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Re: the health physics profession
Bill, Mike and other radsafers
I agree that this is an "appropriate" discussion for this listserver.
My two cents; it has always bugged me that a PE or CHP is considered to be
"qualified" but they can't be experts in all aspects of their profession.
When I was a manager, I would always assign tasks to the most qualified
professional available, regardless of what organization had "awarded" them a
"title".
Have a nice day:)!
_______________________
John R Johnson, PhD
idias@interchange.ubc.ca
----- Original Message -----
From: "William V Lipton" <liptonw@DTEENERGY.COM>
To: "Michael G. Stabin" <michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu>
Cc: <radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu>
Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 6:01 AM
Subject: Re: the health physics profession
> Yes, there is some question, in my mind, whether health physics is a
> profession. Radsafe is probably a good place to discuss this.
>
> To me, to be called a "profession," a line of work must meet 3 criteria:
>
> (1) It must be for the public good, i.e., organized crime is not a
profession.
> I think we're ok, here; although, as you mentioned, I have some doubt
about the
> public good of spending megabucks saving people from femtodoses.
>
> (2) It must have an established body of knowledge and skills that must be
> mastered to be recognized as a member of the profession. I'm not so sure,
> here. You said that, "...how can you say that the health physics
profession has
> not established nor practices enforcement of any professional standards?
This is
> clearly an untenable position." OK, you got me. Where are these
standards
> published? How are they enforced? Meaning nothing personal against the
person
> who started all of this, if his licensing document is accepted by the NRC,
they
> are essentially saying that anyone who calls himself a hp is recognized as
one.
> I hate to get the government even more involved in this, but maybe we need
> either formal licensing or at least, official recognition of some other
> standard. For example, under RCRA, the design and construction of a
"Treatment
> Storage and Disposal Facility" must be approved by a Licensed Professional
> Engineer.
>
> 3. When a member of the profession makes a professional determination, it
can
> only be credibly disputed by another recognized member of the profession.
For
> example, if you want to sue a physician for malpractice, you have to get
the
> support of another physician. Here, we fail miserably. It seems that
anyone
> who's ever been within a mile of a geiger counter is accepted as a hp.
>
> Is this "untenable?"
>
> The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
> It's not about dose, it's about trust.
> Curies forever.
>
> Bill Lipton
> liptonw@dteenergy.com
>
> "Michael G. Stabin" wrote:
>
> > > On a more serious note, this issue illustrates a fundamental flaw in
the
> > health
> > > physics "profession;" our failure to establish and enforce
professional
> > > standards.
> >
> > Aside from the other negative comments directed towards other
listmembers in
> > this email, which I will not address again, this sentence baffles me.
First,
> > by the use of quotation marks, are you questioning the professionalism
of
> > anyone who calls themselves a health physicist? And how can you say that
the
> > health physics profession has not established nor practices enforcement
of
> > any professional standards? This is clearly an untenable position.
> >
> > I would argue that a more important fundamental personality flaw we
struggle
> > with is the tendency to scare those outside the profession about
> > femtosievert doses to justify making money by studying and controlling
> > trivial or nonexistent risks.
> >
> > Mike
> >
> > Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP
> > Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
> > Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences
> > Vanderbilt University
> > 1161 21st Avenue South
> > Nashville, TN 37232-2675
> > Phone (615) 343-0068
> > Fax (615) 322-3764
> > Pager (615) 835-5153
> > e-mail michael.g.stabin@vanderbilt.edu
> > internet www.doseinfo-radar.com
> >
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