MCCQE Part II – Exam dates and changes

In mid-March, the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) announced the postponement of the May 2020 MCCQE Part II due to the impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, we have worked actively and closely with our exam site staff, as well as closely consulting with public health authorities, to explore scenarios to deliver the MCCQE Part II safely and in a timely way.

The provincial and territorial Medical Regulatory Authorities (MRA) consider our examinations one of the main national standards to issue a licence and, in many provinces, they are part of the legislative requirement defining licensure. The MCCQE Part II assesses the knowledge, skills and behaviours that all physicians practising in Canada should be able to demonstrate, regardless of specialty.

The exam will be delivered in a one-day format during the published October 2020 session and again during a new February 2021 session. Candidates who were previously scheduled for the May 2020 session will take the exam on one of four days: October 24 or 25, 2020, or February 6 or 7, 2021. The February 2021 session has been added to increase exam capacity.

Exam changes:

For reasons relating to the evolving pandemic and because we are committed to the safety of our candidates and everyone involved in our exams, as well as respecting the guidelines put forward by the Public Health Agency of Canada, we have made content, format and delivery changes for the October 2020 and February 2021 sessions. As a result of these changes, candidates will complete their full exam in one day rather than over two days.

For the upcoming session of the MCCQE Part II exam, physical distancing and other personal protective measures, as per the guidelines set by local public health authorities, will be put in place at the available examination centres. For more information, please consult our Exam day page.

Changes to reporting of results:

Due to the content, format and delivery changes that are specific to the October 2020 and February 2021 sessions, we cannot statistically link the total scores to those on the previous exams or those on future exams. For this reason, no total score or subscores will be reported. Candidates will receive a pass or fail designation as the final result. Those with a pass result will be awarded the Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada (LMCC).

Applications:

We are committed to first providing access to those further along in their training, including those who have completed all requirements for licensure except for being awarded the LMCC, which requires a pass result for the MCCQE Part II.

We are unable to accept new applications for the October 2020 exam, as all spaces in this session are reserved for those candidates who were registered for the postponed May 2020 session and who have not yet been able to take the exam. Candidates postponed from May 2020 will have received a message in their physiciansapply.ca account with information about their options and instructions.

New applications will be accepted for the February 2021 session, scheduled for Feb. 6 and 7. If you are interested in taking the one-day exam in February, you will have three weeks to add your name to the pre-application list when the pre-application period opens in late July. Please add your name by clicking on Subscribe at the top left of our MCCQE Part II web page to be notified at the start of pre-application. As with all MCCQE Part II sessions, the February 2021 session will have limited capacity. Candidates who do not receive an invitation to apply after adding their name to the pre-application list for the February 2021 session will be invited to add their names to the pre-application list for a later session.

During the application process, you are strongly encouraged to select the closest exam centres and to be aware of the regions’ travel restrictions.

Due to the current context, examination centres are subject to change. While we will make every effort to deliver the exam on the scheduled dates, we may need to cancel or change the date of the exam for reasons outside of our control. To ensure the safety of all exam participants, such cancellation or date change could happen at any time, up to and including the day of the exam. In such an event, candidates’ application fees will not be impacted. However, the MCC will not be responsible for any costs, fees, penalties or losses that candidates might incur (e.g., relating to travel, childcare or wages) as a result of cancellation or date change that occurs due to matters that are out of the control of the MCC.

For additional information on the October 2020 and February 2021 MCCQE Part II, please see the FAQs on our website. For any other questions, please contact our service desk.