Continuing professional development needs of Australian radiation oncology medical physicists--an analysis of applications for CPD funding.

In November 2004, the Australian federal government allocated $775,000 to individual Australian radiation oncology medical physicists (ROMPs) to access continuing professional development (CPD) activities. The funding was administered by the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM). In order to receive funding, individuals had to submit an application to ACPSEM, which assessed each application and distributed funds to successful applicants. 248 separate applications were received from 143 individuals in two rounds of applications. Information from the applications was collated and analysed, with the aim of identifying patterns that will be of use in future planning for CPD. This paper presents a summary of the information extracted from the analysis.