Education and Accreditation

This section will provide you with information about Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities relevant to Respirology Specialists and Respirology Health Professionals. Learn about Continuing Medical Education (CME) opportunities for Section 1 and Section 3 credits, accrediting your upcoming CME events, professional skills, webinars, and member-only learning activities.

Where can CTS members earn credits?

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Maintenance of Certification

Fellows and MOC Program participants will be required to complete a minimum of 25 credits in each section of the MOC Program during their new 5-year MOC cycle. The annual minimum of 40 credits and a cycle overall minimum of 400 credits  are still applicable. Please record all credit hours in MAINPORT ePortfolio.

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Mission Statement

The Continuing Professional Development mission of the Canadian Thoracic Society (CTS) is to promote excellence in health care by enhancing the competencies of respiratory physicians and other health professionals working in lung health through a variety of educational programs developed according to best Continuing Professional Development (CPD) practices. These programs will be designed to contribute to the improvement of practice and patient outcomes which is aligned with the Royal College’s vision of Competency-Based CPD.

  • To provide leadership in Continuing Professional Development programs
  • To promote excellence, creativity and innovation in our programming
  • To promote integrity and high ethical standards in our programs
  • To promote the philosophy of lifelong learning and development
  • To support physician growth across all Can MEDs roles
  • To advocate partnerships at all levels of programming
  • To avoid bias or discrimination in our programs
  • To strive for continuous improvement in our service
  • To seek initiatives that will improve health care and patient outcomes
  • To provide high quality programming within our financial and human resources
  • To provide ongoing evaluation of our programs
  • To respect CME/CPD standards and guidelines set out by Royal College, Canadian Medical Association and other regulatory bodies.

The CPD mission statement is aligned with the mission of the society1 and will foster integration of educational initiatives across the CTS.

The collaboration of the CTS Continuing Professional Development Committee with the Canadian Respiratory Guidelines Committee (CRGC), clinical Assemblies and the CTS Scientific Advisory Committee constitutes the cornerstone of CTS’ educational and knowledge translation endeavors. This collaboration facilitates the development of CPD programs based on best evidence, and contributes to the knowledge transfer of key recommendations contained in CTS’ world-class clinical practice guidelines (CPGs). It also facilitates the evaluation of our programs and our impact on health outcomes.

CTS’ CPGs and derivative knowledge translation tools are key components of our CPD programs and a prime source of program content. Literature reviews and other research conducted by our Clinical Assemblies and Scientific Advisory Committee contribute to the identification of unperceived needs and constitute an important source of content for programs.

In addition to collaborating with the CRGC and CTS committees and assemblies, the CTS collaborates with like-minded external organizations in order to promote and achieve its objectives in CPD.

1 “The mission of the CTS is to promote lung health by enhancing the ability of healthcare professionals through leadership, collaboration, research, learning and advocacy, and providing the best respiratory practices in Canada.

The CTS CPD mission will be accomplished through the development of CPD programs that serve the needs of members, including researchers, respirologists and other physicians, and healthcare professionals working in respiratory health while also taking into account the needs of fellows, residents and students.

The CTS will deliver annual face-to-face meetings (currently consisting of the CTS Scientific Program at the annual American College of Chest Physicians conference, and the Canadian Respiratory Conference), as accredited programs (Section 1 – Group Learning and Section 3 – Assessment Activities). These meetings may incorporate co-developed symposia, plenary sessions, concurrent sessions, pro/con debates, or other formats. Every effort will be made to integrate a high level of interactivity into these meetings.

The CTS will also deliver a variety of e-learning programs as Section 1 (group learning) or Section 3 (assessment) as defined by the Maintenance of Certification Program (MOC) of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), and will offer or facilitate access to knowledge and performance assessment programs such as simulation exercises and clinical skill laboratories.

All CTS CPD programs will:

  • Be based on the perceived and unperceived needs of CTS members (or other target groups, as required) and the development of concomitant learning objectives;
  • Be delivered in a variety of formats, to best meet the learning objectives;
  • Be developed and delivered according to best practices in CPD;
  • Incorporate formal evaluations to assess program effectiveness and potential impact to the participants’ practice, speaker competence, presence of bias, and the relevance of the objectives and topic to the participants;
  • Promote skills in in all CanMEDs roles
  • Invite participants/delegates to make suggestions for future topics and delivery methods;
  • Include a follow-up self-evaluation form (sent to participants 4-8 weeks after each program takes place) to facilitate self-reflection and evaluate program impact on health outcomes; and
  • Incorporate content such as the following:
    • New findings from basic/clinical research as it relates to respiratory disease;
    • Emphasize the integration of evidence based guidelines into our program content.
    • Updates for medical professionals on the diagnosis and management of respiratory disease;
    • Clinical controversies in the management of respiratory disease;
    • Quality assurance/management as related to the structure, process and optimal outcome in the fields of research, diagnosis and patient management; and
    • Competencies needed for improved practice and patient outcomes (CanMEDS).

The CTS will encourage dissemination of research and clinical findings pertinent to Canadian respiratory medicine and research through the Canadian Journal of Respiratory, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, the society’s official peer-reviewed journal.

The CTS CPD Committee will survey the members of the society at least once every 5 years to identify perceived needs; solicit opinions on future directions and strategic goals for CPD programs; and assess member satisfaction with CTS CPD activities.

The CTS CPD Committee is responsible for implementing the CTS CPD Mission Statement, evaluating our effectiveness in accomplishing our mission in CPD, reviewing the statement every 3-5 years, and submitting it to the CTS Board of Directors for approval.

CTS CME/CPD Mission Statement 2019