Application
for Continuing Education Credit (7K PDF file)
Application
for Self-Study Continuing Education Credits (6K PDF file)Application
for Continuing Education Credit (7K PDF file)
Application
for Self-Study Continuing Education Credits (6K PDF file)
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| Effective Date: July 1, 1997 (revision) |
Effective Date: January 1, 1996
revised: July 1, 1997
| A. | A total of 64 continuing education credits (CEC) is required for recertification. No single course, meeting, or activity shall be awarded more than one half of the credits needed for recertification. In order to qualify for credit towards meeting the continuing education requirements for recertification by the American Board of Health Physics (ABHP) all courses and other activities must be approved by the Continuing Education Committee of the American Academy of Health Physics (hereafter referred to as "the Committee"). Application for approval may be made directly to the Chairperson of the Committee by the sponsor of a continuing education activity or by a Certified Health Physicist (CHP) who will participate or has participated in the activity. Application for activities that are listed on the pre-approved list under Section III need not be made. Applicants are urged to submit their requests far enough in advance that a decision can be made by the Committee and announced before a scheduled activity begins; however, the Committee will accept without prejudice, and applying its usual approval criteria, all applications received within 90 days after a scheduled activity has concluded. Applications must be in the form specified by the Committee and be complete in all respects. The CHP applying for recertification is responsible for maintaining the documentation supporting CECs claimed on the recertification application. The Committee does not maintain individual records of CECs granted. | |
| B. | In the context of this Policy, a "continuing education activity" is an activity that contributes to the continuing health physics education of a Certified Health Physicist. Such activities may be formal or informal; however, all activities should contribute to the technical competence of the CHP's professional practice of health physics. Such activities include subjects used directly in health physics work, but not usually designated as health physics; for example, courses in statistics, meteorology as applied to environmental dose assessment, reactor chemistry, or reactor systems training, radiation biology, industrial hygiene, data base management, program management, etc. A Committee member will evaluate each submitted activity on the basis of content and applicability, duration and applicant's statement of applicability to the CHP's current health physics responsibilities. After evaluating these factors, the Committee member will assign each activity a number of continuing education credit in accordance with the criteria established under paragraph D. | |
| C. | If the applicant does not agree with the number of credits assigned, the application may be resubmitted with an explanation of the bases for increased credit. In this case, it will be reevaluated by the Committee. If the applicant is not satisfied with the Committee's reevaluation, an appeal may be made to the Executive Committee of the AAHP. The decision of the AAHP Executive Committee shall be final | |
| D. | The following guidelines have been established by the Committee for awarding continuing education credit. Participation in pre-approved activities (Section III) do not require submission of an application. Additional activities will be added to the pre-approved list as they are identified. Four major categories of continuing education activities have been approved for CHPs who wish to obtain CEC. These are: | |
| Group A - Formal Educational Activities
Group B - Publications, Reports, and Presentations Group C - Professional Society Participation Group D - Other Professional Activities |
||
| Activities of a continuing nature such as technical committee membership that do not run concurrent with a CHP's four year recertification cycle may be prorated between successive recertification cycles. Further explanation of activities approved for continuing education credit follow. | ||
| Maximum Credits | |
| Health Physics Society Summer School | 32 |
|---|---|
| College course related to a topic on the certification examination | 16/course |
| College course in a related engineering, science, or medical topic | 8/course |
| Short course, seminar, or workshop covering a health physics topic on the certification examination | 2/contact hour
(32 credit maximum) |
| Short course in a related engineering, science, or medical topic | 1/contact hour
(16 credit maximum) |
| Maximum Credits | |
| Book: Health physics or health physics related book - single author (Credit for joint authorship will be determined by the committee) | 32 |
| Book Chapter: Health physics or health physics related book chapter - single author (Credit for joint authorship will be determined by the committee) | 16 |
| Publication of Health Physics related article in a professional journal | 16 |
| Paper presentations at professional meetings on a health physics related topic | 8 |
| Poster presentations at professional meetings on a health physics related topic | 8 |
| Instructor; College course - only if not a faculty member | 16/semester hour |
| Lecture presentation - only if not a primary responsibility | 2/contact hour |
| Maximum Credits | |
| Scientific Meetings | 2 per ½ day up to a maximum of 12 per meeting |
|
Local Chapter Meetings |
2 per meeting (must include technical agenda) |
| Topical symposia on health physics subjects | 2 per ½ day - up to maximum 12 per meeting |
| Health physics related technical committee membership (ASME, ASTM, etc.) |
4 per year |
| Maximum Credits | |
| Professional Self Development | To be assigned |
| Discussion of Creditable Activities | |
| Group A: | College Courses - These are bonafide offerings by accredited
institutions for which academic credit is offered. These courses must be
professionally enhancing. Courses can be audited or taken for credit.
Instructors cannot obtain credit for teaching the course if it is a
routine part of their job.
Short Courses, Symposia, and Workshops - These are technical courses, symposia, and workshops in specialized health physics areas. Note: Course sponsors or organizers are strongly encouraged to provide certificates of attendance or other forms of recognition to the attendees. |
| Group B: | Publications - Sole authors, joint authors, and authors of chapters
are eligible to receive credit. Credit awarded to joint authors and
authors of chapters will be based on their contribution to the total
work.
Presentations - These are technical presentations at a local, regional, or national scientific meeting on a health physics related topic. Credit is given for either the presentation or publication, not both. |
|
Group C: |
Scientific meetings - Scientific meetings offer the CHP the
opportunity to keep abreast of current developments and to maintain and
upgrade skills. Applications for credit should include a copy of the
program for the meeting.
Technical Committee Participation - Participation in standards committee and other technical committees such as NCRP working groups, ABHP and the Panels of Examiners, etc. provide important opportunities to advance the profession of health physics as well as enhance the knowledge and skills of the CHP. |
|
Group D: |
Professional self development is intended as a means for the CHP to upgrade professional skills through an individualized reading program. This self-study program shall normally include new technical advances in the field of health physics. The self-study program must be submitted on the Self-Study Program Form provided for this purpose. Completion of the self-study program shall be documented by the CHP on the Self-Study Program Form. |
| A. | All applications for CEC should be made using the form provided for this purpose. Documentation supporting and supplementing the information on application may be attached to the form. |
| B. | Every attempt will be made to inform the applicant of the number of CECs granted within eight weeks from receipt of an application. |
| C. | Symposia and professional meetings do not usually follow a formal instructional or tutorial format. As shown in Section III, annual and mid-year meetings of the Health Physics Society and other professional meetings have been granted continuing education credits. Other organized symposia and professional meetings with a related health physics theme and featuring recognized experts may be considered for continuing education credits. |
| D. | "In-house" training conducted at the CHP's facility or institution may receive continuing education credit. The number of credits assigned is directly related to the applicability of the training to health physics practices and the ability of the CHP to enhance his/her health physics responsibilities. |
| E. | All formal educational activities (Category A) submitted for evaluation will require an abstract or syllabus for basis of content, activity length, and the applicant's statement and explanation of applicability to current health physics responsibilities or maintenance of health physics skills. An instructor's resume is not required. |
| F. | Applications for approval of CECs for activities other than formal educational activities (Category A) should include, as a minimum, a description of the activity, a statement of its relevance to the professional health physics capabilities of the applicant, and the amount of time that the applicant is involved in the activity. |
| G. | Additional supportive evidence or explanation may be requested by the Committee at any time to aid in the review and awarding of CEC. |
| CECs | |
| Health Physics Society Summer School | 32 |
| College course - related engineering, science, medical, etc. | 4/semester hr or 3/quarter hr |
| HPS continuing education lecture at annual or mid-year meeting (1 hr lecture) | 2/lecture |
| HPS Professional Enrichment Program at annual or mid-year meeting (2 hr lecture) | 4/lecture |
| AAHP Professional Enrichment Program at annual or mid-year meeting (8 hr lecture) | 16/lecture (attendee) |
| ABHP examination panel workshops1 | 4/day |
| Short courses or workshops - related engineering, science, etc. | No pre-approval at this time |
1--These credits may be combined with the Group C credits for the ABHP examination panel membership, however, the combined credits for panel membership and attendance at panel workshops shall not exceed 32 CECs.
Group B
Publications, Reports, Presentations
| CECs | |
| Book or book chapter on health physics or health physics related subject | No pre-approval; submit upon publication |
| Publications; journal article | No pre-approval; submit upon publication |
| Publication or software review | 4 |
| Technical editor for Journal Articles | 2 per year |
|
Paper or poster presentation at meetings:
|
8 8 8 4 8 4 8 4 No pre-approval; submit upon presentation |
| Instructor - college course (only if not a full time faculty member) | No pre-approval |
|
Lecture presentation (only if not a primary responsibility):
|
2 4 20/lecture (instructor) |
| Published technical reports | No pre-approval; submit upon publication |
| CECs | |
| Scientific Meetings -
Regional, National, and International:
such as:
|
2 per ½ day up to a maximum of 12 per meeting |
|
Local Chapter Meetings:
|
2 per meeting |
| Acceptance by Part I or Part II Panel of questions submitted for inclusion in ABHP examination. Submittal of copy of written acceptance from Panel required for credit. (Current Panel members excluded.) | 1 per Part I question
4 per Part II question Maximum of 16 per recertification cycle. |
|
National and International health physics related technical or standards committee and working groups:
|
4/yr |
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