Continuing medical education

With over 40 years of experience and thousands of continuing medical education conferences and cruises worldwide at our fingertips, we can create a tailor-made list of professional development opportunities for your needs, based on location, area of interest, meeting sponsor and date range.

To request a customized list of opportunities, email info@oma.org.

Difference between CME and CPD

Continuing medical education (CME) activities are defined by the organizer or presenter and are general clinically focused. Continuing professional development (CPD) includes components of CME, but has a broader focus. Individual physicians are able to address their own education needs through ongoing self-assessment. CPD also addresses the improvement of communication, practice management and leadership skills. Source: MD Dialogue 2012 Oct;8(3):29

CPD can be broadly based and flexible in terms of both content and delivery method — independently, online, in small groups or in traditional lecture-based presentations.

Track your CPD

Physicians can track their CPD activities through one of the approved organizations below:

• The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada 
• The College of Family Physicians of Canada
• The Medical Psychotherapy Association Canada (for those members whose practice is at least 50 per cent psychotherapy)

Physicians need not be a member of one of these organizations for them to track your CPD; both the Royal College and the College of Family Physicians offer this as a standalone service. Source: MD Dialogue 2015 Apr;11(1):41

Disclaimer: The OMA makes no endorsements, warranties, or representations of any kind whatsoever regarding the information it provides to its members, and for the content discussed at any conference or seminar reported including all information, materials, discussions, presentations or any other such content discussed or distributed at such conference or seminar.

Education resources

Canadian universities

Accredited Canadian University Continuing Medical Education Portal — this website is the collective work of Canada’s 17 medical schools, each with its own CME (or CPD) office. The goal is to help Canadian physicians with their lifelong learning, professional development and continuing education needs.

Events are listed in date order, but can also be viewed by the sponsoring university.

Commercial

• 10 times: Medical & Pharmaceutical Conferences — This website is a listing of medical meetings worldwide. The user can browse the database by date or by country.
• CME at Sea — Cruises are listed by date.
• Conal Conference Alerts — This database lists medical meetings worldwide, and is searchable by topic, country and city. Users can also perform advanced searches using a combination of date, country and/or search term.
• Continuing Education, Inc. – University at Sea — Cruises are listed by date but can be searched by topic, sail date, region and cruise line.
• Doctors-on-tour — Educational programs in relaxed environments around the world.
• eMedEvents — This website lists medical meetings worldwide, and offers an advanced search option where users can search by specialty, location, and date.
• Medical Education Resources, Inc — This database contains listings of medical meetings worldwide and can be browsed by conference date, conference title or conference location.
• Medicon — Users must register to use this free service. This website lists medical meetings worldwide and offers an advanced search option where users can search by date, medical specialty, region and country.
• Physicians’ Travel & Meeting Guide CME Planner — This website lists worldwide CME events and can be searched using a combination of date, specialty, location, and/or keyword.
• Sea Courses — Cruises are listed by date.

Ontario Medical Association

OMA Learns — OMA Learns, is an enhanced learning platform that provides members with easy access to dynamic content and materials relevant to everyday practice.

OMA Learns provides members the opportunity to improve their knowledge base on a variety of topics including OHIP billing, practice efficiency, starting, running, and closing a practice, privacy and legal considerations, patient care management and more. With the ability to navigate through the system and access all OMA Learns sessions at your convenience, you can learn what you want and at your own pace.

Other institutions

• American Academy of Family Physicians CME Center — This database can be searched by date and/or location for courses taking place in the next 12 months. Results include AAFP-produced activities, AAFP chapter-developed activities, and AAFP-accredited activities.
• Canadian Medical Association - Affiliates, Associated Societies and Observer Organizations — The Canadian Medical Association publishes a list of affiliated societies and observer organizations on their website. These organizations will often list CME opportunities on their websites.
• College of Family Physicians of Canada Calendar of Events: This website lists Mainpro-M1 and Mainpro-C events taking place in Canada. The database can be searched by date, credit type, keyword, or location. Programs are peer-reviewed to ensure content is educationally and scientifically valid, and that programs are developed and delivered in accordance with ethical standards.
• Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences Centre for Continuing Professional Education — Michener's Centre for Continuing Professional Education offers a wide selection of courses, workshops, seminars, certificate and advanced diploma programs and degree completion opportunities for health professionals. Flexible programming options, including distance education and evening and weekend programming, help physicians upgrade their skills on a part-time basis
• Ontario Hospital Association — The Ontario Hospital Association’s educational services department provides continuing education programs for trustees, staff, managers and volunteers at member hospitals and other organizations in the health sector.
• Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada – National Specialty Societies — The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada publishes a list of national specialty societies on its website. These organizations will often list CME opportunities on their websites.