CFPC CAC Palliative Care

No. This is an independent study resource. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. Always confirm eligibility, format, fees, and deadlines on the CFPC website, which is the only authoritative source for the certificate.

It is one of the Certificates of Added Competence in Family Medicine listed by the CFPC, sitting alongside the Certification Examination in Family Medicine and the Examination of Added Competence in Emergency Medicine. It recognizes added competence in palliative care beyond ordinary family medicine certification. The CFPC publishes the current requirements.

The source material reviewed does not describe the palliative care assessment format, so this page does not state one. Do not rely on second-hand accounts of station counts or timing. Check the CFPC examinations section directly for the current format before you build a study plan around it.

Those values are not stated in the source reviewed here, so they are left blank rather than guessed. Exam regulations are revised periodically, and older figures circulate widely online. Confirm duration, scoring, and the pass standard with the CFPC rather than from memory or forum posts.

Fees and retake rules are not given in the source reviewed, so no figure is offered here. Both change over time. Contact the CFPC for the current fee schedule and the policy on re-attempts, including any waiting period or limit on attempts, before you plan your application.

The validity period is not stated in the source material reviewed, so it is left unspecified. Maintenance-of-competence expectations may also apply through Mainpro+. Confirm the current validity and any renewal requirements with the CFPC when you apply.

Start from the CFPC's published assessment objectives and enhanced-skills assessment materials, then map your clinical gaps against them. Prioritize symptom management, goals-of-care communication, and end-of-life care across settings. Add regular self-testing and feedback from a palliative care supervisor rather than reading alone.

Common weak points are communication under pressure, ethical and legal reasoning around capacity and consent, and uncertainty in complex symptom crises. Reading broadly without practising spoken explanations or structured reasoning is a frequent mistake. Rehearse aloud, seek supervised feedback, and log your gaps early.

The source reviewed does not enumerate palliative care content domains or their percentage weightings, so none are published here. Any weighting you see elsewhere may be outdated. Obtain the current blueprint or assessment objectives from the CFPC and study to that document.