Fellowship

The Fellowship Examination is a two-stage process. First the candidate must satisfy to the credentialing committee that he or she meets the minimum eligibility requirements for admission to the Fellowship examination process. Applicants for Fellowship must have additional work experience beyond that required for membership in the CCPM, and have made significant contributions in clinical service, education and/or research related to medical physics. If these requirements are met, the applicant must then successfully complete the examination process, after which he or she will be granted the Fellowship distinction at the next Annual General Meeting of the College.

The criteria for Fellowship in the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine are set out in the Regulations of the organization. Minimum requirements for admission to the Fellowship examination include the following:

• Certification
  Applicants for the Fellowship examination shall be Members of the CCPM or be certified as competent by another recognized certifying body.
• Work experience:
  Applicants for the Fellowship examination shall possess a minimum of seven years full-time equivalent patient-related experience in physics as applied to medicine.
• Referees
  Three satisfactory letters of reference shall be provided, each attesting that the candidate meets the experience requirements and has abided by the CCPM Code of Ethics. Two of the letters of reference must be from medical physicists. At least one medical physicist referee must be a CCPM member with the fellowship distinction or, at the discretion of the CCPM Board, by another recognized certifying body. The third letter must be from a board-certified physician. The letters must be written by persons who have worked with the candidate in the previous 5 years and are directly familiar with the candidate’s clinical experience.
• Canadian Connection
  The CCPM certification process is intended to serve Canadians. Candidates are expected to fulfill at least one of the following criteria: be a Canadian citizen; be resident in Canada; have completed a university degree in Canada; have completed a medical physics residency program in Canada; or have a confirmed job offer in Canada. Under exceptional circumstances, candidates not fulfilling any of these criteria may be eligible at the discretion of the Board. In such circumstances, an out-of-country application fee equal to three times the normal application fee will apply.

Application Process

Instruction

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

In order to be reviewed for eligibility for the CCPM Fellowship Examination, each applicant must submit by the date indicated in the Exam Schedule and Fees section of the website to the CCPM Office, the following documents:

1. A completed Fellowship Application Form.
2. An up-to-date CV, highlighting leadership experience and areas of excellence.  This should include:
   • All work experience
   • Presentations/publications
   • Service
   • Supervisory experience
   • Grants
3. Three letters of reference as indicated in the Fellowship eligibility section and in the CCPM regulations.  Applicants must provide a copy of the Fellowship Referee Assessment Form, the Fellowship Referee Cover Letter, Section E of the Regulations of the College and the Fellowship 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 CCPM Office. Be sure to inform the referees of the application deadline so that all documentation is received by the Registrar on time.
4. Applicants for Fellowship who do not have MCCPM (e.g., have ABR or other similar certification instead) 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).

The original application must be sent to the Registrar at the address on the application form with a cheque or money order (see Exam Schedule and Fees for current fee) payable to the CCPM. (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.

There is only 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. Consult the Exam Schedule and Fees for the exact dates.

Applicants will normally be notified of their eligibility for examination within 6 weeks after the Fellowship Application deadline.

Once the application has been approved, notification of withdrawal should be directed to the Chief Examiner as soon as possible. See Exam Schedule and Fees for possible reimbursements.

Applicants may appeal decisions for denial of application to the Board.

Membership in the Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists must not lapse in order to maintain Membership or Fellowship status with the College

Overseas applicants must bear any additional costs associated with the exam, e.g. shipment of the framed certificate to an overseas destination.

If approved by the credentialing committee, the applicant must then provide the documents described in the Fellowship Exam Documentation Requirements by the deadline specified by the Registrar to the CCPM Office.

Fellowship Exam Process

The oral examination will last approximately 90 minutes. 

1. The first 15 minutes will be the candidate’s presentation on the primary project described in the Fellowship Exam Documentation Requirements. Candidates will be evaluated both on the quality and content of the presentation.  Note that this portion of the examination will not be allowed to run overtime.
2. This will be followed by a 30-minute question period.  Questions will assess the project, excellence and leadership as indicated in the primary project, and CV.  For the presentation, a multimedia projector will be available.  A laptop computer is available for you, or you may use your own laptop if you prefer.
3. The second section of the exam will be a question-and-answer session that is common to all candidates in your specialty.  The question topics will include: Radiation Protection (or MRI Safety); Clinical Issues; Emerging Technologies; Legal/Ethical Issues and Cost/Benefit Analysis; and Competing Modalities.  You will be asked questions related to these topics by the examining committee. Details of the assessment may be found in the Fellowship Examination Standards.

The FCCPM exam strives to demonstrate excellence and leadership in our profession, in addition to in-depth knowledge acquired through practice in the field of medical physics.  The exam will consider not only the content of the response, but the manner of the presentation, and the ability to project solid and sound reasoning.

Preparation Guide for the Fellowship Exam