Medical Microbiology: the Practice Eligibility Route
Requirements as published by the Royal College. Last reviewed August 2026.
Medical Microbiology at a glance
- Required time in training
- 5 yearsSTR: Five years of approved residency in Medical Microbiology
- 2026 exam timing
- Written in the Spring; Applied in the Spring (same year)
- Apply for assessment of training
- by April 30 of the year before your exam
- Register for the exam
- September 1 – November 4 of the year before
- Exam attempts
- Maximum 4 attempts per component within a 5-year eligibility period
The Royal College reads your postgraduate training and practice record in Medical Microbiology against the published Specialty Training Requirements. Those requirements are set out in full below, so you can see how your own training compares before you apply.
What licence can I get, and when?
Certification is national. Licensure is provincial. You do not need Royal College certification (FRCPC) to be licensed. Several provinces license you at an earlier PER stage, and the earliest any province accepts is the eligibility letter alone. The table applies to every specialty that reached exam eligibility through the PER.
Full province table: MCCQE, job offer and licence type
| Province | MCCQE | RC written | RC applied | Licence issued | Job offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Required | Required | Required | Full | Not required |
| British Columbia | Not required | Required | Required | Provisional | Required |
| Saskatchewan | Required | Required | Required | Provisional | Required |
| Manitoba | Not required | Required | Required | Provisional | Required |
| Ontario | Not required | Required | Not required | Provisional, 3 years | Required |
| Nova Scotia (a) | Not required | Not required | Not required | Defined, 6 to 24 months | Required |
| Nova Scotia (b) | Not required | Required | Required | Full | Required |
| New Brunswick | Not required | Not required | Not required | Special, then Defined | Required |
| Newfoundland & Labrador, PEI | Required* | Not required | Not required | Provisional | Required |
* The MCCQE may be waived where the candidate has five or more years of independent practice abroad. Case by case, never guaranteed.
Educational only. Rules change, and each regulator decides on factors that may not be listed here; Filipe Santos MD does not make licensure decisions. Checked October 9, 2026 against each regulator's pages; Ontario confirmed with the CPSO in October 2026. Confirm with the regulator before you act.
Province notes (Alberta, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the MCCQE) are in the PER guide.
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.
Requirements document: 2018, Version 2.0 (applies to those who begin training on or after July 1, 2018)
Required experiences14
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 components3
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
More questions about specialists trained abroad, each answered once with its official source, are in the IMG FAQ Center.
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 seven 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.
The Medical Microbiology guide as one PDF
The seven PER steps, your document checklist, and the Medical Microbiology training requirements in a single file. Free. Not sure the PER is your route? The screener checks your file against every route in about two minutes.
Other specialties27
Canadian clinical fellowships in Medical Microbiology are in the Fellowship Finder.
Adapted from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Specialty Training Requirements for Medical Microbiology. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Royal College; every application is reviewed individually and final decisions rest solely with the Royal College. Verify current requirements at royalcollege.ca.