Eligibility

The criteria for Membership in the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine are set out in the bylaws of the organization.

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 and oral examination. The candidate should use the available Examination Booklets to prepare for the examination. Documents describing the standards and examination format can be found in the Application Documents section.

Fellowship

Fellowship applicants must 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 is required. Applicants must also satisfy the Board that they meet the standards desirable in a Fellow and must pass an oral examination. Documents describing the standards and examination format can be found in the Application Documents section.

Referees

Applications for Membership:  Three references are required --  two referees must be medical physicists, at least one of which must be a Member or Fellow of the College, or certified by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) or the American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP). For Radiation Oncology Physics sub-speciality, to be eligible for U.S. NRC authorized medical physicist status, the applicant must have been supervised for two years by that certified reference. The third referee 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.

Applications for Fellowship:  Three references are required -- two referees must be medical physicists, at least one of which must be a Fellow of the College. The third referee 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:

Note: All required documents and forms are available on the Application Documents page.

1. Medical Physicists with appropriate experience may apply for Membership in the College using the Membership Application Form. 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 to your application.
3. Applicants for Membership must arrange for proof of highest degree to be sent directly from your university to the COMP/CCPM office (e.g. transcripts or certified copy of degree). 
4. Applicants for Fellowship who do not have MCCPM (e.g. have ABR or other similar certification instead), must arrange for proof of degree to be sent as in (3) above.
5. Give a copy of the Membership Referee Assessment Form, the Membership Referee Cover Letter, the College Bylaws and the Membership Examination Standards 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 c/o the COMP/CCPM Office. Be sure to inform the referees of the application deadline so that all documentation is received by the Registrar on time.
6. Candidates for Fellowship must demonstrate wide ranging knowledge in Medical Physics and advanced knowledge in their field of specialty. Separate application forms are used by Fellowship candidates. The Fellowship Application Form should be completed and copies of the Fellowship Referee Assessment Form, the Fellowship Referee Cover Letter, the College bylaws and the Fellowship Examination Standards should be sent to the referees.
7. Send the original application with a cheque or money order (see Examination Schedule for current fee) 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 but in this case do not send the Fellowship fee until after you have passed the Membership exam.
8. 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 on one of the days immediately prior to the start of the meeting. The written membership exam is generally held about twelve weeks prior to the Fellowship exam. Written exam locations are dispersed throughout the country, with every effort made to provide exam writing centres close to the applicant’s place of residence. The oral Membership exam is held about 3 weeks prior to the COMP/CCPM annual scientific meeting. The oral exam is held in one central location only, and candidates will need to make personal travel arrangements to sit the exam, as required. The application deadline for both Membership and Fellowship examinations will be about ten weeks prior to the written Membership exam. Consult the Examination Schedule for the exact dates.
9. Applicants will normally be notified of their eligibility for examination within two weeks of the scheduled written examination.
10. 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 appropriate fee. Applicants who have passed the written but need to resit the oral examination again need to say so in writing to the Registrar and enclose the current oral-only fee by the deadline date.
11. Members who wish to apply for Fellowship must submit an application unless already given permission as in the previous item above. 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.
12. The application fee will be returned (less a $50.00 administrative fee) if the application is not approved or is withdrawn at least one week prior to either the written Membership or oral Fellowship exam. Once the application has been approved, notification of withdrawal should be directed to the Chief Examiner. If the applicant fails the written Membership exam, the portion of the fee associated with the oral exam will be refunded.
13. Applicants may appeal decisions for denial of application to the Board.
14. Membership in the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists must not lapse in order to maintain Membership or Fellowship status with the College
15. Overseas applicants must bear any additional costs associated with the exam, e.g. shipment of the framed certificate to an overseas destination.

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