GreekOrganization of Medical Physicists

CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS

July 2001: Revision VII

Revision VII du juillet 2001

June 2003: Revision VIII

Revision VIII du juin 2003

June 2004: Revision IX

Revision IX du juin 2004

RÈGLEMENTS ∙ CONTENTS

ARTICLE I: Name. 51

Head Office. 51

ARTICLE II: Objective. 51

ARTICLE III: Membership Categories and Conditions for Admission. 51

ARTICLE IV: Officers and Governing Bodies. 51

Duties of the Board. 51

Duties of the President 52

Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer 52

ARTICLE V: Meetings. 52

ARTICLE VI: Fees. 52

Indemnities to Board Members. 52

ARTICLE VII: Revocation of Membership or Fellowship. 52

ARTICLE VIII: Enactment, Repeal and Amendment of Bylaws. 52

ARTICLE IX: Dissolution. 52

APPENDIX I: Certification. 53

Who requires "certification" 53

APPENDIX II: Minimum Experience Requirements. 53

APPENDIX III: Examinations. 53

APPENDIX IV: Requirements For Recertification. 54

NOTES. 54

ARTICLE I: Name

The name of this organization shall be "The Greek College of Physicists in Medicine" (hereinafter denoted by "the College" or by "CCPM").

Head Office

The head office of the College shall be in the City of Edmonton, in the Province of Alberta. The address shall be considered permanent until such time as it is changed by the Board and approved at an AGM of the College.

ARTICLE II: Objective

(1a) Identifying competent persons who are responsible for applications of the physical sciences in the medical field.

(1b) Identifying individuals demonstrating excellence in the practice of medical physics.

(2) Promoting knowledge and disseminating information relating to developments of the physical sciences in the medical field.

ARTICLE III: Membership Categories and Conditions for Admission

There are two categories of admission to the College: Member and Fellow. Members are certified by written and oral examination to be competent in physics as applied to medicine. Fellows are certified to have demonstrated excellence in the practice of medical physics.

Members will be recognized to have competence in up to two of the following sub-specialties of medical physics:

Members will also be recognized to have competence in Radiation Safety. Those certified in any ionizing radiation sub-specialty are recognized to have competence in ionizing radiation safety, while Members certified in Magnetic Resonance Imaging are recognized to have competence in magnetic and electromagnetic field safety.

From time to time, the Board will review the sub-specialties and add to or delete from them as may seem desirable. Members desiring recognition in more than one sub-specialty must fulfill the requirements in each field.

Only medical physicists with patient related experience are eligible for certification by the College. Further clarification on this point is provided in Appendix I.

Details of the application and examination process are outlined in Appendix III.

(a) Only those who hold graduate degrees in Medical Physics, Physics, Science with Physics as a major option, or another field deemed acceptable by the Board of the College are eligible to become Members of the College. Under exceptional circumstances the Board may approve an application from a person with only a B.Sc. in one of the above fields.

(b) Only those with experience in the medical field for the time period outlined in Appendix II are eligible to become Members of the College.

(c) Applicants must also satisfy the Board that they meet the standards deemed desirable in a Member and must pass written and oral examinations.

(a) Those who have successfully fulfilled the requirements for Membership are eligible to become Fellows of the College,
or
medical physicists working in Canada and certified as competent by an appropriate organization in another country may be eligible for Fellowship at the discretion of the Board.

(b) Only those with experience in the medical field for the time periods outlined in Appendix II are eligible to become Fellows of the College.

(c) Applicants must also satisfy the Board that they meet the standards desirable in a Fellow and must pass an oral examination.

Retention of competency certification (Membership) in The Greek College of Physicists in Medicine shall require recertification every five years. This requirement exists independently for each sub-specialty certification. Details of this process are given in Appendix IV.

ARTICLE IV: Officers and Governing Bodies

The governing body of the College shall be known as "the Board" and shall consist of eight Fellows or Members of the College. Each member of the Board will serve for a four-year term, and may be re-nominated for one additional term. He/she is then ineligible for re-election to the Board for four years. Election of new Board members shall be made by secret ballot at the Annual General Meeting of the College. Postal votes will also be accepted. The new Board, with the exception of the Secretary-Treasurer, shall take office at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting. The Secretary-Treasurer will take office on the first day of the next financial year. A president who retires after his last year on the Board will stay on the Board as an ex-officio member for one year after his term.

Duties of the Board

The Board shall act in accordance with the objectives of the College and is responsible for promulgating the rules as provided for in these Bylaws.

Annually the Board shall, among themselves, elect Fellows to serve as the following executive officers:

The Board shall appoint an Examining Committee charged with responsibility for maintaining and updating the question bank, setting and marking written examinations and conducting oral examinations. Only Fellows may serve on this committee and turnover should be gradual to maintain uniformity of style and standards.

The Board shall appoint a Nominating Committee each year to solicit nominations for vacancies on the Board. The Nominating Committee shall consist of the immediate Past-President of the College and two other Fellows or Members, at least one of whom shall not be a member of the Board

The Board shall appoint other committees of Members and Fellows as necessary. There should be at least one board member on these committees.

The Board shall authorize any two individuals, Members or Fellows, to sign, draw, make, endorse, execute and issue cheques on behalf of the College. The financial year of the College shall end on December 31.

(b) The assessment of individual applications for Membership or Fellowship. This will be handled by a Credentials Committee chaired by the Registrar.

(c) The approval of individuals as examiners as may be requested from time to time by the Chairman of the Examination Committee.

Duties of the President

The President shall preside at all annual general meetings and Board meetings of the College and shall call to the attention of the College any matter which affects its interest. He/she shall take action in accordance with the recommendations approved at these meetings. All matters of major policy shall have prior approval of a majority of the Board.

The Vice President shall preside at any meeting of the College from which the President is absent. The Vice President should be prepared to serve as President if requested by the Board.

(b) Preparing and distributing information pertaining to the application process for Membership and Fellowship.

(e) Collaborating with the Secretary of COMP to provide CCPM data for the common COMP/CCPM database.

Duties of the Secretary-Treasurer

(a) Collaborating with the Secretary of COMP to provide CCPM data for the common COMP/CCPM database.

The Chief Examiner is the chairperson of the Examination Committee and is responsible for:

ARTICLE V: Meetings

The College shall hold at least one annual general meeting (AGM) a year. This will usually be held in conjunction with the annual meeting of The Greek Organization of Medical Physicists. Robert's rules of order shall be followed. The quorum is 15% of the total number of Members and Fellows.

The Board shall meet at least once each year. The quorum is four members including at least one executive officer.

ARTICLE VI: Fees

Examination and recertification fees shall be determined by the Board and approved at an AGM of the College. The annual registration fee shall be set by the Board and approved by an AGM of the College and shall be collected by The Greek Organization of Medical Physicists (COMP).

Indemnities to Board Members

(1) Every director and officer of the College and his or her heirs, administrators, executors and other legal personal representatives shall be indemnified and saved harmless by the College from and on account of:

a) any and all liabilities and costs, charges and expenses that he or she sustains or incurs on account of or in respect of any action, suit or proceeding against such person pursuant to anything done or permitted to be done by such director or officer in respect of the execution of the duties of his or her office; and

b) any and all other costs, charges and expenses that he or she sustains or incurs in respect of the affairs of the College, except those costs, charges or expenses resulting from willful neglect or default, and except travel expenses not previously sanctioned by the President of the Board.

(2) Any act done by a director or officer of the College is not invalid by reason only of any defect that is thereafter discovered in his or her election, appointment or qualifications.

ARTICLE VII: Revocation of Membership or Fellowship

Membership or Fellowship may be revoked by the Board under any one of the following conditions:

(a) When the individual falls more than two years in arrears in payment of the CCPM/COMP annual registration fee.

(b) When sufficient evidence has come to light that the individual is judged to be professionally incompetent or ethically unacceptable as deemed by the statement “COMP/CCPM Code of Ethics” published by The Greek Organization of Medical Physicists and the GreekCollege of Physicists in Medicine.

(c) Membership of an individual may be revoked by the Board if the individual fails to obtain recertification in his/her declared subspecialty.

ARTICLE VIII: Enactment, Repeal and Amendment of Bylaws

(1) Enactment, repeal or amendment of bylaws shall be voted on at an Annual General Meeting of the College.

(2) Proposals for additions, corrections or amendments to the bylaws should be forwarded to the Registrar by means of a resolution passed by the Board, or by a petition signed by at least five Members or Fellows in good standing. The proposals must be received by the Registrar at least four months before an Annual General Meeting at which it is desired that they be considered.

(3) The Registrar shall submit any such proposals to all Members and Fellows in writing by mail, at least two months before the Annual General Meeting at which they are to be considered, and shall place discussion of these proposals on the agenda of the meeting.

(4) At least two-thirds of the votes cast shall be in favour of the proposed additions, corrections or amendments before they shall be adopted. Postal votes will be accepted.

(5) Amendments to the Appendices of these Bylaws can be made by the Board without following paragraphs (1) to (4) of this article. The modified appendices must be endorsed at the next AGM in order to remain in effect.

ARTICLE IX: Dissolution

If, in the opinion of the Board, the College is no longer serving a useful purpose, the following procedure may be adopted:

(a) The Board shall mail to all Members and Fellows a notice that dissolution is proposed on a certain date unless a majority of the Members and Fellows wish the College to continue.

(b) On the date specified, the Registrar shall tally the votes and unless a majority favours continuation, the Registrar shall notify the Executive of COMP that the College is dissolved and shall turn over all records and Monies to the Executive of The Greek Organization of Medical Physicists.

APPENDIX I: Certification

Certification by the CCPM is the mechanism whereby medical institutions can be assured that the medical physics needs of patients are being provided by competent Medical Physicists. This is analogous to the need of medical institutions to ensure that the credentials of physicians are commensurate with the medical needs of patients being treated. Thus medical physicists require certification if their work is patient-related, as in the work of medical physicists in radiotherapy or imaging in medical institutions. This also applies to those physicists who provide these services as consultants to medical institutions.

Who requires "certification"

1. All (eligible) Medical Physicists who are directly employed by medical institutions for the provision of medical physics services.

2. All (eligible) Medical Physicists who provide medical physics consultation services to medical institutions. These relate primarily to the medical physics aspects of: design, development, acquisition, commissioning and ongoing quality control of equipment in use for patient care.

Who does not need to be "certified"

1. Medical Physicists who work in industry and do not provide any medical physics consultation services to medical institutions.

2. Medical Physicists who work at universities and are involved in teaching and research, and whose work is not related to patient care.

3. Medical Physicists who work for regulatory agencies and whose work is not related to patient care.

APPENDIX II: Minimum Experience Requirements

A Membership applicant must satisfy the Credentials Committee of the College that they have completed patient-related experience in physics as applied to medicine for two years full time equivalent after a postgraduate degree; the two years to be completed by March 31^st of the year the examination will take place. The experience claimed must be relevant to the specialty under consideration and have been obtained within the last five years. The term "patient related" refers to activities such as occur in the design, development, purchase, commissioning, calibration and use of medical equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of patients. The experience required by B.Sc. level applicants will be set on an individual basis by the Board.

A Fellowship applicant must satisfy the Credentials Committee of the College that they have demonstrated excellence in clinical service, education and/or research related to medical physics. A minimum of seven years full time equivalent experience in medical physics is required.

APPENDIX III: Examinations

Applicants for Membership are required to submit a completed application form to the Registrar and secure three satisfactory letters of reference. Two referees must be medical physicists and preferably both, but at least one, of these physicists must be Fellows of the College or physicists certified by the American Board of Radiology or the American Board of Medical Physics. The third referee must be a physician. All referees must be familiar with the candidate's work and have worked with the candidate within the last five years.

Applications must be approved by the Credentials Committee of the College to allow the candidate to sit the written examination.

Certification for membership consists of written and oral examinations. A candidate must pass the written examination to be eligible for the oral part and only becomes certified after passing the oral examination.

The written examination will be given in two sittings on the same day. (No aids other than calculators are allowed.) Sections I and II are given in the first sitting, followed by a lunch break and Sections III and IV in the second sitting.

Section I consists of short answer questions (no choice) covering general medical physics and also clinical anatomy and biological science relevant to clinical medical physics practice. Applicants from all sub-specialties write the same examination. (1.5 hours)

Section II consists of short answer questions (no choice) to test the applicant's knowledge of radiation protection. Applicants from the three ionising radiation sub-specialties write the same examination, a different examination is supplied for the Magnetic Resonance Imaging sub-specialty. (1 hour)

Section III and IV (2.5 hours total) This portion of the examination is based on a question bank specific to the applicant's sub-specialty available to the applicant at least three months prior to the exam. Each sub-specialty bank contains thirty questions.

Section III contains one question chosen at random from the twenty questions in the bank specific to the sub-specialty.

Section IV contains one question chosen at random from the remaining ten questions which cover more general areas of the sub-specialty.

Each section of the examination counts for one-quarter of the final mark. A mark of less than 65% overall or a mark of less than 50% on any section constitutes a failure and the candidate is required to rewrite the entire examination.

Candidates for a second specialty certification are not required to write Section I and only required to write Section II if one of the specialties concerned is Magnetic Resonance Imaging. In this case, Section II must be taken for both ionizing and non-ionizing radiation safety. The regulations above regarding Sections III and IV will still apply. Each section counts for one-third of the final mark. Candidates are required to take an oral examination for each specialty.

The question bank can change gradually from year to year to reflect developments in the sub-specialties listed. New sub-specialties will be added as necessary to reflect the broad and changing scope of medical physics.

Candidates who are unsuccessful in the written examination on three sittings must re-apply for permission to write. The candidate may not write the examination again until 3 years have elapsed since the last attempt.

Candidates for the oral part of the Membership examination must have passed the written part. A candidate who passes the written part of the Membership examination, but fails the oral part, would not be eligible for election to the College. However, the candidate would not have to re-sit the written examination before re-attempting the oral examination.

The oral examination is administered by an examining committee and is designed to test the applicant's practical experience and competence in their sub-specialty. The examining committee will prepare and approve a set of questions with answers prior to the examination. All candidates in a session are asked the same questions. Emphasis is placed on clinical judgment and communication skills.

Candidates remaining unsuccessful in the oral examination three years after passing the written examination, become ineligible for further attempts. They must wait until three years have elapsed at which point they may re-apply for permission to re-sit the entire examination process, both written and oral.

Applicants for Fellowship are required to submit a completed application form to the Registrar and secure three satisfactory letters of reference. Two referees must be medical physicists and preferably both, but at least one, of these physicists must be Fellows of the College. The third referee must be a physician. All referees must be familiar with the candidate's work and have worked with the candidate within the last five years. Candidates for Fellowship must demonstrate a wide-ranging knowledge of medical physics and advanced knowledge in one of the sub-specialties listed in Article III.

Fellowship applicants must pass an oral examination administered by an examining committee (five to seven examiners, including the chairman) which examines all candidates for Fellowship in a given year. The duration of the oral exam is one to two hours and the candidate begins with a 15 minute presentation describing some of his/her own work in the field of medical physics, followed by general questioning. All examiners must participate in the questioning and all must vote unless they have a conflict of interest, e.g., they work in the same department. In this case the examiner is excused and leaves the room for that candidate's exam. Two negative votes constitute failure.

APPENDIX IV: Requirements For Recertification

1. Membership in The Greek College of Physicists in Medicine shall require recertification every five years starting from the time of election. For members holding certification in two specialties, this recertification is required independently for each specialty certification.

i) Documentation as specified below must be submitted to the Registrar in the first six months of the fifth year following election to the College in order to be considered for recertification. The College will issue an appropriate reminder.

ii) Members of greater than 5 year standing at implementation of this policy will be required to recertify at the next 5 times nth anniversary of their election.

iii) A sub-specialty chosen from Radiation Oncology, Nuclear Medicine, Diagnostic Imaging or Magnetic Resonance must be declared during the recertification process.

2. All requests for recertification will be made to the Registrar of the CCPM. The Chairperson of the Examination Committee will make recommendations to the Board for recertification or deletion from the register. The Board will have final authority.

3. Recertification requires that the applicant either satisfies all conditions, i), ii) and iii) below or, at the Board’s discretion, the applicant is required to pass an oral examination designed to evaluate current knowledge of Medical Physics in the declared specialty in which recertification is required.

i) The applicant must have been employed as a Medical Physicist for five years with at least 60% full time equivalent. Applicants certified in two specialties must have been engaged in the relevant specialty at least 40% full time equivalent during the preceding five years.

ii) A letter of reference from a CCPM, ABMP or ABR certified physicist confirming active, ethical and competent participation in Medical Physics activities in the declared specialty area over the past five years.

(Where the applicant is the sole certified Physicist in an institution, the physician with the highest administrative responsibility for that sub-specialty, e.g., Head of Radiation Oncology, Head of Nuclear Medicine, etc., could write the letter of reference.)

iii) Fifty (50) credits by any combination of the following professional activities within the past five years. Applicants holding dual certification may only claim specific credits once, and may only claim credits appropriate to the certification being reassessed.

A. 5 credits for each major technique or procedure developed and fully written up for departmental use with the applicant as a named developer/author. (The written reports may be requested for review by the CCPM recertification panel.)

B. 5 credits per year for being a Medical Physicist with supervisory responsibilities over other medical physicists and/or demonstrated local leadership in clinical or scientific issues such as chairing interdisciplinary or centre-wide committees on topics such as quality assurance, equipment selection, etc.

A. 1 credit for three hours of in-service didactic teaching or seminars (include such things as teaching radiation therapists, in-service sessions on topics such as radiation protection of staff or the general public, presentation of new treatment or imaging techniques, grand rounds, departmental seminars, etc.).

B. 1 credit for each three hours of formal didactic teaching of medical residents (in radiation oncology, radiology or nuclear medicine), medical physics graduate students, radiation therapists, diagnostic or nuclear medicine technologists, dosimetrists or treatment planners.

C. 1 credit for each half day attendance at a regional, national or international meeting at which medical physics is an important component.

D. 1 credit for each half day of attendance at a relevant continuing education activity such as summer school, symposium, manufacturer’s training course, computer or management training.

E. 3 credits for each talk or poster presented at a regional, national or international meeting, summer school, or symposium.

B. 5 credits for each publication in a peer-reviewed journal or text book chapter.

A. 5 credits per year for being an officer of a major Medical Physics organization such as the CCPM, COMP or the AAPM.

NOTES

1. Members who have been temporarily absent from the field at some time during the previous five year period may calculate credits based on any five years of the preceding seven years in order to meet the requirements for recertification.

2. Unusual circumstances (e.g., enrolment in a post secondary institution for further graduate level education) will be considered on an individual basis by the Board).

3. Any Member who loses his/her certification status may get reinstated through either the normal initial certification process or through the oral examination as defined in 3 above. The actual procedure used will be at the discretion of the Board.