March 16, 2021
Dear Colleagues,
This message is for those individuals who are currently registered to sit the upcoming MCCQE Part II exam and who have been given the option to delay your exam to the fall. I had hoped that this message would provide clear guidance on the implications of any decision you might make. Unfortunately, we have been told that the MRAs have not been able to reach agreement.
As soon as we learned that the Medical Council of Canada had provided registered candidates with options, and a deadline of March 10th, we contacted them. I am grateful that they responded quickly to our request and extended the deadline to March 17th. I also appreciate that the MCC told us that if any candidate chooses to delay the exam, they will be given priority to sit the exam in the fall.
In partnership with the College of Family Physicians of Canada, we participated in multiple Zoom meetings and email threads to advocate that the Medical Licensing Authorities exercise flexibility in determining eligibility requirements for the ‘low-supervision’ COVID-19 provisional license. We were seeking an assurance that if a candidate needed to delay the QE2 exam until the fall that they would be provided with a low-level supervision license in a similar manner to 2020 graduates who were unable to sit the exam and to 2021 graduates who have not been able to register to sit the QE2 exam. Unfortunately, following their meeting Monday, the MRAs told us that candidates are expected to:
- Know and understand the requirements of the relevant MRA with respect to the timing of the MCCQE Part II exam; and
- Know and abide by the schedule and capacity of the MCCQE Part II exam dates.
The best advice that we can give you at this time is to reach out to the MRA of the province that you plan to work in to determine their requirements with respect to the timing of the MCCQE Part II exam. It should be noted that Ontario and Nova Scotia have provided helpful information regarding their QE2 exemption policies on their respective websites.
Since last March there have been many discussions at national and provincial tables about the need to manage burn out, optimize mental health and innovate during this pandemic. I had hoped that our modest request to continue to provide assurance of some flexibility in obtaining a low-supervision license would have been an easy decision to agree to.
I want to thank the CFPC for working with us to advocate on behalf of current residents and recent graduates. Most importantly, I want to thank all of you who continue to put your patients first. I know that so much of what makes residency enjoyable has had to take a back seat during this pandemic and while it pains me that we haven’t been successful in convincing some of the MRAs to be supportive, I hope you know that everyone associated with RDoC as well as your Provincial Housestaff Organization will continue to do everything we can to optimize your training and transition into practice.
Warmest regards,
Dr. Esther Kim
RDoC President