In 2002, the Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health, an arm of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), published a survey of university-level education programs from member nations. What follows is a synopsis of that report, together with a brief look at more current health physics programs. There were 20 member nations, which, in total, had 66 health physics programs between them. The largest number of programs were to be found in the United States (27) followed by Japan (7) and Korea (6). The survey had been commissioned because the OECD perceived that the general level of effort and the resources devoted to that effort had been declining in several member nations. The materials were collected as a consequence of a survey (some of which appears as a new survey).
As the Health Physics Society celebrates 50 years, it is important to take stock of where we have been, where we are, and where we should be going. Part of this is elegantly documented by the article "The Health Physics Society: A 50-Year Chronology" in the June 2005 issue of the Health Physics Journal (Boerner, Alex J. and Ronald L. Kathren, Health Physics, 88(6):733-753, June 2005).
Perhaps the time is right to review the data and to examine where we are currently. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was producing about 60 masters-level students per year and had anticipated a rise in those numbers. However, such numbers were not currently available from the IAEA site.
The data culls information from various countries who have offered areas of research concentration or of faculty expertise related specifically to the practice of accelerator health physics. Though the data may not be complete, it nevertheless offers a revealing glimpse into the current state of the art.
Only those institutions with areas of concentration directly related to accelerators will be reported.
A current review of the available information on the internet states that the health physics program at San Diego State has been accepted by both the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for their Applied Health Physics Fellowship Program. The program does not address accelerator health physics. The University of Oklahoma is working on a project on the production and absorption of ionizing radiation. At Nebraska, the current program is devoted entirely to medical physics. Louisiana State University is offering graduate-level health physics courses on shielding, radiation transport, and neutron, photon, and electron transport calculations for shielding.
A modified version of the survey used to obtain the data has been prepared. It is of interest to obtain current information and to present this information to the Health Physics Society along with some recommendations that the Accelerator Section feels is critical to the future success of accelerator-based health physics.
Kindly share the survey form with as many individuals and institutions as you can. You may send them back to Lorraine Day, fax 225-578-6954.
Thank you, in advance, for participating in the survey. As we move forward as a section, we need to prioritize our objectives and make sure that we are prepared to offer the best accelerator-based health physics protection. Kindly respond by July 31, 2005.