Cardiac Surgery: the Practice Eligibility Route

How training is structured

The Royal College sets out the training for Cardiac Surgery 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 Three (3) blocks of Cardiac Surgery
• 1.2 Three (3) blocks of critical care medicine
• 1.3 One (1) block of anesthesia
• 1.4 Two (2) blocks of general surgery
• 1.5 One (1) block on a trauma service
• 1.6 Six (6) blocks of Cardiology, which must include one (1) block of each of: 1.6.1 coronary care unit; 1.6.2 ward cardiology; 1.6.3 adult cardiac electrophysiology; 1.6.4 interventional cardiology; 1.6.5 adult echocardiography; 1.6.6 cardiac imaging
• 1.7 One (1) block of emergency medicine
• 1.8 Four (4) blocks of vascular surgery and/or thoracic surgery
• 2.1 Six (6) blocks as chief resident in Cardiac Surgery
• 3.1 A minimum of three (3) blocks at senior resident level in Thoracic Surgery
• 3.2 A minimum of six (6) blocks at senior resident level in Vascular Surgery
• 4.1 Minimum of three (3) blocks on a pediatric cardiac surgery service

Flexible or selective components

Where the requirements allow a choice.

• 1.9 Five (5) blocks of selectives chosen from: 1.9.1 Cardiac Surgery; 1.9.2 general surgery; 1.9.3 Pathology; 1.9.4 plastic surgery; 1.9.5 ambulatory cardiology; 1.9.6 cardiology consultation; 1.9.7 coronary care unit; 1.9.8 cardiac imaging; 1.9.9 echocardiography; 1.9.10 critical care medicine; 1.9.11 geriatrics; 1.9.12 infectious diseases; 1.9.13 nephrology; 1.9.14 neurology; 1.9.15 other training as approved by the program director to a maximum of 2 blocks
• 5. Thirteen (13) blocks of academic/clinical enrichment, flexible in content and location within the six (6) years
• Pathway 2 (eligible for Royal College Certification in General Surgery) plus: (1) 6 blocks dedicated congenital cardiac surgery service (min 3 pediatric); (2) 6 blocks Cardiac Surgery if not completed during General Surgery training; (3) 6 blocks senior residency (min 3 Thoracic, 3 Vascular) if not completed; (4) 13 blocks academic enrichment as under Pathway 1 if not completed; (5) 13 blocks senior residency in Cardiac Surgery
• Pathway 3 (eligible for Royal College Certification in Thoracic Surgery) plus: (1) 6 blocks dedicated congenital cardiac surgery service (min 3 pediatric); (2) 6 blocks Cardiac Surgery if not completed; (3) 6 blocks senior residency (min 3 Vascular) if not completed during General Surgery training; (4) 13 blocks senior residency in Cardiac Surgery

Common questions

What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Cardiac Surgery?

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 Cardiac Surgery 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 Cardiac Surgery?

The Specialty Training Requirements describe pathway 1: Six (6) years of approved residency training made up of rotations equivalent to 78 4-week blocks (Pathways 2 and 3 build on General Surgery or Thoracic Surgery certification eligibility). 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 Cardiac Surgery 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 Cardiac Surgery are in the Fellowship Finder.