Answer to Question #6184 Submitted to "Ask the Experts"

Thank you for your question regarding state licensing of health physics. You mention two different types of state recognition of someone practicing a profession, that is, licensing and registration. There is another type of state recognition, which is called title protection. There is no national requirement for state recognition of any type for practicing the profession of health physics. Therefore, for all three of these types of recognition, any requirement for recognition to practice health physics is solely the responsibility of each individual state.

Licensing is a process where someone who wants to practice a profession or trade within a state must demonstrate through a specified combination of education, on-the-job training, years of experience, and testing that he/she meets established state standards to perform that profession or trade. Examples are someone being licensed to practice medicine, practice law, sell real estate, or perform plumbing or electrical work on someone else's home. I am not aware of any state that has a licensing program for practicing health physics.  

Registration is a process where someone who wants to practice a profession, usually by contracting out his/her service or doing consulting, must register with the state. Registration usually just involves providing documentation as to why you think you are qualified to do this work without there being an established state standard, although the rules for registration are up to the state and can include some minimum standard if that is the way the state sets it up. Some states require registration for someone practicing health physics. I know Massachusetts does, but I don't know how many or what other states might require it. You would have to inquire with each state to see if it requires registration as a health physicist. Every state Radiation Control agency is listed on the Web site of the Conference of Radiation Control Program Directors if you want to inquire with each state.
 
Title protection is a process where the state sets out in law what qualifies someone to use a title such as certified health physicist, health physicist, or radiological protection technologist. However, someone does not have to prove that qualification "up front." He/she is just subject to penalty if he/she uses a "protected title" and is found later to not meet the qualifications. Currently the American Academy of Health Physics (AAHP), which is the parent organization for the American Board of Health Physics (ABHP), has an initiative to try to get states to pass legislation protecting the titles of certified health physicist, health physicist, and radiological protection technologists. (The ABHP is the body that administers the tests and establishes the criteria for an individual to be named a certified health physicist [CHP]. The AAHP and ABHP are independent and separate organizations from the Health Physics Society.) To date, I know the AAHP has been successful in getting title protection legislated in the state of Georgia and they are working in several other states, but I do not know of any title protection laws in any state other than Georgia.
 
I am not aware of any information available in the open literature on this subject.
 
Keith H. Dinger, CHP