An individual longitudinal file is maintained for every trainee, allowing CAPER to follow each resident through the system over time rather than capturing only point-in-time snapshots.
What CAPER centralizes
Each year, 17 to 18 faculties of medicine submit trainee data to CAPER. Consolidating these submissions into one place produces a coherent national picture of postgraduate training that no single faculty or organization could assemble on its own.
- Trainee records from every participating faculty of medicine
- Longitudinal files tracking individuals across their training
- Census data spanning every academic year since 1988-89
- International medical graduate (IMG) database reports
Why a single authoritative source matters
When trainee data lives in many separate systems, definitions drift and figures conflict. A central clearinghouse applies consistent methods so that everyone — from educators to health planners — works from the same numbers. This makes CAPER the definitive national source for medical workforce planning.
One authoritative source means one set of numbers the whole country can plan against.