Radiation Oncology: the Practice Eligibility Route

How training is structured

The Royal College sets out the training for Radiation Oncology 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 Five (5) blocks of medical specialty/subspecialty training; with no more than 2 blocks in any one medical specialty/subspecialty
• 1.2 Four (4) blocks of surgical specialties/subspecialties; with no more than 2 blocks in any one surgical specialty/subspecialty
• 1.3 One (1) block of diagnostic imaging
• 1.4 One (1) block of anatomical pathology
• 1.5 Three (3) blocks of medical oncology
• 1.6 One (1) block of palliative care
• 1.7 Three (3) blocks of elective opportunities
• 2.1 Clinical experience, in both inpatient and outpatient settings, in all of the following (2.1.1 to 2.1.12): breast cancer; gastrointestinal cancers; genito-urinary cancers; gynecologic cancers; head and neck cancers; lymphoma/hematologic cancers; neurologic cancers; sarcoma; skin cancers; thoracic cancers; thyroid cancers; and pediatric radiation oncology
• 2.2 A minimum of one block in a community-based radiation oncology practice

Flexible or selective components

Where the requirements allow a choice.

• 1.7 Three (3) blocks of elective opportunities (within the 18-block foundational clinical training)
• 3. A minimum of six (6) blocks of selectives: (3.1) additional clinical training in Radiation Oncology; (3.2) research or scholarly project; or (3.3) approved course of training relevant to Radiation Oncology and acceptable to the program director

Common questions

What is the Practice Eligibility Route in Radiation Oncology?

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 Radiation Oncology 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 Radiation Oncology?

The Specialty Training Requirements describe five years of approved residency training, organized into sixty-five (65) 4-week blocks or sixty (60) one month rotations; a combination of weeks and months may be used. 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 Radiation Oncology 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 Radiation Oncology are in the Fellowship Finder.