Enhanced skills outside the CaRMS match
Family medicine training that schools fill themselves, not through CaRMS’s FM/ES match: Category 2 programs (school-set objectives, no CFPC Certificate of Added Competence), clinician scholar programs, Quebec’s programmes de compétences avancées, and seats for practising family physicians. 82 offerings at 17 of 18 departments, from each school’s own pages, checked 10 Oct 2026. Confirm on the school’s page before you apply.
Not part of the CaRMS match
- You apply to the school, on its own dates. Most 2027–28 deadlines were in September 2026; Quebec’s run later, to December and February.
- Offers can come before CaRMS’s rank-list deadline. At Western (opens in a new tab), accepting a Category 2 offer before the rank-list deadline means withdrawing from the CaRMS match.
- Funding differs by school and by applicant: provincially funded PGY-3 seats, re-entry funding for practising physicians, return of service, or self-funding. Each row gives what the school or province says.
| Program | Length | Positions | Who can apply | Funding and obligations | Applications, 2027–28 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intellectual and Developmental DisabilitiesUniversity of Toronto · ONCategory 2 | 6 months | 2 | Current PGY2 (no re-entry mentioned on program page) | Ministry of Health (PGY2 funding); Ministry of Health Re-Entry Program for practising physicians; no dollar figures | Open to 30 Oct 2026 (extended) |
| FM/ES programs through Ontario’s physician re-entry programToronto Metropolitan University · ONPractising physicians | 1 year full time | Not stated on the school’s page | Re-entry route: family physicians in full-time practice in Canada >= 12 consecutive months, apply to the Ontario Ministry, not through CaRMS. CaRMS route is for current FM residents completing PGY2 by 31 Dec 2027. | Ministry re-entry program with 2-year full-time return of service in Ontario; each Ontario medical school decides whether funding exists for a re-entry position | No single close date stated |
| Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD)Queen's University · ONCategory 2 | 6 to 12 months (flexible) | Not stated on the school’s page | Currently enrolled PGY2 in a Canadian FM residency, or practising physician in Canada meeting Ministry funding eligibility (re-entry) | Queen's ES programs share 16 provincially funded positions (Ministry); per-program split not stated; no dollar amount | Closed 30 Sep 2026 |
| Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Enhanced Skills ProgramUniversity of Ottawa · ONCategory not stated | 6 months | 1 | Part-time and re-entry applicants welcome; preference to family physicians with an outpatient practice and a current faculty appointment | Re-entry applicants apply for Ministry re-entry funding; without Ministry funding, may participate by paying a tuition fee (amount not stated) | No dates published |