The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. AFMC will be updating this page with information related to medical education as it becomes available.
On March 13, CCME partners approved moving to a virtual CCME for 2020 as a result of COVID-19. We will be leveraging state of the art virtual technology for all accredited plenary sessions which will be held on April 19 and April 20.
AFMC will be holding the following virtual events:
The following events are canceled:
The following events are postponed and will be rescheduled:
Visiting electives are suspended until September 26,2020. Currently, students are unable to submit applications on the AFMC Student Portal. No decision has been made on when the portal will re-open. It will reopen 16 weeks before visiting electives are offered by the faculties. We understand the concern these disruptions may cause, and we ask that students regularly check the AFMC Student Portal for updates as they become available.
On March 20, the undergraduate medical education deans across Canada decided to suspend new visiting elective applications until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Students will not be able to submit applications on the AFMC Student Portal.
We understand the concern these disruptions may cause, and we ask that students regularly check the AFMC Student Portal for updates as they become available. The decision to reopen the Portal will also be made collaboratively, nationally and students will receive communication through the Portal and from their home school regarding the plans and timelines for reopening.
Please visit the AFMC Student Portal for more detailed information.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadian faculties of medicine are not offering visiting electives at this time. AFMC will be refunding the Portal registration fee for international students unable to complete all of their visiting electives in Canada as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are an international student that has been affected, please contact service@afmcstudentportal.ca.
Canadian students will not receive a refund for their Portal registration fee as they have used the Portal for a visiting elective in the past or will use the Portal for future visiting electives.
Please visit the AFMC Student Portal for more detailed information.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic a number of Canadian faculties of medicine are not accepting international students of affected countries/regions for visiting electives at this time. AFMC will be refunding the Portal registration fee for international students unable to complete their visiting elective in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you are an international student that has been affected, please contact service@afmcstudentportal.ca. Please visit the AFMC Student Portal website for more detailed information.
Canadian Medical Forum
COVID-19 Joint statement from Canadian Medical Forum
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada released its four-point plan for the Royal College spring 2020 cohort.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has had to postpone all exams, including the written exams for March and April, which will have an impact on oral/OSCE exams this spring.
For the full details visit: www.royalcollege.ca/rcsite/home-e.
Medical Council of Canada
The Medical Council of Canada will postpone the MCC Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part I session scheduled from April 15 to May 15, 2020 and the MCCQE Part II scheduled for May 2 and 3, 2020.
For the full details visit: mcc.ca/
MCC offers the MCCQE Part I via remote proctoring. More information is available here.
College of Family Physicians of Canada
After careful consideration, the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) has decided to postpone the spring 2020 Certification Examination in Family Medicine. This postponement applies to both the written (SAMPs) and performance (SOOs) components of our certification examination at all locations.
For the full details visit: www.cfpc.ca
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
The IRCC has updated its exceptions for COVID-19 travel restriction measures. Providers of emergency services and students at medical teaching institutions will be allowed to enter Canada.
Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®)
For information regarding MCAT exams, please visit the MCAT Coronavirus page.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Please consult this page for all COVID-19 information related to CIHR: https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/51917.html.
Canadian Resident Matching Service
For information on impacts to future match cycles visit: https://www.carms.ca/
Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada
The shared position of the medical regulatory authorities of Canada is the following:
Final year medical students who have completed their undergraduate training but not yet taken the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part One will still be able to obtain an educational license to enter residency training in Canada on 1 July 2020, provided that:
Graduating residents will be eligible for a provisional / temporary / restricted license in a Canadian province, provided that:
For specific information on any other requirements or conditions, all trainees are invited to consult the website of the relevant medical regulatory authority or contact the MRA: fmrac.ca/members.
Please visit each of the following university or faculty of medicine links to learn more about specific information at each school:
University of Alberta
www.ualberta.ca/services/health-centre/coronavirus-info/index.html
University of British Columbia
www.ubc.ca/campus-notifications/
University of Calgary
ucalgary.ca/risk/emergency-management/plans-procedures/covid-19-response
Dalhousie University
www.dal.ca/novel-coronavirus.html
University of Manitoba
umanitoba.ca/student/health/coronavirus.html
McGill University
www.mcgill.ca/medicine/about/special-notices-covid-19-updates
McMaster University
covid19.mcmaster.ca/
Memorial University of Newfoundland
www.mun.ca/main/coronavirus.php
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
www.nosm.ca/our-community/coronavirus-information-for-nosm-community/
University of Ottawa
Queen's University
healthsci.queensu.ca/administration/announcements/coronavirus www.queensu.ca/covidinfo/
University of Saskatchewan
University of Toronto
medicine.utoronto.ca/node/3544
www.utoronto.ca/message-from-the-university-regarding-the-coronavirus
Western University
www.schulich.uwo.ca/about/news/2020/march/covid19_travel_education_and_visitor_policy.html
Université Laval
www.fmed.ulaval.ca/coronavirus-2019/
www.ulaval.ca/notre-universite/coronavirus-2019
Université de Montréal
Université de Sherbrooke