CCPM Application Instructions

For further information, application kits, and membership examination study guides, contact the Registrar, Dr. Alistair Baillie, at:

Eligibility

Membership

Certification is intended to assure medical institutions that the medical physics needs of patients are being provided by competent Medical Physicists. Membership applicants must hold a graduate degree in medical physics, physics, science with physics as a major, or another field deemed acceptable by the Board of the College. (Under exceptional circumstances the Board may approve an application from a person with only a B.Sc. in the above fields.)

Only those with patient-related experience in physics as applied to medicine for two years after a postgraduate degree are eligible. This experience must have been obtained within the last five years and must not have been acquired in pursuit of a graduate degree. The term "patient-related" refers to activities such as those that occur in the design, development, purchase, commissioning, calibration and use of medical equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. The experience must be comprehensive within the specialty, and thus a research associate position would not generally provide the opportunity to acquire acceptable experience. (The experience required by B.Sc. level applicants will be set on an individual basis by the Board.)

Applicants must also satisfy the Board that they meet the standards deemed desirable in a Member and must pass a written examination.

Fellowship

Only those who have successfully fulfilled the requirements for membership are eligible to become Fellows of the College. Fellowship applicants must also satisfy the Credentials Committee of the College that they have made significant contributions in clinical service, education and/or research related to medical physics. A minimum of seven years full time equivalent experience in medical physics beyond an M.Sc. is required. Credit may be given for graduate studies and publications as indicated in Section 3(B) of the application form. Applicants must also satisfy the Board that they meet the standards desirable in a Fellow and must pass an oral examination.

Referees

Three references are required -- two must be medical physicists and preferably both, but at least one, of these physicists must be Fellows of the CCPM or medical physicists certified by the ABR or the ABMP. The third reference must be a physician. All three must be familiar with the applicant's professional performance and must have worked with the applicant within the last five years.

Application process:

1. Fill out the application form. Check the sample form (not valid for actual application). Note that Section 2.4 is very important and is used to assess your patient-related experience and your more general medical physics experience. Be specific about duties and dates.
2. Append an up-to-date curriculum vitae and documentary evidence of university degrees, in the form of academic transcripts or copies of diplomas.
3. Give one of the attached referee letters and assessment forms to each referee along with a copy of your application form and curriculum vitae. The referees will be asked to review the application, complete the assessment form and forward the form and their copy of the application directly to the Registrar. The Registrar should receive the referees' assessments within three weeks after the application deadline.
4. Send the original application with a cheque or money order for $150.00 for membership or $150.00 for fellowship, payable to the CCPM, to the Registrar at the address on the application form. (The original application sent directly plus the copies sent by the referees provide the copies necessary for review.) You may apply for both membership and fellowship in the same year ($300.00 total cost) but in this case do not send the fellowship fee until after you have passed the membership exam.
5. There is only one membership and one fellowship exam each year. The fellowship exam is normally held at the location of the COMP/CCPM annual scientific meeting the day prior to the start of the meeting. The membership exam is generally held near the applicant's place of residence about ten weeks prior to the fellowship exam. The application deadlines are usually about ten weeks prior to the respective exams. Consult the schedule published each fall in The Greek Medical Physics Newsletter for the exact dates.
6. Applicants will normally be notified of their eligibility for examination within five weeks after the receipt of their completed application including the referees' assessments.
7. Applicants who have been given permission to take an examination within the last two years but who withdrew or failed need only write to the Registrar by the application deadline indicating they wish to be examined and enclosing the $150.00 fee.
8. Members who wish to apply for fellowship must submit an application unless number 7 above applies. The requirement for three referees can be reduced to only one medical physicist referee if the applicant became a member within the last two years.
9. $100.00 of the application fee will be returned if the application is not approved or is withdrawn prior to the exam. There is no refund if the applicant does not pass the membership or fellowship exam.
10. Because acceptance or denial of applications may be based on confidential information, reasons for denial may not be provided. Applicants may, however, appeal decisions to the Board.
11. The annual fee to maintain membership or fellowship in the College is $100.00 but this fee is waived if the Member or Fellow is a member of The Greek Organization of Medical Physicists.

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