The Medical Council of Canada (MCC) grants a qualification in medicine known as the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC) to physicians who have met its requirements. The LMCC is a part of the Canadian Standard, the set of requirements physicians need to meet to apply for a full licence to practise medicine in Canada.
Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination Part I
The MCCQE Part I is a one-day, computer-based test that assesses the critical medical knowledge and clinical decision-making ability of a candidate at a level expected of a medical student who is completing their medical degree in Canada.
What is the MCCQE Part I?
The MCCQE Part I is a summative examination that assesses the critical medical knowledge and clinical decision-making ability of a candidate at a level expected of a medical student who is completing their medical degree in Canada. The examination is based on the MCC Objectives, which are organized under the CanMEDS roles. Candidates graduating and completing the MCCQE Part I typically enter supervised practice. Aside from formal accreditation processes of the undergraduate and postgraduate education programs, the MCCQE Part I is the only national standard for medical schools across Canada and, therefore, is administered at the end of medical school.
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 three and a half hours in the afternoon session for the Clinical Decision-Making component, which consists of 38 cases with short-menu and short-answer write-in questions.
The exam is based on a Blueprint that assesses your performance across two broad categories:
-
Dimensions of care, covering the spectrum of medical care;
-
Physician activities, reflecting a physician’s scope of practice and behaviours.
Each category has four domains, and each is assigned a specific content weighting on the exam:
Application and eligibility
MCCQE Part I
We are delivering the MCCQE Part I in Canada and internationally in over 80 countries through our vendor Prometric. Prometric is an internationally recognized firm with more than 20 years’ experience in exam development and administration for professional sectors. This change to Prometric ensures broad access for candidates to take the MCCQE Part I.
Candidates have the option to take their exam at an available Prometric test centre, with physical distancing measures in place, or through remote proctoring on a first come first serve basis.
Application to the MCCQE Part I
If you meet the eligibility requirements indicated below, you can apply for the MCCQE Part I at any time. To apply, you must open an account at physiciansapply.ca or log into your existing account. To begin your application, click on “Examinations”, “Apply for an Exam”, then follow the prompts to submit your payment. Your physiciansapply.ca account will guide you through the process and indicate the documents that you need to submit as part of your application. For exam dates, see Examination at a glance.
If the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) has previously reviewed all the necessary documentation, you may receive quick notification that your MCCQE Part I application has been accepted. Otherwise, please allow up to three weeks for your application to be processed.
Note: An exam application that includes a request for test accommodations will require up to nine weeks processing time, once all the eligibility requirements have been fulfilled and Candidate Affairs receives all the required supporting documentation.
After your application is accepted, you will have one year to take the MCCQE Part I at an available Prometric test centre or through remote proctoring on a first come first serve basis. This one-year period is called the eligibility window. Your eligibility window expires once you take (or withdraw from) the exam.
Eligibility requirements
To apply to the MCCQE Part I, you must be a graduate from, or a student who is expected to complete all requirements to graduate from:
-
A medical school accredited by the Committee on Accreditation of Canadian Medical Schools (CACMS); or
-
A medical school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools and identified by a Canada Sponsor Note indicating it is an acceptable medical school in Canada; or
-
A United States School of Osteopathic Medicine accredited by the American Osteopathic Association.
If you are a student:
You can apply up to 15 months prior to your expected date of graduation. Once your application is approved, however, your eligibility window will begin 12 months from your expected date of graduation. For example:
-
Expected date of graduation: June 1, 2022
-
Application date: As of March 1, 2021
-
Eligibility window: June 1, 2021 to June 1, 2022
If you are a graduate:
Your medical degree/diploma must be in progress of source verification or have been successfully source verified.
For more information, click here.