Accreditation

The SOGC is recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada as a fully accredited provider of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) credits within the College's Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. The SOGC can review and approve Section 1 and Section 3 applications (Section 2 activities must be entered into MAINPORT by the member).

  • Section 1 - Group Learning: 1 credit per hour of an accredited group learning activity
  • Section 2 - Self-Learning: Credits vary, please click here for more information. Note that the SOGC cannot review Section 2 credits.
  • Section 3 - Assessment: 3 credits per hour of a program or simulation activity

Before applying

Has your program been developed by a physician organization?

In order to be considered for accreditation, a program must be developed by a physician organization, which is defined by the Royal College as "a not-for-profit group of health professionals with a formal governance structure, accountable to and serving, among others, its specialist physician members through:

  • continuing professional development,
  • provision of health care, and/or
  • research.
This definition excludes pharmaceutical companies and their advisory groups, medical and surgical supply companies, medical device companies, communication companies and other for-profit organizations and ventures/activities."

Organizations that do not meet this definition can co-develop activities with a physician organization or with an accredited CPD provider.

Examples of physician organizations

Examples of non-physician organizations
  • faculties of medicine
  • hospital departments or divisions
  • medical societies
  • medical associations
  • medical academies
  • physician research organizations
  • health authorities not linked to government agencies
  • Canadian provincial/territorial medical regulatory authorities (MRAs)
  • disease-oriented patient advocacy organizations (e.g. Canadian Diabetes Association)
  • government departments or agencies (e.g. Health Canada, Public Health Agency of Canada)
  • medical education or communications (MEC) companies (e.g. CME Inc.)
  • for-profit online educators, publishing companies or simulation companies (e.g. Medscape, CAE)
  • small groups of physicians working together to develop educational programming

Is your program compliant with the new National Standard for Support of Accredited CPD Activities?

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada has recently updated their standards for accreditation in order to:

  • safeguard high-quality CPD from commercial influence,
  • outline a clearly defined role for sponsors of CPD activities, and
  • standardize development and delivery of CPD activities for both family and specialist physician audiences. To facilitate the accreditation process, we encourage you to download and review the National Standard to ensure that your program is compliant. The Royal College has also developed a suite of tools and templates that may be helpful in completing your application.

How to apply

Step 1: Review the SOGC accreditation guide(s) pertaining to the type of MOC credits for which you are applying.

Step 2: Complete the application form.

Download and complete the Application for Accreditation.

Note that applications for accreditation must be submitted to the SOGC a minimum of 8 weeks prior to the intended date to advertise the approved CPD activity.

Step 3: Send in your application form, accompanying documents, and payment.

Completed applications, including all accompanying documentation as listed in the application form, can be sent to the SOGC via email to [email protected], or via mail to:

Education and Accreditation Division
The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
2781 Lancaster Drive, Suite 200
Ottawa, ON, K1B 1A7
Canada

Please review the table below to determine the applicable review fee that must accompany your application. To pay by credit card, please complete the Credit Card Authorization Form and include it with your application.

Cheques can be made payable to The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, and can be mailed to the address above. Please note that accreditation will not be finalized until payment is received.

Step 4: Review accreditation results.

The SOGC will review your application and do one of the following:

  • grant approval based on a successful application
  • grant conditional approval requiring minor modifications to the activity
  • require an additional full review requiring major modifications to the activity
  • reject the application
Further action (i.e. review of your application to meet the criteria outlined by the SOGC to receive accreditation) may be required.

Physician Organization Review Fees

MOC Section 1 and Section 3 (No private sector support)

$500 + applicable taxes

MOC Section 1 and Section 3 (Less than $10,000 of private sector support)

$750 + applicable taxes

MOC Section 1 and Section 3  (More than $10,000 of private sector support)

$1250 + applicable taxes

Repeat Review Fees (for accredited events that repeat throughout the year)

Per repetition

$250 + applicable taxes

Additional fees for expedited accreditation of events between 2 and 4 weeks prior to the event

Physician Organization Fast Tracking Accreditation Review Fee

$1000 + applicable taxes

 

Applications are not accepted within 2 weeks of the event dates.

Fees are non-refundable.

For more information, please contact [email protected], or call 613-730-4192 or 1-800-561-2416, extension 238.