For the first time, Qatar hosted the International Medical Physics Certification Board (IMPCB) exams. This provided an opportunity for 16 QaMPS Members, most of them working in HMC, to be certified as qualified medical physicists in various specialties. This happened on 21-24 October 2019.  

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Prior to these exams, a two-day medical physics workshop was conducted as continuous professional education for medical staff.  Dr Huda Al Naemi, QaMPS President, Executive Director for the Occupational Health and Safety of HMC, and President of the Middle East Federation for the Organization of Medical Physics (MEFOMP), in collaboration with Dr Abdullatif Al-Khal Chief of Medical Education Department in HMC worked together to organize this international event in Qatar.

 

The examination was conducted by a team of seven IMPCB examining faculty selected by the Board Examination Committee. About 45 candidates from different countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Georgia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq participated in this examination.  This has been the highest number of candidates comparing to other exams conducted previously; hence, internationally recognizing HMC and Qatar as a hub for medical physics certification.

 

The mission of the International Medical Physics Certification Board (IMPCB) is to support the practice of medical physics through a certification program to achieve the goal of improving the quality of patient care in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. The IMPCB conducts a three-part Board Examination in several medical physics imaging and therapy sub-specialties worldwide, with emphasis on parts of the world that lack certification programs. Over the past two years, examinations have been held in Mexico, Bangladesh, Italy (several times), Czech Republic, Austria and Chille.