Public Health & Preventive Medicine: the Practice Eligibility Route
Requirements as published by the Royal College. Last reviewed August 2026.
Public Health & Preventive Medicine at a glance
- Required time in training
- 5 yearsSTR: Five years of approved residency training, within or under the aegis of a Royal College accredited residency program
- 2026 exam timing
- Written in the Fall; Applied in the Fall (same year)
- Apply for assessment of training
- by August 31 of the year before your exam
- Register for the exam
- February 1 – April 15 of the exam year
- Exam attempts
- Maximum 4 attempts per component within a 5-year eligibility period
The Royal College reads your postgraduate training and practice record in Public Health & Preventive Medicine 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 Public Health & Preventive Medicine 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: 2014, Version 1.0; applies to those who begin training on or after July 1st, 2014; revised April 2014
Required experiences3
Specific experiences the Royal College names for this discipline.
- 1. One (1) year of basic clinical training selected from at least three of: 1.1 Obstetrics and Gynecology; 1.2 Pediatrics or its subspecialties; 1.3 Emergency Medicine; 1.4 Geriatric medicine/care of the elderly; 1.5 Family Medicine; 1.6 Internal Medicine or its subspecialties
- 2.1 A minimum of two (2) semesters of academic work in Public Health and Preventive Medicine which must include epidemiology and biostatistics, and may include research methods (qualitative/quantitative), public health system/policy, program evaluation or management/leadership
- 2.2 A minimum of eighteen (18) months of field placements selected from at least one of the following settings: 2.2.1 national, provincial, territorial, regional, or local public health agencies; 2.2.2 health planning authority; 2.2.3 environmental health setting; 2.2.4 occupational health department in government and/or industry
Flexible or selective components3
Where the requirements allow a choice.
- 2.3 Up to twelve (12) months of other field placements relevant to the candidate's future career goals: 2.3.1 clinical pharmacology and toxicology; 2.3.2 aerospace medicine; 2.3.3 Occupational Medicine; 2.3.4 other as approved by the program director
- 2.4 Up to eighteen (18) months of research relevant to Public Health and Preventive Medicine
- 2.5 Up to twelve (12) months of College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) accredited training, or Royal College clinical specialty relevant to the practice of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, or selective clinical experiences related to disease prevention and health promotion for specific populations or groups
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 Public Health & Preventive Medicine?
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 Public Health & Preventive Medicine 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 Public Health & Preventive Medicine?
The Specialty Training Requirements describe five years of approved residency training, within or under the aegis of a Royal College accredited residency program. 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 Public Health & Preventive Medicine requirements in one file.
The Public Health & Preventive Medicine guide as one PDF
The seven PER steps, your document checklist, and the Public Health & Preventive Medicine 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 Public Health & Preventive Medicine are in the Fellowship Finder.
Adapted from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Specialty Training Requirements for Public Health & Preventive Medicine. 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.