The requirements involved in obtaining a license to practice medicine in Canada include the
successful completion of the following three exams:
● National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Examination
● MCCQE Part 1 (Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam Part One)
● MCCQE Part 2 (Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam Part Two)
The MCCQE Part 1 consists of multiple-choice questions and Clinical Decision Making (CDM)
cases. This exam tests the medical knowledge of medicine, obstetrics and gynecology,
pediatrics, psychiatry, surgery and population health, legal, ethical, and organizational aspects
of Canadian medicine.
The MCCQE Part I is a one-day, computer-based test. You are allowed up to four hours in the
morning session to complete 210 Multiple-Choice Questions. You are allowed up to 3.5 hours in
the afternoon session for the Clinical Decision-Making co
The MCCQE Part II is an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) that assesses the
candidate’s core abilities to apply medical knowledge, demonstrate clinical skills, develop
investigational and therapeutic clinical plans, as well as demonstrate professional behaviors and
attitudes at a level expected of a physician in independent practice in Canada. You are
assessed on your physical examination and history taking abilities as well as on your clinical
and ethical decision making.
You are presented with problems related to 12 clinical scenarios: eight on day 1 (Saturday) and
four on day 2 (Sunday). You are expected to complete 12 stations, even though two stations
could be wait or pilot stations that do not contribute to your total score.
There are two types of stations included in the MCCQE Part II: 14-minute stations and 6-minute
paired stations.
The questions are based on (but not limited to) the topics listed in the Medical Council of
Canada Exam Objectives here: https://apps.mcc.ca/Objectives_Online
The 6 subjects covered on these exams are: General Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and
Gynecology, Surgery, Psychiatry, Preventive Medicine and Community Health.
If you are preparing for the MCCQE Part 1, MCCQE Part 2 or NAC exam, we recommend a 3-6
month subscription to the corresponding QBank at CEC .com. We have found, through
feedback from medical students and physicians, that this works best.
The key is to do the questions repeatedly, at least twice, but preferably three times. Also read
the explanations very carefully. This will help you master the topics. Take a look at your exam
analysis to identify which subject areas you are weakest in. Then during your revision period,
concentrate on improving your scores in those subjects
Our MCQ QBank for the MCCQE Part 1 is the best source for classic, simulated questions for
this exam. This QBank contains Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) that cover the subjects
tested on this exam (General Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery,
Psychiatry, Preventive Medicine and Community Health).
Each MCQ has 5 answer choices, only one of which is correct. Each MCQ also has a detailed
explanation of the answers. The explanation outlines why the answer choices are correct.
Note: A customer who subscribes to the ‘QBank for the MCCQE Part 1’ will have access to both
the CDM QBank and the MCQ QBank described above
Our CDM QBank for the MCCQE Part 1 is the best source for classic, simulated cases and
questions for this exam. This QBank contains 364 of the best CDM (Clinical Decision Making)
cases that cover the subjects tested on this exam (General Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and
Gynecology, Surgery, Psychiatry, Preventive Medicine and Community Health). Each case has
2-4 questions so there are 996 total questions in this QBank.
Each CDM case has an opening stem/vignette, followed by 2-4 questions. Each question has
anywhere from 10-30 answer choices, from which the examinee will select the appropriate
answers (on average there are 2-7 correct answers). Each case also has a detailed explanation
of the answers. The explanation outlines why the answer choices are correct.
Note: A customer who subscribes to the ‘QBank for the MCCQE Part 1’ will have access to both
the MCQ QBank and the CDM QBank described above.
Our QBank for the MCCQE Part 2 is the best source for classic, simulated cases for this exam.
This QBank contains a total of 170 of the very best cases that cover the topics tested on this
exam. This QBank contains 86 6-Minute Paired Station cases and 84 Fourteen-Minute
Encounter Station cases. Each case covers a different topic from the subject areas tested.
6-Minute Paired Station cases consist of a six minute clinical encounter plus a six minute post
encounter probe (PEP). Six minute clinical encounter cases will list what points you must ask
during your history and what you should check during your physical examination. Six minute
post-encounter probe (PEP) cases show the questions and answers for each patient.
Fourteen-Minute Encounter Station cases list the relevant points you must ask during your
history and what you should check in your physical examination. These cases also include the
brief questions and answers for each patient scenario.
The categories covered in the QBanks are the same that the Medical Council of Canada exams
cover, and those six categories are:
● General Medicine
● Pediatrics
● Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN)
● Surgery
● Psychiatry
● Preventive Medicine and Community Health (PMCH)
Questions on ethics and epidemiology are grouped in the preventive medicine and community
health (PMCH) category
An examinee who purchases a subscription and completes it may purchase additional time for a
discounted price. If you already have a subscription and need additional time, you may do so by
logging in and purchasing it by clicking on ‘purchase.’
Please note: all your exam data is kept in your account for up to 4 months after your
subscription expires. At that time it will be deleted.
No. Nothing is shipped by mail. Once you purchase a subscription to a QBank, and your
payment is accepted, your access to the QBank will be activated. At that point you will be able
to access the QBank immediately with your login and password.
That is done entirely through the Medical Council of Canada (MCC). Please visit their website:
www.mcc.ca
CEC does not register candidates for these exams. CEC is not
affiliated with the MCC. CEC offers carefully prepared, classic and simulated
multiple. choice questions (MCQs) and cases, based on the MCC exam topics and objectives to
potential examinees to help them prepare for, and successfully pass, these exams with high
scores.
You are strongly encouraged to read the www.mcc.ca website for detailed and important
information about these exams.
Yes! Many medical students and physicians in the United States, Australia and the United
Kingdom have used CEC to study for their licensing exams.
CEC for the MCCQE Part 1 has long-form multiple-choice questions and cases that are
very similar in content and style to the questions and cases tested on the USMLE Step 3.
In addition, the cases in our QBank for the MCCQE Part 2 are very similar in content and style
to the OSCE cases tested on the following exams:
● Canada: National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Objective Structured Clinical
Examination (OSCE)
● Ontario CEHPEA CE1
● Saskatchewan SIPPA OSCE
● Manitoba CAPE
● Nova Scotia CAPP
● United States: USMLE Step 2 CS
● United Kingdom: PLAB Part 2
● Australia: AMC Clinical Exam
● New Zealand: NZREX Clinical examination
Yes. Please read this important document: Steps_to_Canada
It contains informative websites and contact information to help guide you regarding
● Preparing for the licensing exams
● Organizations in Canada for International Medical Graduates (IMGs)
● Specific residency (post-graduate) training programs for IMGs
● Provincial/Territorial Licensing Authorities
● Physician Recruitment
To practice as a pharmacist in Canada, you will be required to pass certain exams. The exams
that are required depends on where you obtained your pharmacy education. Obtaining PEBC
certification is a prerequisite to be able to practice as a pharmacist. Canadian and American
graduates can start with the PEBC QE Part 1 and then complete PEBC QE Part 2 to be able to
apply to provincial authorities. For international pharmacy graduates, there’s an additional exam,
the PEBC EE (Evaluating Exam), which should be taken before the PEBC QE Part 1.
No. US pharmacy graduates who wish to be pharmacists in Canada must apply for the national
identifier number (NIN) first before they apply for the PEBC QE Part I. This can be done at the
Pharmacists’ gateway Canada website.
https://www.pharmacistsgatewaycanada.ca
No. International pharmacy graduates also known as IPGs first have to register with
Pharmacists’ gateway Canada website, which is a collaboration between NAPRA and PEBC to
help IPGs familiarize themselves with the steps they need to take to obtain PEBC certification.
To take the PEBC EE, an international pharmacy graduate who has created an account with
Pharmacists’ gateway Canada website needs to proceed with registering with PEBC for
document evaluation. Your pharmacy degree will need to be evaluated by PEBC before you can
be allowed to book the PEBC EE
https://www.pebc.ca/index.php/ci_id/3374/la_id/1.htm
The PEBC EE consists of 300 questions which are divided in 2 settings. Each setting has 150
questions. A candidate for the PEBC EE must be ready to show knowledge in four important
areas: – Biomedical Sciences – Pharmaceutical Sciences – Pharmacy Practice (Clinical Sciences
and Professional Practice Skills) – Behavioural, Social and Administrative Pharmacy Sciences.
These 4 major areas are further subdivided into other categories. For example Biomedical sciences include Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Immunology, Microbiology, Physiology, and
Anatomy.
https://www.pebc.ca/index.php/ci_id/3074/la_id/1/print/true/art_id/3128.htm
You will be allowed only 3 attempts. This is why you must make sure you take sufficient time to
study for this exam.
Different people have different learning needs. People who have experience with exams of the
same standards like PEBC may require less time to study than the people who are doing this
exam as their first introduction into pharmacy practice. We recommend 3-6 months preparation
time to allow yourself to go through Qbank questions at least 2-3 times and become familiar with
the knowledge you need to pass the test. The goal is to build confidence in the knowledge you
have so that when the time comes to sit for the exam you will be less anxious about what you
don’t know and make correct choices without worrying if you are answering questions wrong.
While we make efforts to make CEC a one stop study resource, we recognize that
some candidates may need additional study materials. We do not recommend any other
particular resource but there are some authoritative resources one should consider. The CPS,
Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties is considered such a resource in Canada. It is
advised that the latest obtainable edition be sought. Currently CPS 2020 is available. You
should also familiarize yourself with the latest changes affecting the PEBC certification process
as published on the pebc.ca website.
After successfully passing PEBC EE you can register for PEBC Qualifying Exam Part I. This is
another computer-based exam.
No. The PEBC Qualifying Exam Part 2 is considered to be an OSCE, Objective Structured
Clinical Encounter, in which candidates are assessed in a practical setting how they apply their
knowledge in a standardized professional setting. How information is communicated to clients,
patients, and other healthcare professionals will be assessed before the PEBC certification is
issued to the candidate.
While the PEBC certification is the most important milestone in your journey to practice as a
pharmacist in Canada, ultimately the practice of pharmacy differs from province to province and
each province may set their own additional requirements, which may include IELTS academic
for English proficiency or a jurisprudence test to evaluate if the candidates understand the legal
ramifications of their practice.
Surgical Foundations is a special program that provides a common curriculum and clinical
training in the fundamental skills of surgery for residents in the majority of surgical specialties,
concurrent with training in the surgical specialty.
The RCSFE covers all competencies covered in the surgical foundations program. It is normally
written in the fall of the second year of residency training (i.e. approximately 12-15 months after
beginning residency.)
Surgical Foundations is that initial period of postgraduate training required to acquire the
knowledge, skills and attitudes underlying the basics to the practice of surgery in general and
preparatory to further training in a surgical specialty or sub-specialty. For the purpose of clarity,
the junior surgical resident refers to any surgical resident in postgraduate year (PGY) 1 and
PGY 2. These objectives refer to exit competencies for which a junior surgical resident must be
evaluated by the end of PGY 2.
Surgical Foundations encompasses the core foundational surgical competencies that are
requires for the following surgical specialties:
● Cardiac Surgery
● General Surgery
● Neurosurgery
● Orthopedic Surgery
● Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
● Plastic Surgery
● Vascular Surgery
● Obstetrics & Gynecology (July 2016)
Subjects Covered in the RCSFE QBank are:
● Trauma and Critical Care
● Applied Medicine
● Anesthesia
● Immunology and transplant
● Pre and post operative care
● Cardiac/Thoracic Surgery
● General Surgery
● Neurosurgery
● Orthopedic Surgery
● ENT surgery
● Urology
● Plastic Surgery
● Vascular Surgery
● Oncology
You may contact the Royal College help center with questions about exams and your eligibility.
You may call 1 800 267-2320 or email at [email protected]
You may read more about your eligibility at the Royal college website:
https://www.royalcollege.ca/rcsite/credentials-exams/exam-eligibility-e
The requirements involved in obtaining a license to practice medicine in the United States
include the successful completion of the following four exams:
● USMLE Step 1
● USMLE Step 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge)
● USMLE Step 2 CS (Clinical Skills)
● USMLE Step 3
USMLE is sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National
Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME®)
Step 1 of the USMLE is a multiple choice test, offered as a computer-based exam. Each
examination covers content related to the traditionally defined disciplines of anatomy, behavioral
sciences, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology, as well as to
interdisciplinary areas including genetics, aging, immunology, nutrition, and molecular and cell
biology.
Step 1 is a broadly based, integrated examination. Test items commonly require you to perform
one or more of the following tasks:
● Interpret graphic and tabular material
● Identify gross and microscopic pathologic and normal specimens
● Apply basic science knowledge to clinical problems.
It is an eight-hour computer-based exam consisting of 322 multiple-choice questions (MCQs)
divided into seven blocks each consisting of 46 questions.
Step 2-CK
USMLE Step 2 CK is assesses clinical knowledge through a multiple-choice examination. It is a
9 hour exam consisting of 8 blocks of 44 questions each, and one hour is given for each block
of questions. The subjects included clinical science subjects: Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics,
Psychiatry and Obstetrics & Gynecology.
Step 2-CS
USMLE Step 2 CS is assesses clinical skills through simulated patient interactions. The
examinees interact with standardized patients portrayed by actors. Each examinee faces 12
Standardized Patients (SPs) and is allocated 15 minutes to complete history taking and clinical
examination for each patient, and 10 more minutes to write a patient note to describe findings,
initial differential diagnosis list and a list of initial tests.
USMLE Step 3 is the final exam in the USMLE series. Step 3 is 16 hour examination divided
over two-days. Each day of testing must be completed within eight hours. The first day of testing
includes 336 multiple-choice items divided into 7 blocks, each consisting of 48 items.
Examinees must complete each block within sixty minutes. The second day of testing includes
144 multiple- choice items, divided into 4 blocks of 36 items. Examinees are required to
complete each block within forty-five minutes. Approximately 3 hours are allowed for these
multiple-choice item blocks.
Also on the second day are twelve Clinical Case Simulations, where the examinees are required
to ‘manage’ patients in real-time case simulations. Examinees enter orders for medications
and/or investigations into the simulation software, and the condition of the patient changes.
Cases are of 20 or 10 minutes.
Approximately forty-five minutes to one hour is available for break time on each of the two days
of testing.
Our QBank for the USMLE Step 1 is the best source for classic, simulated questions for this
exam. This QBank contains over 3000 of the best multiple-choice questions that cover the
subjects tested on this exam.
Questions can be taken in blocks of up to 50, in timed and untimed modes. Each question also
has a detailed explanation that outlines why the answer choice is correct.
Our QBank for the USMLE Step 2 CK is the best source for classic, simulated questions for this
exam. This QBank contains 4000 of the best multiple-choice questions that cover the subjects
tested on this exam.
Questions can be taken in blocks of up to 50, in timed and untimed modes. Each question also
has a detailed explanation that outlines why the answer choice is correct.
USMLE Step 1
● Anatomy
● Histology/Molecular
● Embryology
● Biochemistry
● Physiology
● Psychology
● Ethics
● Microbiology/Immunology
● Neuroscience
● Genetics
● Epidemiology and Biostatistics
● Pharmacology
● Pathology/Pathophysiology
USMLE Step 2 CK
● Medicine
○ Immune System
○ Blood & Lymphoreticular Systems Behavioral Health
○ Nervous System & Special Senses
○ Skin & Subcutaneous Tissue Musculoskeletal System
○ Cardiovascular System
○ Respiratory System
○ Gastrointestinal System
○ Renal & Urinary Systems
○ Endocrine System
● Pediatrics
● OBGYN
○ Pregnancy, Childbirth, & the Puerperium Female Reproductive System & Breast
Male
○ Reproductive System
● Surgery
● Psychiatry
● Preventive Medicine & Community Health (PMCH)
○ Multisystem Processes & Disorders
○ Biostatistics
If you are preparing for the USMLE Step 1 or the USMLE Step 2 CK, we recommend a 3-6
month subscription to the corresponding QBank at CEC .com. We have found, through
feedback from medical students and physicians that this works best.
The key is to do the questions repeatedly, at least twice, but preferably three times. Also read
the explanations very carefully. This will help you master the topics. Take a look at your exam
analysis to identify which subject areas you are weakest in. Then during your revision period,
concentrate on improving your scores in those subjects.
If you are preparing for the USMLE Step 1 or the USMLE Step 2 CK, we recommend a 3-6
month subscription to the corresponding QBank at CEC .com. We have found, through
feedback from medical students and physicians that this works best.
The key is to do the questions repeatedly, at least twice, but preferably three times. Also read
the explanations very carefully. This will help you master the topics. Take a look at your exam
analysis to identify which subject areas you are weakest in. Then during your revision period,
concentrate on improving your scores in those subjects.
USMLE Step 2 CK expects you to demonstrate knowledge with the National Board of Medical
Examiners® (NBME) shelf exams. The exam is computer‐based in the format of multiple choice
questions.
Step 2 CK is a one-day examination. It is divided into eight 60-minute blocks, administered in
one 9-hour testing session. Test item formats may vary within each block.
The full content outline can be found here:
https://www.usmle.org/pdfs/step-2-ck/Step2CK_Content.pdf
A strong USMLE Step 2 CK score can only help your residency application and may be
necessary to be competitive for residency in a particular specialty
The decision about when to take the USMLE Step 2 CK is one that should be informed by a
number of factors including your USMLE Step 1 score, the number of weeks you will require to
adequately prepare, your schedule of clinical rotations, and the individual requirements of the
residency programs to which you are applying.
Visit the USMLE website to apply. You will need to familiarize yourself with eligibility periods for
the exam. When applying to take USMLE Step 2 CK, you must select a three-month period,
such as August-September-October, during which you can take the exam.
This three-month period is referred to as your “eligibility period.” You must take the exam during
the eligibility period assigned to you. You can take the exam on any day that it is offered during
your assigned eligibility period, provided there is space available at the test center that you
choose.
Please refer ECFMG’s Fee Page for more information
USMLE may change the passing score for this examination at any time so please be sure to
consult the website for the most current information.
Scores are generally available in 3-4 weeks; however, delays are possible. Students are
recommended to sign up for the ECFMG E-Newsletter called the ECFMG Reporter and to
monitor the ECFMG website in order to stay up-to-date on important information related to IMGs
such as possible reporting delays.
If you take the USMLE Step 2 CK exam before you submit your residency application through
ERAS (typically in mid-September), programs will receive a score report for both USMLE Step 1
and USMLE Step 2 CK. If you take the USMLE Step 2 CK exam after you submit your residency
application through ERAS, programs will only receive your USMLE Step 1 score report.
However, some residency programs require your USMLE Step 2 CK score in order to offer you
an interview, and most programs require your USMLE Step 2 CK score before they will rank you
for The MATCH.
Therefore, students who take USMLE Step 2 after submitting their residency application must
go into their ERAS account and release that score to programs manually.
