• Only physician organizations are eligible to apply for credits.
• Physicians must be the primary target audience of the CPD activity, which must address at least one of the CanMEDS and/or CanMEDS-FM competencies for physicians. See details.
• Applications from pharmaceutical, medical communications, or for-profit companies will not be accepted.
• For Mainpro+ credits for non-UBC activities please apply directly to the BC Chapter of the CFPC
• Applications received within 2 weeks (10 working days) or less of an activity start date will not be processed.

A non-refundable fee is charged for application reviews. 

In order for UBC CPD to provide the timeliest service, and for you to avoid rush fees, please apply early. Aim to apply 2-3 months ahead of your program start date to to maximize time to advertise CPD credits.

The following fees are in effect as of Jan 1 2025 and are subject to an annual increase. 

PAY ONLINE (visa or MC): ubccpd.eventsair.com/accred/payment/Site/Register

NOTE: Applications received less than 10 business days (2 weeks) prior to start date are not accepted.

Regular processing time is 4–6 weeks after receiving a complete application package including all documentation and signatures. Please note that any missing elements will delay the process. 

Applications received 2–4 weeks before the activity are processed as “Expedited” with an additional fee.

Please note: Organizations who have not applied before may need to provide supporting documentation (e.g. Terms of Reference, constitution, meeting minutes, constitution, governance policies, etc.) demonstrating that the organization meets the required criteria of a physician organization. This may increase application processing time beyond the typical 4-6 weeks.  

Applications received within 2 weeks (10 working days) or less of an activity start date will not be processed.

A free initial 30-min educational consultation to determine the suitability of a type of CPD activity for CPD credits is available. A customized overview of processes for developing a program in accordance with the standards can be provided.

The Royal College refers to the process of attaching CPD credits to a program as accreditation, while the CFPC calls it certification. Although the second term is technically correct*, accreditation is still the more common term used.

*The continuous learning process of CPD allows physicians to maintain professional competency (re-certification) with their medical college each year, effectively replacing the need for annual re-certification exams. Maintaining CPD credits also contributes to physicians' ability to renew their annual medical license to legally practice medicine in the province.

Learning format is closely related to credit type. Learning formats for the formal CPD credits that UBC CPD can provide are best described by what the learner will experience: either active learning (learning through interactivity with group or subject matter) or through receiving individualized, objective feedback.

UBC CPD can provide the following formal CPD credit types on behalf of the two national medical colleges:

Royal College credits for specialists: 

• MOC Section 1 Group Learning credits or
• MOC Section 3 credits for Feedback Received (aka objective assessment) on Knowledge (SAP) or Performance (SIM)  

CFPC credits for family physicians: 

• Mainpro+ Certified credits (active learning or feedback received ie. objective assessment) or
• Mainpro+ Certified Assessment credits (for practice assessment ONLY) 

Each college has its own credit framework of all CPD activities available to physicians in Canada. For all other CPD activities, physicians may claim self-learning directly with their college. 

Notes

UBC CPD can only provide CPD credits for content that has been determined through a needs assessment. There is no blanket accreditation for undecided or unknown content. 

CPD credits are only for the learners
The need assessment identifies learning gaps of the intended target audience of learners. Planners are not eligible to receive the same CPD credits that are attached to a formalized program (ie. one that has formal credits, registration & certificates). Instead, planners, speakers, facilitators, instructors, etc., may self-claim self-learning credits.

Meetings that are 100% interactive, in which everyone has equal input, are not eligible for the formal credits that UBC CPD can provide. An activity that is a needs assessment/planning session is often the phase prior to arriving at the final program that may be eligible for CPD credits. 

For most credit types, one (1) credit hour usually equals one (1) hour of educational time.  The number credits attached to a program are counted as the maximum that a single learner would be able to attend/complete without repeats. For example:

• Multiple workshops over an afternoon are counted once
• Programs that are repeatedly run over an accreditation period are counted one time
• For a series of sessions, add up all the sessions to obtain a total for the series
• For modular programs (ie. run in any order), add up all the sessions to obtain a total for the program

Educational hours 
To count the educational hours: for a group learning program, include the 25% interactivity; for an assessment program (eg. online modules, eLearning), validate the credit count by having few physicians complete the module and take an average time. 

Credits count excludes the following: lunch, breaks, traditional welcome, planning meetings, AGMs, networking, exhibits, acknowledgment of sponsors, social time, etc.

Program content must be determined prior to submitting an application. As a CACME-accredited provider, UBC CPD cannot accredit unknown or undecided content. 
Once content has been accredited, a program (or portions of it) may be repeatedly run by program organizers, to a new audience, within the program's accreditation period, as long as no changes have been made. 

The accreditation period is one (1) year beginning from program start date on application. The following delivery options are available within the accreditation period:

Single Program

Occurs one time Eg. annual conference. Annual programs require a new application each year.

Repeated Program

An accredited program can be repeated to a new audience throughout the accreditation period as long as the content is unchanged. (Learners may not claim additional credits for repeat attendance.)

Series 

A series of sessions for which content has been planned and finalized prior to application. This may also be regularly scheduled series (RSS). Each session has different content, but the content has been confirmed. Learning objectives for the full series, based on the learning gaps identified in the initial needs assessment, are required. UBC CPD can accredit a series for both Mainpro+ and MOC credits under a single application, but only if the content to be presented is known at the time of application.
NOTE: This is the most appropriate route for hosting a series outside a hospital setting. 

Modular programs

Same idea as a series, but non-sequential. UBC CPD can accredited a program consisting of several modules (sessions) which may be selected to run as needed throughout the accreditation period.

Rounds

The term ‘rounds’ is reserved for a clinical setting. Rounds are a special subset of regularly scheduled activities in which the content is open to change each session. Because of the leeway in content, rounds require extra accountability and hospital affiliation. The SPC for hospital/clinical rounds must be accountable to the department head, chief of staff, or equivalent, otherwise the content must be determined in order to apply as a series instead (see above).
Note: Specialist rounds cannot be accredited through UBC CPD. Specialist rounds can be self-accredited with the Royal College directly: Royal College rounds self-approval.

No reference to MOC or Mainpro+ credits may be made prior to the official approval. Until an application has been approved, it is not permissible to indicate in marketing and communications that credits have been granted, applied for, or pending. The statement "to be advised", or similar, is not permitted.

The summary of yes/no responses to the industry bias question on the evaluations must be forwarded to UBC CPD within three months following the CPD Activity.