CIP Training Pathways

The Royal College allows for three CIP research pathways, although only the first two paths are available at the University of Calgary

1. The Continuous Training (CT) pathway, involves a minimum of 24 months of continuous, intensive, research training, which can be done at different points in residency. Planning for CIP entry into the CT pathway should begin as soon as possible after an interest in the CIP is identified

2. The Fractionated Training (FT) pathway is a minimum 24 months of research, distributed throughout training as follows:
   -Twelve (12) months of training completed in periods of 3 months or longer blocks
   -Twelve (12) months of continuous research training
   The FT pathway is for individuals who wish to pursue research that requires several years to plan a research project, obtain research ethics board approval, and complete the project, which may involve patient recruitment to a study. This pathway is particularly suitable for clinical epidemiology research, where intensive research activities will be separated by long waiting periods.

NOTE: The DCT pathway is not offered at the University of Calgary

The Distributive Curriculum Training (DCT) pathway is intended for outstanding residents who have research experiences prior to entering a residency program. In the DCT pathway, there is coordinated entry into the PGY1 year for both CIP and the  specialty program. The PGY1 and PGY2 years in the DCT pathway are identical to a traditional specialty training program but the PGY3 equivalent is distributed over the PGY3 to PGY5 years, with three months of selective time in the PGY3 year utilized for research and completion of some clinical training requirements during the research block. In the DCT pathway, there are 27 months of research experience.