Canadian Mammography Quality Guidelines

2. Personnel

The following requirements apply to all personnel involved in any aspect of mammography, including the production, processing, and interpretation of mammograms and related quality assurance activities:

2.1 Interpreting Physicians (Radiologists)

A. (1) Initial qualifications. Unless the exemption in paragraph (2) of this section applies, before beginning to interpret mammograms independently, the interpreting physician must:

1. possess qualifications required by any relevant Federal and Provincial regulations or statutes;
2. be certified in Diagnostic Radiology by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or by the Collège des médecins du Québec; and
3. have sufficient training in mammography. Training shall include a minimum of 40 hours of documented American Medical Association (AMA) Category I credits in mammography, or Maintenance of Certification (MOCERT) evidence of learning in mammography. It is required that about half of this should be in AMA or MOCERT accredited programmes and the remainder can be in self-directed learning documented in MOCERT by submission. Time spent in residency specifically devoted to mammography is acceptable, if documentation from the training programme is supplied by the radiologist.

(2) Exemptions

1. Radiologists, who have been in practice in Canada as of January 1998, certified by other licensing bodies and complying with provincial licensing requirements.

B. Continuing experience and education. All interpreting physicians must maintain their qualifications by meeting the following requirements:

1. Read a minimum of 480 mammograms per year. A greater number of mammograms read per year are preferred. This requirement may be altered in low population areas where this number may not be achievable.
2. For re-certification (after the initial 3 year accreditation), the equivalent of 15 hours of AMA Category I credits, or MOCERT evidence of self-directed learning in mammography in annual profiles is necessary. It is required that about half of this should be in AMA or MOCERT accreditation programmes and the remainder can be in self-directed learning documented in MOCERT by submission of a suitable annual profile. Documentation should be available upon request.

2. 2 Mammography Technologists

A. Initial Requirements. All mammographic X-ray technologists must:

1. possess qualifications required by any relevant Federal and Provincial regulations and statutes;
2. be certified according to a standard, such as that of the Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists (CAMRT) or the equivalent provincial license;
3. have special training in mammography, either through the training curriculum or special courses; and
4. be specifically trained in mammography Quality Control.

B. Continuing experience and education requirements. For re-certification (after the initial 3 year accreditation), each technologist must:

1. have 15 hours of Continuing Education in mammography, or as required by Provincial regulations, and
2. work the equivalent of at least 390 hours in mammography each year for 3 years, or as required by Provincial regulations. This is based on a 7.5 hour work day and a minimum of 52 days per year.

2.3 Medical Physicists

All medical physicists conducting surveys of mammography facilities and providing oversight of the facility quality assurance programme shall meet the following requirements:

A. Initial Qualifications. The medical physicist must:

1. be accredited in Medical Physics of mammography by the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) or its equivalent, or any relevant provincial/territorial licence.

B. Continuing experience and education requirements.

1. Accreditation of physicists by CCPM is for three years. To maintain accreditation, attendance of at least 15 hours of continuing education on relevant matters in mammography during these three years is required, or its equivalent.

2.4 Retention of Professional Records

Documentation of professional qualifications of the radiologists, mammography technologists, and medical physicists must be retained by the facility.