Pediatrics: the Practice Eligibility Route

How training is structured

The Royal College sets out the training for Pediatrics 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 A minimum of twenty-one (21) and a maximum of twenty-seven (27) blocks of Pediatrics, comprising 1.1.1 to 1.1.9 below
• 1.1.1 Two (2) to six (6) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of community/rural Pediatrics
• 1.1.2 One (1) to four (4) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of ambulatory/hospital-based outpatient Pediatrics
• 1.1.3 Two (2) to four (4) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of inpatient ward/clinical teaching unit (CTU) Pediatrics as a junior resident
• 1.1.4 Two (2) to four (4) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of inpatient ward/CTU Pediatrics as a senior resident
• 1.1.5 One (1) to two (2) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of developmental pediatrics
• 1.1.6 Three (3) to five (5) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of newborn care, which must include neonatal resuscitation in the case room, care of the normal newborn, and rotations in level II and level III neonatal units
• 1.1.7 Two (2) to three (3) blocks in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)
• 1.1.8 One (1) to four (4) blocks in pediatric emergency medicine
• 1.1.9 A minimum of two (2) and a maximum of (3) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, in the fields of mental health, adolescent medicine, child maltreatment, and/or social pediatrics
• 1.2 A minimum of six (6) blocks, or longitudinal equivalent, of training in subspecialty rotations selected from at least six (6) of the following clinical areas (listed 1.2.1-1.2.13 in this order), with a maximum of two (2) blocks per clinical area: pediatric cardiology; pediatric clinical immunology and allergy; pediatric complex chronic care; pediatric endocrinology and metabolism; pediatric gastroenterology; pediatric hematology/oncology; pediatric infectious diseases; pediatric medical genetics; pediatric nephrology; pediatric neurology; pediatric palliative medicine; pediatric respirology; pediatric rheumatology

Flexible or selective components

Where the requirements allow a choice.

• 1.3 Up to six (6) blocks of any of the following: 1.3.1 anesthesia (maximum one (1) block); 1.3.2 dermatology (maximum one (1) block); 1.3.3 diagnostic imaging (maximum one (1) block); 1.3.4 surgery/surgical subspecialties (maximum three (3) blocks); 1.3.5 research (maximum three (3) blocks); 1.3.6 electives (maximum three (3) blocks)
• 2. Advanced Pediatrics year (structure sections 2.1 and 2.2): up to one (1) year further residency in Pediatrics reflecting career plans, or up to one (1) year of clinical residency in any Pediatrics subspecialty area

Common questions

What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Pediatrics?

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 Pediatrics 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 Pediatrics?

The Specialty Training Requirements describe four (4) 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 Pediatrics 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 Pediatrics are in the Fellowship Finder.