HPS President

[Paul Lavely <lavelyp@uclink4.berkeley.edu>]

As part of my preparing to vote for HPS president I asked both candidates
the following three questions.

I am in the process of selecting a person to vote for as HPS Pres. I wish
to hear your views on the relationship of the Academy to the HPS. For
example, I would like your views on the following:

1  At the last national HPS meeting a senior Academy representative
announced that the Academy is the "technical arm of the Society. Do you
agree?

2  A committee of the Academy is preparing a standard for qualifications
for a university or medical RSO. Do you believe that such a standard should
come from the Academy or from the HPS? Why?

3   Will you work to assure that no inappropriate influence on the Society
will be allowed from the Academy?


The response that Paul Rohwer sent:


Hi Paul,

Thank you for your questions.  I will respond to them in the order in which
they were asked.

I do not agree that the Academy is the "technical arm of the society."  The
Health Physics Society (HPS) is a separate organization from both the Academy
and the American Board of Physics (ABHP).  Of course the HPS was instrumental
in the establishment of the Academy and the ABHP.  Also many of us are members
of both the Academy and the HPS.  I think the two organizations should be
mutually supportive and work together; however, they have separate objectives
which should continue to be separate.

I think that any proposed standard for qualifications for university or
medical RSOs should come from the Society.  I see the Academy as being
responsible for development and implementation of a certification process
which might be desired  once the agreed upon qualifications are established. I
would expect the Society's newly established RSO Section to be at the
forefront in development of any such proposed standard for qualification of
RSOs.

Yes I will work to assure that no inappropriate influence on the Society will
be allowed from the Academy or any other organization.  For the benefit of our
profession and professional practice of radiation safety we need cooperation
and  teamwork among the responsible organizations.

Thank you for contacting me.  I apologize for my delay in responding.  Please
contact me again if you have further questions.  Your interest in the election
of Society leaders is appreciated.

Best regards,

Paul Rohwer




The response that Charlie Willis sent:

Paul,

The HPS and the AAHP are independent organizations that have a lot in common
and that, historically, have worked together on a number of matters.  The AAHP
often has one or more sessions at the HPS  annual meetings.  At
Minneapolis, the
AAHP organized the sessions on the "Wingspread Conference."  Almost all
members of the AAHP are members of the HPS.  As for the comment that the
AAHP is the technical arm of the HPS, it simply is NOT correct.  Some folk may
see it that way and they are free to speak their minds, but the two
organizations are separate and independent.  Besides, there are a number of
HPS members who are not AAHP members (Ken Mossman, Marv Goldman and Bill
Mills come quickly to mind) who would not concede "technical expertise" to
the AAHP.  To be concise, I disagree with the statement.

As for a committee of the AAHP preparing a standard on qualifications for a
medical or university RSO, I did not know this was underway.  It is easy to
see why the AAHP would have an interest and anyone is free to draft a
standard (e.g. long ago, I initiated a standard as a member of the Southern
California Chapter).  For the document to actually become a national
standard, however, it must be voted on and approved by an official
standards-setting body.  At this time, neither the AAHP nor the HPS is an
accredited standards-setting body.  In fact, according to the last
membership handbook, the AAHP does not even have a standards committee. The
HPS sponsors two standard-setting bodies: N-13 and N-42.  Neither of these
groups has a formal working agreement with the AAHP but they both work
closely with the HPS.  At the present time, the HPS Standards Committee
organizes the working groups that draft the standards for N-13, while N-42
organizes their own working groups.  I believe that the standards you
mention should be N-13 standards so they get the broad-scope review that is
essential to both quality and acceptance.  In this sense, they would be
from (and published by) the HPS.

To the extent necessary, I will work to assure that the AAHP has no
inappropriateinfluence on the HPS.

Charlie Willis
caw@nrc.gov


No recommendations - just responses.

Paul Lavely
UC Berkeley
lavelyp@uclink4.berkeley.edu


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