Practice Eligibility Route - AFC
The Practice Eligibility Route for Areas of Focused Competence (PER-AFC) is designed for specialists who have acquired the competencies of a Royal College AFC discipline through professional practice and who wish to have their competencies recognized with the Royal College credential.
The practice route is intended for specialists in practice who have not completed training in a Royal College accredited AFC program.
Am I eligible?
A physician is eligible to apply for the credential through PER-AFC if they meet the minimum time in practice, and the eligibility requirements outlined in the discipline’s national standards.
- Time in practice - the Royal College recommends that the required time in practice be between 2 and 5 years. The discipline’s Royal College AFC Committee sets the required time in practice for PER-AFC. Contact diplomas@royalcollege.ca for discipline-specific time requirements.
- Eligibility requirements – eligibility for PER-AFC is based on the discipline’s approved national standards for the in-training route. Eligibility requirements include entry routes and other discipline-specific criteria. Please consult the discipline’s Competency Training Requirements (CTR) listed in the Information by Discipline database or request assistance from diplomas@royalcollege.ca.
How do I apply?
PER-AFC is an application-based process that assesses whether an applicant has the required competencies of the AFC discipline. Applications consist of a discipline-specific scope of practice form to be submitted along with one’s CV and list of references. References will be contacted by the Royal College and asked to attest to the abilities of the applicant via a Multi-Source Feedback form. The number of references required varies by discipline and will be between 5 and 8.
The Royal College facilitates the review of all submitted applications by the discipline-specific assessor(s). Applicants will receive notification from the Royal College on the assessment decision. If deemed eligible for the credential, the applicant will be invited by the Royal College to have their credential recognized by becoming a Diplomate (DRCPSC).
The application fee for PER-AFC is $2,050. If the applicant is deemed eligible and wishes to have their credential recognized by the Royal College, the annual fee to maintain the credential is $265.
Which AFCs are receiving applications?
The following disciplines are receiving applications for the practice route:
- Retina (opened May 10, 2023)
- Adult Congenital Heart Disease (opened February 24, 2023)
- Sport and Exercise Medicine (opened November 7, 2022)
- Adult Interventional Cardiology (opened September 19, 2022)
- Adult Cardiac Electrophysiology (opened August 11, 2022)
- Acute Care Point-of-Care Ultrasonography (opened June 30, 2022)
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapy (opened June 29, 2022)
- Patient Safety and Quality Improvement (opened June 16, 2022)
- Trauma General Surgery (opened May 9, 2022)
- Addiction Medicine (opened March 7, 2022)
- Solid Organ Transplantation (opened March 7, 2022)
- Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation (opened February 8, 2022)
- Adult Echocardiography (opened January 25, 2022)
- Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (opened January 4, 2022)
- Child Maltreatment Pediatrics (opened November 15, 2021)
- Cytopathology (opened Aug. 15, 2021)
- Brachytherapy (opened July 14, 2021)
- Pediatric Urology (May 26, 2021)
- Clinician Educator (opened March 26, 2021)
- Hyperbaric Medicine (opened March 18, 2021)
- Prehospital and Transport Medicine (opened February 9, 2021)
- Sleep Disorder Medicine (opened February 4, 2021)
Prior to 2021, PER-AFC was a portfolio-based process and has since been streamlined. The dates listed above refer to the launch of the new application-based process for each discipline. All Diplomates who received the AFC credential can be verified using the Royal College Directory.
Ready to apply?
If you are interested in applying – please email diplomas@royalcollege.ca and indicate which AFC discipline you want to apply for. The Royal College will respond to you with the application document.
