Medical Microbiology: the Practice Eligibility Route

How training is structured

The Royal College sets out the training for Medical Microbiology 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. Thirteen (13) blocks of approved basic clinical training (broadly based medical experience)
• 1.1 A minimum of three (3) blocks spent in internal medicine or pediatrics
• 1.2 Up to ten (10) blocks selected from: 1.2.1 family medicine (maximum 2 blocks); 1.2.2 internal medicine and its subspecialties (no maximum); 1.2.3 surgical specialties (maximum 3 blocks); 1.2.4 pediatrics and its subspecialties (no maximum); 1.2.5 critical care medicine (maximum 2 blocks); 1.2.6 emergency medicine (maximum 2 blocks); 1.2.7 obstetrics and gynecology (maximum 2 blocks); 1.2.8 dermatology (maximum 1 block); 1.2.9 elective (maximum 1 block)
• 2. Twenty-six (26) blocks of diagnostic laboratory residency in an approved department or division of microbiology
• 2.1 Thirteen (13) blocks to include: 2.1.1 bacteriology; 2.1.2 mycobacteriology; 2.1.3 mycology; 2.1.4 molecular microbiology; 2.1.5 parasitology; 2.1.6 virology and serology
• 2.2 One block or equivalent in antimicrobial stewardship
• 2.3 One block or equivalent in infection prevention and control
• 2.4 One block or equivalent in laboratory management, including quality and safety, and completion of at least one quality-related project
• 2.5 Two blocks in public health activities, including a minimum of one block in a public health laboratory
• 2.6 One block in a diagnostic microbiology laboratory that provides services to the community
• 3. Thirteen (13) blocks of approved residency in Infectious Diseases
• 3.1 A minimum of six blocks on an inpatient service (adult or pediatric), with at least one block of each
• 3.2 An additional seven blocks from: 3.2.1 inpatient infectious diseases; 3.2.2 outpatient infectious diseases; 3.2.3 community-based infectious diseases; 3.2.4 rotations focused on specific infections (e.g. sexually transmitted infections, hepatitis, tuberculosis, transplant infections, dermatologic infections)
• 4.1 A minimum of one block in other laboratory medicine disciplines relevant to Medical Microbiology

Flexible or selective components

Where the requirements allow a choice.

• 2.7 Seven blocks of laboratory training, approved by the program director and/or program committee, selected from: 2.7.1 additional time under sections 2.1-2.5; or 2.7.2 research relevant to Medical Microbiology
• 4. Thirteen (13) blocks of approved residency selected from: 4.2 diagnostic laboratory microbiology; 4.3 clinical infectious diseases; 4.4 other relevant branches of clinical medicine; 4.5 infection prevention and control; 4.6 antimicrobial stewardship; 4.7 research methods; 4.8 clinical epidemiology; 4.9 research; 4.10 public health and preventive medicine; 4.11 international health; 4.12 laboratory management; 4.13 management or leadership; 4.14 quality assurance/improvement; 4.15 medical education
• A maximum of three blocks of training may occur at a site not accredited by the Royal College (approved by the Residency Training Committee); the maximum external training in the final year is three blocks

Common questions

What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Medical Microbiology?

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 Medical Microbiology 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 Medical Microbiology?

The Specialty Training Requirements describe five years of approved residency in Medical Microbiology. 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 Medical Microbiology 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 Medical Microbiology are in the Fellowship Finder.