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VISION

SDAMPP aims to promote better coordination between academic MP programs, to foster establishment of best practices, to monitor production of students relative to job market, to help new programs get started, and to serve as a voice for academic program directors.

Elements of this vision include the following:

  1. Meeting annually to discuss topics of concern/interest to academic medical physics programs
    1. Sharing curricula
    2. Suggestions on program funding
    3. Sharing ideas on career planning for students and training in professionalism
    4. Evaluating trends in hiring of students
    5. Measuring total production of MS and PhD graduates
    6. Providing help on preparing for accreditation
    7. Providing feedback to CAMPEP and ABR
    8. Monitoring changing trends in the discipline and plan needed changes in education
    9. Being a society for the medical physics discipline with a purpose similar to the Society of Chairmen in Academic Radiology Departments (SCARD)
    10. Having membership open to current and past directors, chairs, associate directors, vice chairs, DGSs, and other individuals in positions of leadership in academic programs
    11. Supporting key leaders of all medical physics academic programs, both accredited and non-accredited
    12. Being international in scope, although initial efforts would emphasize supporting academic programs in North America
    13. Having a role in helping medical physicists from developing countries establish academic programs in their countries
    14. Being an independent society, but working in close collaboration with AAPM, ABR, IOMP, COMP, CAMPEP, etc
    15. Being financially self-supporting through membership due and meeting fees.  Dues would pay for such items as:
      1. Support-staff expenses
      2. Expenses for website, educational materials
      3. Travel expenses to host medical physicists from developing countries to attend SDAMPP meetings
      4. Helping programs of comparable size network with each other
      5. Having an annual meeting that includes both educational sessions as well as discussion sessions.  The annual meeting would coincide with AAPM, ASTRO, or RSNA meetings
      6. Having rotating elected officers (President, etc) and board of directors
      7. Helping academic institutions establish and promote excellence in residency programs as well as MS and PhD training
      8. Supporting the formation of an organization of medical physics students (similar to SPS)