Radiation protection certification & qualification

I have appointed a Working Group (WG) to produce a draft document of guiding principles for the development and implementation of a certification process for RP Experts. A second task for this WG is to provide a recommendation to the IRPA Executive Council for their meeting in 2013 about the advisability of IRPA producing guidance documents on the qualifications for RP Experts. The specific Statement of Work for this initiative follows.

The Co-Chairs of the WG are Colin Partington from the UK and Kent Lambert from the US. Currently there are two additional members of the WG, Alexander Brandl from Austria and Jeff Dovyak from Canada. I hope to appoint additional members for this WG in the near future.

I invite any IRPA member who would like to participate in this effort to contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   and I will consider adding you to the WG, based on geographical considerations. I would like to have all regions of IRPA membership engaged without making the WG too large to manage effectively. I expect that the efforts of this WG will be conducted electronically.

Kenneth Kase
President

Certification Process

1. Review the various certification processes now being used in the IRPA Associate Societies (and countries) that have provided documentation, Canada, UK, and US.
2. Develop a draft document of guiding principles for the development and implementation of such a certification process that would be applicable internationally and useful to IRPA Associate Societies that would like to initiate such a certification process or improve an existing process in their countries.
3. Provide the first draft of this document by 30 March 2012, if possible, for discussion at the Associate Societies Forum at IRPA13 in Glasgow. If that is not possible, provide the draft document for posting on the IRPA website by the end of 2012 so that discussions can begin in the Associate Societies Forums at the regional congresses beginning in 2013.
4. The goal is to have a document prepared for approval as an IRPA publication at the General Assembly of IRPA 14 in 2016.

Qualifications for Radiation Protection Expert

1. Review the guidance documents prepared by the American Academy of Health Physics on University RSO, Health Care RSO and Expert Witness.
2. Provide a recommendation to the IRPA Executive Council for their meeting in 2013 about the advisability of IRPA producing such guidance documents applicable internationally.

Kenneth Kase, President

Documents

Australia

• ARPAB Application Form
• ARPAB Candidates Kit

Canada

• CRPA Registration Process APR 2009
• CRPA Registration Process AUG 2011
• Curriculum Guide

UK

• 16 July 2011 Partington
• RPA 2000 Operating Procedures
• Information for Applicants seeking Certification or Renewal of Certification under any RPA 2000 Competence Certification Scheme
• Application Form for Initial Certification of Competence to be a Radiation Protection Adviser under IRR99
• Instructions for the creation of the portfolio of evidence for RPA certification
• The renewal of RPA Certification Scheme (RCS)
• General Guidance for IRPA on the RPA 2000 Assessment Process

US

American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP)

• MHP Study Guides
• Application for 2011 Oral Examination
• Application for 2011 Written Examination
• Information 2010

American Board of Health Physics (ABHP)

• American Board of Health Physics (ABHP)
• Guidance for Health Physicists Serving as Expert or Fact Witness
• Qualifications for Healthcare Facility Radiation Safety Officer
• Qualifications for University Radiation Safety Officer