Medical physics in Canada: ABR accepted?

[kendry93]

Hello,

I'm a Canadian who will be doing a medical physics residency in the U.S., and my goal is to work in the clinic.

There's potential to be hired in the U.S. after completion of the residency program, so I will be going for ABR certification. One day, I would like to return to work in Canada.

My question is: should I bother with the CCPM at the same time? I've seen job advertisements that say "CCPM or equivalent." I'm wondering if being ABR certified and not having CCPM certification makes me any less desirable as a candidate, and if it's worth getting both certifications at the same time.
Thanks!

 

[Choppy]

Hi Kendry93,

Generally yes, the ABR is taken as equivalent to CCPM membership for employment as a medical physicist in Canada. So going for the CCPM membership is probably not *necessary.* That said, I can think of a few reasons to do it, if you intend on eventually working in Canada

Primarily, the policy elements in the exam are all specific to Canada. By this I mean things like: (i) radiation protection legislation and standards, (ii) Health Canada safety codes, (iii) CPQR technical quality control guidelines, etc. CCPM membership will certify that you have a competent working knowledge of policies that are specific to Canada.

Further, Medical Physics is a competitive field. While ABR certification and CCPM membership are seen as equivalent in terms of certifying competence, in a context where two candidates are otherwise equal, Canadian institutions are likely to favour CCPM members, as I would expect most American institutions are likely to favour candidates certified through the ABR.