Replacing high-stakes summative examinations with graduated medical licensure in Canada

摘要

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the medical assessment system in Canada. Examinations delivered by The College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) were delayed, cancelled or adapted. As these examinations are required for independent practice, this had a negative impact on trainees, supervisors and patients during a time of great stress within our health care system. Although disruptive, these challenges provided an opportunity for change by unfreezing the historical approach to medical licensure in Canada — an approach that can be characterized as arduous, expensive, logistically challenging, poorly aligned with clinical practice and potentially biased.