Pre-Entry Assessment Period (PEAP)
INTRODUCTION The Pre-Entry Assessment Program (PEAP) for residents and Fellows is an assessment process that evaluates international medical graduates to determine whether they can function at the level of Ontario medical school graduates and are qualified to enter an Ontario residency program or Fellowship. The majority of PEAP candidates are on a Visa and are expected to return to their country of origin following completion of postgraduate training.
The PEAP process allows for appropriate, supervised clinical activity. A PEAP candidate is assessed in a multidisciplinary environment where there is patient input on an ongoing basis. The PEAP must meet the following criteria:
- be of four to twelve weeks in duration
- be taken at a medical school in Ontario
- provide assessment of the candidate's clinical skills, knowledge and judgment in the discipline in which the candidate is seeking postgraduate education, as well as the candidate's basic skills in internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and general surgery, appropriate for practice in the chosen discipline
- provide assessment in respect of whether the candidate:
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- is mentally competent to practice medicine
- has the ability to practice with decency, integrity and honesty and in accordance with the law
- has sufficient knowledge, skill and judgment to engage in the kind of medical practice authorized by the certificate
- can communicate effectively and displays an appropriately professional attitude
PROCESS Before the candidate begins his or her PEAP, he or she must have received from the CPSO an educational certificate for PEAP or been advised by the College's Registration Department that a certificate has been issued. Upon successful completion of the PEAP, the CPSO will automatically convert the educational certificate for PEAP into a full certificate of registration for Postgraduate Education to coincide with commencement of the fellowship program.
The candidate will be assessed at the end of the second week of the program and again at the end of the fourth week. After the second assessment, the PEAP can be signed off as successful or the assessment can continue up to a maximum of twelve weeks. Additional assessments can be arranged as deemed appropriate by the program.
Once the PEAP has been completed, the assessment form must be sent immediately to the Postgraduate Office for the Associate Dean's signature. The Postgraduate Office will forward the form to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for processing.
Upon completion of the PEAP, the candidate must cease practicing. The candidate may resume practice only when the CPSO has issued a Postgraduate education certificate of registration. The candidate must contact the CPSO Registration Department to confirm issuance of the certificate.
If a candidate is unsuccessful in the PEAP, s/he is not permitted to enter another PEAP in the same discipline in Ontario. An unsuccessful PEAP will be communicated to the CPSO.
NOTE It is an offence under the Regulated Health Professions Act for a person to practice medicine in Ontario until such time as the person is registered and authorized to practice medicine by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.
The time spent completing PEAP does not count towards the residency or Fellowship program. The PEAP and the postgraduate program are taken consecutively, not concurrently.
