TERMS OF REFERENCE
Accreditation Committee (Nov 2015)
PURPOSE:
The Accreditation Committee is responsible for setting the specific standards for family medicine residency programs accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). As part of this mandate, the Committee monitors the implementation of these standards through the conduct of onsite visits and regular communication with the training programs.
Responsibilities:
1.
To review and establish criteria for the approval of all residency training programs in family medicine.
2.
To determine accreditation status of programs in accordance with the criteria outlined in the Specific Standards for Family Medicine Residency Training
Programs Accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada.
3.
To maintain ongoing dialogue with family medicine departments to provide clarification around standards and to solicit ideas and responses to existing standards and committee initiatives.
4.
To maintain ongoing dialogue with the Collège des médecins du Québec
(CMQ), the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), the Federation of Medical Regulatory Authorities of Canada (FMRAC) and other relevant accrediting bodies concerning education and accreditation issues of common interest, and work collaboratively with their accreditation committees to improve alignment
5.
To review accreditation standards of other jurisdictions as required to allow for reciprocal certification of family physicians trained in other jurisdictions.
Time frame
On-going.
Type of Committee
The Accreditation Committee is a national standing committee of the CFPC Board of
Directors, and receives direction from the Family Medicine Specialty committee regarding definitions of competency and curriculum requirements for postgraduate training.
Frequency of Meetings
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The Committee meets a minimum of twice a year, either face to face or via teleconferencing. Additional meetings may be held at the call of the Chair.
Accountability
1.
The Accreditation Committee is accountable to the CFPC Board of Directors for fulfilling its purpose and achieving its goals, within the resources budgeted.
2.
The decisions of the Committee with regard to program approval status are final. Notice of Withdrawal of Approval can be appealed to the CFPC Board of Directors.
3.
Changes to the Accreditation Standards are the responsibility of the
Accreditation committee and do not require approval of the Board of
Directors as long as they are consistent with existing policy and principles regarding family medicine training and definitions of competency as determined by the Board and the Family Medicine Specialty committee.
4.
While the Accreditation Committee is accountable for accreditation standards, the Section of Teachers Council, the academic departments of family medicine and the Postgraduate Deans will be consulted regarding any major changes to the accreditation standards before implementation.
Membership and process of appointment/selection
Voting members:
1.
Chair -appointed by the CFPC Board of Directors. As per CFPC By-laws,
“…the Chair or acting Chair of the Committee shall be entitled to vote, and in the case of tie, shall cast a second or tie-breaking vote.”
2.
Past Chair- At the end of their term, the outgoing Chair will remain on the
Accreditation Committee for a further 12 months to act as a guide and mentor for the new incoming Chair.
3.
To following members are to be appointed through consultation among the
Chair of the Accreditation Committee, the Accreditation Manager and the
Executive Director of Academic Family Medicine CFPC: a) Five to seven members of the CFPC, such that there is broad representation of the different regional perspectives across Canada. Quebec representation is essential, and a minimum of two members must be bilingual. Understanding of postgraduate education and accreditation is a required skill set.
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b) One CFPC member, from among the Chairs of Departments of Family
Medicine. The Association of Canadian Chairs of Family Medicine (ACCFM) should be consulted for this appointment.
c) One CFPC member, from among the Enhanced Skills Program Directors of the Departments of Family Medicine.
d) One CFPC member with an interest and involvement in the area of rural medicine.
4.
There will be 5 voting members (one from each organisation) appointed by and representing the following organizations: CMQ, Resident Doctors of
Canada (RDoC), CFPC Section of Residents (SOR), FMRAC, and the
Association of the Faculties of Medicine of Canada (AFMC) Committee on
Postgraduate Education.
5.
Executive Director, Academic Family Medicine, non-voting.
Observers:
Observers are invited from:

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)

Canadian Resident Matching Service (CaRMS)

Fédération des médecins résidents du Québec (FMRQ)

The Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS)

The Committee for Accreditation of Continuing Medical Education (CACME)
Term of Office (applicable only to CFPC appointed members):
Three years, renewable for one term. The exceptions are i) the past chair who will remain on the Committee for a term of one year after stepping down as Chair ii) the representatives appointed by the CFPC Section of Residents who will serve at the discretion of the he Section of Residents Council and iii) the representative from
RDoC who will serve on the Committee at the discretion of the Board of RDoC.
Support Staff
The Committee is supported by staff from the Academic Family Medicine
Department.
Quorum
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A quorum is defined by the presence of no less than five voting members of which the majority are members appointed by the CFPC. Should the quorum conditions not be met, decisions of the Committee must be ratified at the next meeting of the
Committee at which a quorum is present.
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