Psychiatry: the Practice Eligibility Route

How training is structured

The Royal College sets out the training for Psychiatry 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 Seven (7) to nine (9) blocks of core training composed of: 1.1.1 three (3) blocks of Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, and/or Pediatrics (max one (1) block of Pediatrics; an Endocrinology experience is strongly recommended); 1.1.2 one (1) block of Neurology and one (1) block of neuroimaging, or two (2) blocks of Neurology; 1.1.3 one (1) block of Emergency Medicine; 1.1.4 one (1) to three (3) blocks of Psychiatry (additional blocks require program director approval)
• 2.1 Twelve (12) months of general adult Psychiatry, roughly equal ambulatory and inpatient time (one continuous block or two 6-month blocks), including longitudinal care of one or more people with severe and persistent psychotic and/or bipolar illness for the duration of the rotation (twelve (12) months preferred)
• 2.2 Six (6) months devoted to the psychiatric care of children, adolescents, and their families (one continuous block or two 3-month blocks)
• 2.3 Six (6) months devoted to the psychiatric care of the elderly and their families (one continuous block or two 3-month blocks)
• 3.1 Twelve (12) months providing complex care to adult patients in general psychiatric practice, including: 3.1.1 consultation and liaison psychiatry (psychosomatic medicine) rotation of no less than three (3) and no more than six (6) months with medically and surgically ill patients; 3.1.2 collaborative/shared care with family physicians, specialists, and other mental health professionals, no less than one (1) month discrete or longitudinal (two (2) months strongly recommended); 3.1.3 severe and persistent mental illness and its rehabilitation, no less than three (3) and no more than six (6) months (may be a Forensic Psychiatry rotation)
• Mandatory horizontal rotation 1: empirically supported psychotherapies, no less than thirty-two (32) weeks or eight (8) months of the PGY2-5 experience, longitudinal, documented and evaluated separately
• Mandatory horizontal rotation 2: supervised addictions treatment, a discrete rotation of no less than one (1) month or longitudinal equivalent of no less than four (4) weeks during PGY2-5, documented and evaluated separately

Flexible or selective components

Where the requirements allow a choice.

• 1.2 Two (2) to four (4) blocks of selectives from Geriatric Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Neurology, neuroimaging, Family Medicine, Palliative Care, Psychiatry, or research (max two (2) blocks per area; Psychiatry limited to one (1) block)
• 1.3 One (1) block of elective from any medical or surgical rotation, including research
• 3.2 Six (6) months of selectives in Psychiatry, preferably one content area, or two content areas of no less than three (3) months each
• 3.3 Six (6) months of electives (each practice area no less than two (2) months); the selective and elective may contain six (6) months at another approved centre
• Optional horizontal rotations (research, psychotherapies, education, administration and leadership): up to the equivalent of one (1) day per week, with approval

Common questions

What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Psychiatry?

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 Psychiatry 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 Psychiatry?

The Specialty Training Requirements describe sixty (60) months of approved residency training (5 years). 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 Psychiatry 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 Psychiatry are in the Fellowship Finder.