Meaning of HP Qualification

["Gerald Falo"<gerald_falo_at_chppm7__apgea@chppm-ccmail.apgea.army.mil>]

     Acoording to the ABHP prospectus, "Certification indicates that the 
     recipient has completed certain requirements of study and professional 
     experience, which the Board considers to constitute an adequate 
     foundation in health physics, and has passed an examination designed 
     to test competence in this field."  To this I would add, "paid the 
     appropriate fees."
     
     To me, this means that a CHP, by subjective and objective measures, 
     met the standards that the ABHP considers "adequate" to be called 
     certified.  That is all it means to the ABHP, in their own words.  It 
     is not an indicator of excellence, nor is it a license.
     
     There are also professional/ethical responsibilities that CHP's are 
     supposed to subscribe to, including continuing education type 
     requirements.  This is all well and good. (Although, I could be 
     convinced of making it a requirement to have a recertification exam 
     regularly; eg. every 4 years.  But, I digress)
     
     Comparisons to lawyers, doctors, and engineers may not be appropriate 
     depending on your point of view.  First of all, anyone can act as 
     their own lawyer in court for example, and there are plenty of 
     packages that will design wills, leases, contracts, and so on all 
     without you having a law degree or passing the bar.  As for doctors 
     and engineers, I think there are substantial differences in the order 
     of magnitude of public safety protected.  Both engineers and doctors 
     affect people immediately and personally.  For example, if an engineer 
     cuts corners on bridge design, you can have immediate catastrophic 
     results.
     
     If you view health physics as more of an engineering discipline, then 
     maybe licensing should be required and certification certainly can be 
     part of that.  But, if you view health physics as more of a science, 
     then there is no need for licensing or even certification.  No one, to 
     my knowledge certifies physicists, chemists, biologists, and so on.
     
     I, myself, have spent a long time wondering about the meaning of 
     certification and its relation to being a health physicist.  I have 
     also become concerned about certification becoming a de facto job 
     requirement.  It is similar to having a Ph.D. in many cases - many 
     jobs require a Ph.D. when in reality the requirment is for show only.
     
     In the short term, certification, education, and experience (as cited 
     on a resume for example) are useful as guides to a person's adequacy 
     for a given job.  What matters in the long term is performance and the 
     ability to do the job adequately or better.
     
     Still reserving the right to be wrong in my opinions, but enjoying the 
     discussions, I remain
     
     Yours in radiological health,
     
     Jerry Falo, Ph.D., CHP (just to indicate my educational/certification 
     background).
     jer3ry@aol.com
     


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