Organization of the profession
The professional order
The Collège des médecins du Québec (CMQ) is the professional order of Quebec physicians. It is the body responsible for issuing their permits to practice and verifies the competence of future physicians through a special program designed for this purpose.
The CMQ is responsible for the protection of the public. It is therefore the body that receives and handles complaints from the public. The Collège also takes a position in certain public debates concerning the practice of medicine in Québec.
Medical federations are primarily responsible for representing physicians before the government. They represent their members by sitting on numerous committees. They are the ones who negotiate agreements for physicians, such as the one governing remuneration and several others concerning the organization of medical care in Quebec.
Quebec has four medical federations:
The Fédération des médecins spécialistes du Québec (FMSQ) is the professional union representing medical specialists practicing in the Quebec public network. It is the only entity designated to negotiate agreements with the government.
It is made up of 35 affiliated medical associations bringing together more than 10,000 medical specialists who have certification in one of the 59 recognized medical specialties.
The Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ) is the professional union representing all general practitioners in Québec. It has more than 9,500 members in 19 associations.
The FMOQ negotiates the conditions of practice of general practitioners and family physicians with government authorities in order to improve the supply of care and services in the health network.
The Fédération des médecins résidents du Québec (FMRQ) is a professional union that brings together the resident physician associations of the four faculties of medicine in Quebec (Université de Montréal, McGill University, Université de Sherbrooke, Université Laval). As part of its activities, the FMRQ is responsible for negotiating the collective agreements of resident physicians.
The organization currently has some 3,600 members who are destined to practice family medicine or one of the 59 other recognized specialties in Québec.
The Fédération médicale étudiante du Québec (FMEQ) is the entity representing the voice of the four student medical associations in Quebec. It promotes the interests of all its members, more than 4,000 medical students in Québec, and provides them with the services they need.
There are four faculties of medicine in Québec: