CFPC Member Feedback

This document presents feedback collected since October 2025 from hundreds of family physicians across Canada regarding the CFPC's proposed elimination of the three-credit-per-hour certification system effective December 31, 2025.

Respondents represent all provinces and territories, spanning rural to academic settings, from new graduates to physicians with 40+ years experience, practicing across the full spectrum of family medicine including emergency, palliative, obstetrics, mental health, and sports medicine. The findings are unprecedented in their unanimity: in our formal survey, 100% of respondents (109/109) report never being consulted by CFPC about these changes, with the identical 100% wanting to preserve three-credit certification options. Hundreds of additional CFPC members submitted detailed testimonials expressing outrage and disbelief—physicians with decades of dedication to the College describing feelings of betrayal, rural doctors calculating they'll lose 30+ clinical days annually, younger physicians questioning their career choice, and established practitioners openly discussing retirement rather than compliance. Among these respondents, not a single physician—not one—supported the elimination of quality-based certification.

• "I've been a member 20+ years — this is the most undemocratic move I've seen."
• "The CFPC seems to make things harder for doctors each year so no surprise they are doing this"
• "Currently the CFPC is making a lot of changes I disagree with!"
• "Not in agreement with many of the decisions they are currently making."
• "I have zero faith in anything CFPC does and ignore them as much as possible"
• "Unfortunately the CFPC as an organization has lost its way"
• "Very disappointed. Just one more reason to ask why be part of that organization."
• "I'm indifferent, the CFPC has zero accountability or interest in its member's opinions"
• "The CFPC and other regulators should remember that the purpose of their work is not to be cost effective, efficient nor achieve easier work; they are there to assist and guide the profession."
• "I think that the well-intentioned college does not always make the right decisions."
• "Please be continued as this is important to the membership. At least survey the membership to confirm what is important"
• "I feel the CFPC is demonstrating a lack of recognition for the power of diversity."
• "I feel that CFPC do not want to bother to assess credits and enforce standards."
• "The mainpro system is a nefarious system designed by people who have too much time on their hands"
• "Very disappointed with the CFPC."
• "And we're paying $1023/yr for them to not put in the effort?!! Atrocious."
• "Perhaps the board members should do a few CBT Modules before making a final decision."
• "Disappointing decision."
• "I fear change"
• "They keep messing with a system that isn't broken."
• "Not good. It's very hard. I just got a '40 yrs of CME completion' Certificate from the college"
• "It's shameful."

• "Once again, the CFPC seems to be completely detached from the lived reality of family physicians struggling to stay afloat in an extremely challenging time for our specialty"
• "Thanks for thinking we don't work hard enough"
• "Functional stupidity"
• "It's bullshit. I can't say I am a fan of CFPC."
• "Someone who does not have to meet the credit requirement or has a very tiny practice makes those decisions"
• "CFPC with its respect for diversity needs to respect people's choice"
• "Not good. It's about making it more complicated for family doctors. Why not."
• "Are they really convinced that a drug company sponsored speaker following a good meal has the same value as a course I actively seek out?"
• "Stupidity is an illness"
• "Too bad, this was excellent"
• "It would be a great mistake"
• "Ridiculous."
• "Absolutely DISAGREE"
• "I disagree strongly"
• "That's ridiculous"
• "B.S."
• "That's a terrible idea."
• "It seems rather anti-meritocratic."
• "It's really short sighted."
• "Short sighted, one of the most useful workshops that I have attended in the past 10 years"
• "Disappointing news"
• "This is a great programme, it fits quite well with my schedule. I hope the CFPC will reconsider"
• "I don't like it. There is definitely a range of CME experiences one can have."

• "Quality CME trumps non quality by a factor of 3"
• "Not all CME is created equal"
• "All CME is not created equal"
• "I think that is wrong and lazy. Not all CME is equal as we all know."
• "Not acknowledging and accounting for variations in quality per time of CMEs is huge error"
• "There are certainly varying levels of quality of instruction"
• "Your privileging quantity over quality"
• "There are differences in CME lectures. Unwise decision"
• "I think the number of credits should reflect the information received and the work put in"
• "I think each program is of different quality and should be evaluated based on standard criteria to determine how many credits should be given"
• "Each individual program should be evaluated on its own merits"
• "I believe that high quality cme should still receive recognition for that and reward participants with the additional credits"
• "I oppose their perspective. And argue that allowing for the merit-based system encourages and promotes the continued development and delivery of higher quality offerings, which is exactly what needs to be needed."
• "Seems unjust, unfair considering how excellent your CBT workshops have been for myself over many years (decades)."
• "The value provided by the CBT conferences is far superior than the benefit of didactic CMEs that I have attended"
• "I think the merit-based system encourages physicians to seek out higher-quality offerings"
• "Not reasonable at all"
• "CBT three credit/hour workshops have been excellent. Proposed change would not make sense for your workshops (high quality)"
• "I believe interactive courses with feedback are worth more"
• "There is a lot of concentrated material in both the delivery and absorbing of the CBT educational material which should be accordingly valued"
• "CBT Canada is a unique CME. It's application to practice in my opinion is fundamental to longevity and maintenance of standards of care. I've been in practice for 30 years, I have attended a lot of forgetful CME. CBT is different and should be treated differently."
• "Meddling will lead to middling. Leave it be."
• "The 'stranded credits' issue is the responsibility of the participating physician, and the rest of us who value these exercises should not be subject to changes based on others' lack of follow-through."
• "Supporting high-quality high-credit-per-hour CME development encourages CME developers to reach for the highest standards, which physicians, and patients, benefit from."
• "The amount I have learned from the well researched, and concise CBT online workshops has been 100% more useful and impactful on my family medicine practice than any other CME conferences, webinars, workshops etc that I have attended in my 23 years of practice."
• "So true that all CME and the hours credited are not the same quality... when you have a high quality program like CBT Canada... the CFPC NEEDS to acknowledge it with the extra credits."
• "The triple credit program is definitely higher value and quality material."
• "I really value this method of literature presentation and delivery with reflection on practice and impact. It should continue to be represented as the kind of extremely high quality learning that it is."

• "It takes away from pt care"
• "25 hours a year of CME means 25 hours less of patient care"
• "This will translate into significantly fewer hours of patient care"
• "Tripling my CME burden reduces the time I have to spend with patients. This does not make sense."
• "Increasing the CME burden will only result in reduced patient access to care"
• "The time to complete the extra homework will have to come out of patient scheduled appointments. Not doing it during family time."
• "More time spent away from pt care presents major challenges yet continuing learning is also essential."
• "Might work out for academic physicians, but in primary care this is challenging as it is"
• "Requiring more CME hours not only means these hours cannot be used for patient appointments, but also means a substantial loss of income when clinics are already in crisis"
• "This is totally irresponsible given the shortage of FP to provide patient care"
• "Family physicians are exhausted, burnt out, and leaving the profession, adding more administrative burden on top of this is incongruent with supporting family doctors"
• "Sitting passively in a lecture that has nothing to do with our knowledge needs or patient demographics takes away from critical time we could be spending with our clinics"
• "It fails to recognize my time commitment to the practice of medicine and delivering care to my patients"
• "I know physicians who have retired earlier than planned because of administrative burden"

• "You are making practice feel more and more impossible. I'm just about ready to quit"
• "Have mercy on the already overburdened Family physicians!! Do not add another nail in the coffin of a dying system"
• "These changes will only further erode the mental health of family physicians"
• "They are increasing burnout in physicians"
• "If they proceed, I will consider opting out. Membership value seems limited"
• "I was already feeling overwhelmed by not enough hours in the day. More frustrated and dejected."
• "It sucks"
• "This adds further to stress and time constraints physicians are already experiencing, while having ongoing billing cuts"
• "You are not hearing physicians' needs and more of us will burnout and leave if you take more of our already strapped time"
• "It's non realistic and it's adding more burden to the already over-burdened and over-worked physicians"
• "We are struggling and this worsens our struggle"
• "Our time is valuable and many of these sessions have costs/are unpaid time. Given the existing burnout, profession dropout/reduced entry by residents, and the high unpaid admin burdens we already face, this will make it harder for Drs to get their credits and reduce job satisfaction AND engagement in CME"
• "Keep doing this kind of thing to ensure fewer people choose family medicine as a career path and more working family physicians quit or retire early. What a terrible strategy."
• "Using a uniform CME Credit system will merely add to the stressors and time constraints that we as family physicians have to endure"
• "Unfair, especially in this day and age with increased demands on family physicians to provide quality care with limited time, resources and increased administrative responsibilities"
• "I'm only pushing my burnout adjacent situation into almost certain burnout. Do you want me to help patients in an under-served system, or jump through an extra 30 days of burdensome CME?"
• "Time is precious and very limited"
• "It is difficult to find the hours to do my work, home life and increasing CME requirements"
• "Unsustainable demands"
• "More burden on already busy FDs"
• "I will struggle to get this done"
• "Unreasonable demand"
• "This change will triple our burden we will have to give more time to earn credits"
• "It reduces my choice and devalues my time"
• "We continue to be 'nickled and dimed' wrt conference requirements and attendance, and treated like children by our monitoring bodies"
• "Unfortunately the process over the last 10-15 years has become tedious and overbearing administratively, both for the organizer, and the attendee"
• "I have not seen any literature to suggest that doctors operating under the 'new system' are better doctors. In fact I would argue the opposite"

• "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
• "Perhaps their efforts could go into other things."
• "If they are moving to a salaried system - pay me $250/hour to attend high quality CME"
• "Let us breathe!!!"
• "Only a 'handful' of physicians doing 3 credit per hr CME? Really??"
• "Do you want me to help patients in an under-served system, or jump through an extra 30 days of burdensome CME?"
• "What a terrible strategy."
• "I have not seen any literature to suggest that doctors operating under the 'new system' are better doctors. In fact I would argue the opposite"
• "I feel Dismayed, Disgusted, Disgruntled, and Despondent. Would an F be better than a grade of D? Happy to oblige!"
• "May physicians unite to execrate this repugnant plan!"
• "...........raspberry............:)"

Keep 3:1

Less time, more skill, better care