD provider organization has implemented an evaluation process for individual educational activities that uses various methods other than self-report to measure the degree to which the intended outcomes were achieved.

For example, the organization uses strategies to assess gains in knowledge, skills, attitudes, improved performance of physicians, or enhanced patient care outcomes.

Contact us

CPD Accreditation Coordinator
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
774 Echo Drive
Ottawa ON K1S 5N8
Telephone: 613-730-2587; toll-free 1-800-668-3740, ext. 587
Email: cpd-accreditation@royalcollege.ca