The Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP)is the representative body for organizations such as the ACPSEM in our region. 60% of the world's population lives in the area that it represents. There are 18 member nations and 3 associate member nations. About half of the member organizations have some sort of accreditation/certification of their medical physicists. Some of these systems are very well developed, while others are in the process of being planned or instituted. In some cases it is necessary to have this sort of credentialling in order to practice as a clinical medical physicist. Beyond that, in some countries there are various sorts of government-required licensing systems for medical physicists.
Generally, it would be beneficial for there to be consistent standards for medical physicist accreditation/certification from country to country. This may not be achievable globally, but it may be possible regionally or within a large group of countries within a region. Indeed, as the numbers of physicists in some AFOMP countries is so very small it is a better option for them to adopt a system developed by another country rather than to develop their own. Already some of those being developed draw heavily on another in the region.
This paper will consider the various accreditation licensing/accreditation/certification schemes in our region and consider the implications of setting up a uniform standard.