Anesthesiology: the Practice Eligibility Route

How training is structured

The Royal College sets out the training for Anesthesiology in the blocks below. An internationally trained specialist is assessed on whether their own training and practice record is comparable in structure and content.

Required experiences

Specific experiences the Royal College names for this discipline.

• 1.1 Basic clinical training: a minimum of 1 month and not more than 4 months in each of Internal Medicine and/or its subspecialties, a surgical specialty, Pediatrics, and Obstetrics and Gynecology
• 1.2 No more than 4 months of Anesthesiology in the basic clinical year
• 2.1.1 Eighteen (18) months, or longitudinal equivalent, of adult Anesthesiology, including general and regional anesthetic experience in outpatient surgical management, recognized general and subspecialty surgical procedures, and associated emergency conditions
• 2.1.2 Three (3) months, or longitudinal equivalent, of pediatric Anesthesiology
• 2.1.3 Two (2) months, or longitudinal equivalent, of obstetrical Anesthesiology
• 2.1.4 One (1) month, or longitudinal equivalent, of chronic pain management, including long-term ambulatory patient management
• 2.2.1 One (1) month of Cardiology or coronary care
• 2.2.2 One (1) month of Respirology
• 2.2.3 Three (3) months of adult Critical Care Medicine
• 2.2.4 Seven (7) months of selectives: two or more of the listed medical specialties (maximum 2 months in any one area) and/or additional critical care experience (not to exceed 4 months in total, maximum 2 months per area)

Flexible or selective components

Where the requirements allow a choice.

• 2.3 One (1) year selected from: Anesthesiology; Clinician Educator Program; Clinician Investigator Program; Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology; Critical Care Medicine; Pain Medicine; Palliative Medicine; a graduate level program relevant to Anesthesiology; research experience in a clinical or basic science program; or up to six (6) months of elective with approval of the program director
• Overlap training: Anesthesiology training may overlap and allow for credit in the Clinician Investigator Program, Clinician Educator Program, master's programs, Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Critical Care Medicine, Palliative Medicine, and Pain Medicine

Common questions

What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Anesthesiology?

The Practice Eligibility Route (PER) is the Royal College process by which an internationally trained specialist can be assessed for eligibility to sit the certification examination in Anesthesiology without repeating a Canadian residency. The Royal College reads your postgraduate training and practice record against the published Specialty Training Requirements for the discipline.

What training does the Royal College expect in Anesthesiology?

The Specialty Training Requirements describe five (5) years of approved residency training. The full block-by-block structure is set out on this page, taken from the Royal College document for this discipline.

Does meeting the training requirements guarantee eligibility?

No. Eligibility is a committee decision made on your individual file, and other factors are considered. This page reproduces the published requirements so you can see how your own training compares before you apply; it is not an eligibility ruling.

Where do I start?

Read the six steps in the PER guide, then have your training mapped against the Specialty Training Requirements before you pay any fees. The free PDF for this specialty carries the steps, the document checklist, and the Anesthesiology requirements in one file.

More on the route itself: the full PER guide covers the six steps and the document checklist. Royal College examination dates for every discipline are on the Deadline Radar, and Canadian clinical fellowships in Anesthesiology are in the Fellowship Finder.