Practice Readiness Assessment

Announcement

CPSA launches accelerated registration route for eligible internationally-trained physicians

Please click here for the announcement on the CPSA website (January 16, 2023). Please click here to view the additional routes to registration for IMGs. For more information on PRA routes in Alberta and across Canada, please book a consultation with one of AIMGA’s Career Advisors.

Overview

The Practice Readiness Assessment (PRA) process offered by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta (CPSA) will help you obtain an Independent License to practice medicine in Alberta.

PRA determines if an applicant is practice-ready for independent practice in Alberta. When a physician holds an independent practice in Alberta this means they are:

  • On the General Register, or on the Provincial Register Conditional Practice as a physician in independent practice.
  • Authorized to practise medicine within his/her scope of practice.
  • Responsible and accountable for his/her medical practice and does not require another physician to be responsible for or oversee any aspect of their medical practice.

Details

Full registration in Alberta requires the successful completion of Family Medicine or of Specialty residency in Canada; qualification from the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC); and certification from the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).

Physicians (including IMGs) who don’t hold such national certifications, but who meet CPSA’s Provisional Register requirements may be placed on the CPSA Provincial Register Conditional Practice upon successful completion of the Practice Ready Assessment process administered through the Practice Readiness Assessment in Alberta porgram (PRA-AB). Participation in PRA-AB is possible only after an applicant applies for a practice permit and only after the CPSA Registration Department determines whether that applicant meets the requirements of the General Register, or must undergo a PRA-AB assessment. Assessments are composed of two parts: a Preliminary Clinical Assessment and a Supervised Practice Assessment. The need for the preliminary assessment can vary depending on where the physician received medical training.

Step by Step

In order to be considered for the CPSA Practice Ready Assessment through PRA-AB, an IMG must:

  1. Have completed successfully a post-graduate program outside of Canada in Family Medicine, or another Specialty recognized by the CPSA with a duration of at least:
    • 24 months in Family Medicine containing 4 months of Community-based Primary Care and a minimum of 8 weeks each of three of the following: Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, and Internal Medicine; or
    • 48 months of a continuous post-graduate discipline-specific Speciality training that is equal to the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Specialty Training Requirements (link) and hold a specialist certification from the jurisdiction of training.

    Fellowship training, community service, public service, national service, Medical Officer posts and practice experience do not satisfy the postgraduate training requirements.

  2. Not have been out of practice or formal postgraduate training in a medical discipline in which the applicant intends to practise in Alberta for more than 3 years before submitting the application. If an applicant has been out of practice or formal postgraduate training for more than 3 years, the applicant has to have returned to clinical practice or formal postgraduate training for at least 12 months before sending his/her application.
  3. Have passed the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part 1 (MCCQE1) before submitting the application.
  4. Have passed an academic version of the English Language Proficiency (ELP) test (one of the IELTS-Academic, OET, or CELPIP) within 24 months before submitting the application. Please click here to review the requirements for each test.
  5. Visit the CPSA website and get thorough information about the eligibility criteria, the application process and the most current updates concerning IMGs who wish to apply for Independent Practice permit in Alberta.
    Note: Don’t start the application process if you fail to satisfy any of the basic and additional eligibility requirements for the Provisional Register Conditional Practice as stated by the CPSA at the time of submitting your application.
    If you are applying for PRA in Family Medicine, you must also pass the Therapeutic Decision Making (TDM) exam which will be done after you are deemed eligible for the Practice Readiness route. You will be able to register for the exam through the CPSA website once you are deemed eligible. The TDM is currently offered twice annually (June and January).
  6. Apply for Independent Practice permit to the CPSA Registration Department through his/her physiciansapply.ca account to which the applicant will be re-directed from the CPSA website and share his/her medical credentials already verified by the MCC Physician Credentials Repository and exam results stored in the applicant’s account with CPSA.
  7. Use his/her physiciansapply.ca account and submit a Review of Qualifications for Alberta paying the required fees for this service.
  8. Receive email from the CPSA with notification about the results of the eligibility review after his/her qualifications have been reviewed by the college. If the applicant is not deemed eligible, then he/she will be provided by the college with an explanation about the reasons that make him/her ineligible to apply. If eligible, then the applicant will be granted access to the complete application in physiciansapply.ca with detailed instructions on how to proceed.
    Note: IMGs must have their credentials source verified by physiciansapply.ca when granted access to the complete application.
  9. If determined eligible for the Provisional Register Conditional Practice, receive the CPSA formal Review of Qualifications / Eligibility letter specifying the applicant’s scope of practice. Then apply for AHS sponsorship approved positions within that scope of practice.
    Note: If a physician applicant does not meet the full requirements of the General Register they must undergo a PRA-AB assessment.
  10. Apply for AHS sponsorship approved physician positions within that scope posted on the Doctor Jobs Alberta page of the Alberta Health Services website.
  11. Secure an Alberta Health Services (AHS) sponsorship position within one year from the date on which the formal CPSA Eligibility Letter is issued and follow the CPSA requirements to move on to PRA-AB assessment.
    Note: If the CPSA does not receive a sponsorship form from AHS on the applicant’s behalf within one year, the applicant’s file will be closed and the applicant you will not be granted access to the application for registration process with the CPSA.
  12. Get familiar with the updates concerning sponsorships as provided on the CPSA website at the time the AHS sponsorship position has been secured.
  13. Receive an acknowledgement letter by the CPSA outlining the next step in the PRA-AB assessment process and return a signed letter of understanding with his/her availability dates for the assessment.
  14. Begin the Preliminary Clinical Assessment as assigned by the CPSA.
  15. Upon successful completion of the Preliminary Clinical Assessment, follow the CPSA detailed instructions on how to proceed in order to obtain the independent licence to practice and move on to the last part of the assessment process – the Supervised Practice Assessment.
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