Neurosurgery: the Practice Eligibility Route

How training is structured

The Royal College sets out the training for Neurosurgery 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.

• Overall: a minimum of forty-two (42) blocks of Neurosurgery within the six (6) years
• 1.1 A minimum of one (1) block of critical care
• 1.2 A minimum of one (1) block on a service that provides initial trauma management (such as Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, trauma team, Orthopedic Surgery, or Plastic Surgery)
• 2.1 Three (3) blocks of Neurology
• 2.2 Three (3) blocks of neuropathology
• 2.3 A minimum of twenty-four (24) blocks of Neurosurgery across the breadth of clinical neurosurgery, including but not limited to vascular neurosurgery, spinal surgery, neuro-oncology, pediatric neurosurgery, functional neurosurgery, and peripheral nerve surgery
• 2.3.1 A thirteen (13) block period where the trainee functions as a senior/chief resident

Flexible or selective components

Where the requirements allow a choice.

• 2.4 Up to thirteen (13) blocks of additional training acceptable to the program director and residency program committee, selected from one or more of: 2.4.1 Neurosurgery; 2.4.2 related clinical or basic neuroscience disciplines; 2.4.3 clinical or basic research; 2.4.4 other scholarly activities
• The Neurology and neuropathology training (2.1, 2.2) may occur during the foundational two years (item 1)
• In section 2.4, the additional training may occur at a hospital or university centre in Canada or abroad, as acceptable under local university policy

Common questions

What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Neurosurgery?

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 Neurosurgery 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 Neurosurgery?

The Specialty Training Requirements describe six (6) years of approved residency training, including a minimum of forty-two (42) blocks of Neurosurgery. 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 Neurosurgery 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 Neurosurgery are in the Fellowship Finder.