Mainpro®
Mainpro® (Maintenance of Proficiency) is the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) program designed to support and promote the continuous professional development of its members.
When you join the CFPC as a member, complete the certification examination or register as a non-member Mainpro participant, you are assigned to a five-year Mainpro® cycle.
You must report a minimum of 250 Mainpro credits in each five-year cycle to maintain your membership and/or special designation(s).
Mainpro® Credits
There are three types of Mainpro credits: M1, M2 and C. At least 125 of the 250 credits must be Mainpro-M1 and/or Mainpro-C. Up to 125 of the 250 credits may be Mainpro-M2 credits.
Mainpro-M1 credits are earned when you participate in structured learning programs, events or activities that focus on enhancing knowledge and/or skills pertinent to the practice of family medicine. A variety of activities are eligible for Mainpro-M1 credits, including CFPC-accredited conferences and workshops, faculty development activities, contributions to the medical community – and accredited programs such as CFP Mainpro.
Under some circumstances, when information in the article leads to further study and may impact your practice, up to 2 Mainpro-C credits can be claimed, in addition to Mainpro-M1 credits, using the "Linking Learning to Practice" form. See www.cfpc.ca/mainpro for more information about claiming these credits.
How credits are earned
Mainpro-M1 credits can be earned by performing a brief reflective exercise after reading an article in CFP. (Just reading the article does not earn M1 credits, although this activity can be claimed for M2 credits.) To perform a "reflective exercise" essentially means to think about the content of the article, and to consider what impact it will have on one's practice (or continuing education). Most article-based CFP reflective exercises are eligible for .25 (1/4) credit each.
CFP Mainpro credits are NOT subject to the 15 credit annual limit that applies to e-mail push activities such as InfoPOEMs, e-Therapeutics Highlights and CardioCLIPs. CFP Mainpro credits are counted separately.
How credits are recorded/submitted
CFP Mainpro credits are automatically recorded when you click the "submit" button after completing a reflective exercise. A record of all your credits earned through the CFP program is maintained, including all articles for which credit has been submitted. Mainpro-M1 points earned through CFP are submitted to the Mainpro program at the CFPC on your behalf on a quarterly basis. As well, you can check your current CFP Mainpro credits by clicking on the View Credits button at the top right of the page. (This summary report can also be printed for your records.)
Rapid Responses
The Rapid Response feature on cfp.ca allows readers to write on-line responses to articles published in the Journal, to make comments or ask questions of the authors of the articles and other readers. When a Rapid Response is submitted, copies automatically go to the Journal editors, and to the corresponding author of the article. They are normally available to be read on the site within one to two working days. Article authors and other readers may respond to questions or comments.
How to use Rapid Responses
To submit a Rapid Response to an article, first go to the on-line article (either by clicking on Read Article in CFP Mainpro, or directly through cfp.ca). At the top of the article on-line, there is a list of features and services available, including Rapid Responses. Click on the link, and a form will appear allowing users to submit Rapid Responses.