Becoming a Member

Privileges of Membership

All categories of Members shall be entitled to attend and participate in all meetings, webinars, conferences, and functions of the Society, shall be eligible to serve on committees of the Society, and shall have access to the Society’s surveys, reports, data and other information resources assembled or prepared by or through the Society. Members in the categories of Regular Member and Emeritus Member shall be entitled to vote on matters of consideration by the membership of the Society, to make motions, to serve on the Board of Directors, and to hold elected Offices of the Society.

Eligibility

If you are involved in medical physics education, you are eligible to become a member of SDAMPP. We welcome ALL professionals who are interested in medical physics education. It is obvious from our society’s name that our members include program directors. In addition, our society serves many additional types of professionals, as well. In fact, to accomplish our mission to advance medical physics worldwide, we welcome ALL types of professionals engaged in ALL aspects of medical physics education. This includes program directors, deputy program directors, faculty, and support staff. SDAMPP recognizes the vital roles played by all these professionals and we welcome them to join.

Our profession holds responsibility to prepare future educators and leaders. SDAMPP plays a major role in achieving that long-term and ongoing activity.  For these reasons, we encourage professionals, at all ages and stages, to join the society and to participate in its many activities.  We encourage past program directors, retired, and semi-retired professionals to become members and to share their wisdom with our less experienced members.  We encourage junior members, including those beginning their careers in medical physics education, to join and to learn from our more experienced members.

Membership Categories and Types

SDAMPP offers a variety of membership types to closely match to the duties and interests of virtually every prospective member. The application process is simple and easy, and the membership dues are inexpensive, ranging from ($75 to $150 per year). The basic process is summarized below. 

We have two basic categories of members, voting (regular and emeritus) and non-voting (associate and honorary). To ensure the broad representation of academic programs (on matters that call for a vote), we limit the number of voting members that any one program can have at one time. SDAMPP does not limit the number of non-voting members in any way.  If you are not sure which type of membership is most appropriate for you, please check with your program director and see the additional details on membership types below. You may also contact our membership committee, (chair.membership.committee@sdampp.org), who will be happy to assist you in selecting the appropriate membership type.

The four types of membership are:

• Regular – This category of membership is open to those individuals who are currently engaged in senior leadership positions within academic medical physics programs.
• Emeritus – This category of membership is open to those who formerly held positions of senior leadership within academic medical physics programs.
• Honorary – This category of membership may be conferred on those individuals who have rendered outstanding service in the field of medical physics education, but who would not otherwise qualify for Membership.
• Associate – This category of membership is open to those individuals who are interested in medical physics education and in the purposes of the Society, but who are ineligible for other categories of membership.

Application

Application for membership is simple and requires only a brief nomination letter.

• Nomination letters for voting membership should be submitted by an applicant’s program’s director.  Program directors wishing to apply may self-nominate. 
• Nominations for non-voting membership may be submitted by the applicant, the applicant’s program director, or any other SDAMPP member in good standing. 
• Individuals who are retired from positions of leadership, or for whatever reason are not currently affiliated with a program, may nominate themselves for Emeritus, Honorary, or Associate member.
• Candidates for Honorary or Associate Membership may nominate themselves, or may be nominated by any member of SDAMPP in good standing.
• Nomination letters should explain the current role of the applicant, as well as any past role of relevance to membership.
• Template nomination and self-nomination letters are provided at the following links: Download Sample Nomination Letter or Download Sample Nomination Letter from Program Director (Sen. Admin. Leader). 
• Nominations should be submitted by email to chair.membership.committee@sdampp.org. 
• Typically nominations are reviewed at monthly intervals.  Applicants will be notified by email.

Membership Dues

The annual dues of SDAMPP members in each of the membership categories are as follows:

• Regular Member:  $150
• Emeritus Member:  $150
• Honorary Member:  $75
• Associate Member:  $75

Note: Those unable to pay the listed dues due to financial hardship (e.g., associated with the COVID-19 pandemic) should contact the membership committee for further assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  My institution already has a bunch of members is SDMAPP.  Can I still join?  A: There is no limit to the total number of members that an institution or program may have, but each program can only have four voting (regular and emeritus) members.

Q:  At my institution, we have multiple programs.  How does this affect the number of members we can have?  A:  There is no limit to the number of programs (e.g., MS, PhD, PDC, DMP, imaging residency, therapy residency) from which each institution may have members.  Each program may have up to four voting (regular and emeritus) members.  There is no limit on the number of non-voting members.

Q:  My program is located outside of the United States.  Can I still join?  A:  Yes.  Individuals may apply from medical physics education programs anywhere in the world.  Programs not affiliated with an accredited university or educational entity but which are CAMPEP accredited (e.g., an accredited residency program at a private hospital) will be considered by definition to be an “accredited institution of higher education” by virtue of their CAMPEP accreditation, and therefore will qualify. Applications will also be considered for membership of individuals at non-CAMPEP-accredited programs not affiliated with an accredited university or educational entity