Answer to Question #1029 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Q

What is health physics? Should I major in health physics or biology (or any other discipline for that matter)?

A

Health physics is the profession dedicated to the protection of humans and their environment from the harmful effects of radiation while providing for its beneficial applications. Health physicists (HPs) are found in universities, hospitals, national laboratories, regulatory agencies, and industry.

The range of responsibilities of HPs is great. One observes HPs doing anything from applied work involving periodic monitoring of radiation fields and radioactive materials in the occupational environment or the outdoors surrounding nuclear facilities, to advanced cutting-edge research considering, for instance, the patterns of energy deposition in human tissue produced by different types of radiation or radiation-producing machines. The field incorporates radioecology, dosimetry, instrumentation, radiation physics, radiobiology, radiochemistry, and many more subdisciplines. If you are the kind of individual who enjoys studying a broad range of disciplines and applying the knowledge from many different areas to solve specific problems then the profession of health physics may suit you fine.

The demand for entry-level HPs presently is very good. It appears that this very high demand will persist for some time into the future. Starting salaries are competitive with many engineering disciplines.

Your second question—"Should I major in health physics or biology (or any other discipline for that matter)?"—is very much dependent on your interests. What are your career goals? Where do you see yourself in five or 10 years? And what do you see as your academic strengths? These questions are designed to narrow a field with many possibilities to those most appropriate for your strengths and initiative. When I start asking students such questions they are usually followed with another question that helps define where the student is most likely to succeed: "How much math have you had?" With an appraisal of goals and ability one can start evaluating the opportunities and challenges presented by the differing degree programs throughout the country.

An unedited list of programs that provide various levels of training or education in the discipline of health physics may be found in our Health Physics Education Reference Book. Most health physics program directors, including me first on the list, can always make time for someone interested in the discipline. I'm always available to speak with students or potential students and, if they're on campus, to give them tours of our facilities to show them the kinds of things the health physicists are involved with on a day-to-day basis. Please contact me should you have more specific questions that I may be able to answer.

Rich Brey, PhD, CHP