RESUMO
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), recently expressed concern that "a shortage of investment in training, education, research, and infrastructure seen in many sectors and countries may compromise society's ability to properly manage radiation risks" and in 2022 announced the "Vancouver call for action to strengthen expertise in radiological protection worldwide". As representatives of organisations in formal relations with ICRP, we decided to promote this position paper to declare and emphasise that strengthening the expertise in radiological protection is a collective priority for all of us.
RESUMO
This paper presents the perspectives of past presidents of the Health Physics Society who also happen to be women. Only 6 out of 63 Society presidents have been women, and of these six, five are still living and briefly reflect on their experiences here, alongside a brief discussion of the first female president of the Society. These perspectives provide historical insight into the evolution and happenings of the Society as well as adding personal touches to the office of the president that hopefully will encourage junior Society members to consider serving.
Assuntos
Física Médica , Mulheres , Feminino , Física Médica/história , Física Médica/organização & administração , História do Século XX , História do Século XXI , Humanos , Sociedades Médicas/história , Sociedades Médicas/organização & administração , Estados Unidos , Mulheres/históriaRESUMO
State radiation control programs are responsible for many aspects of radiation protection under their purview. These may include all aspects of radiation protection for sources of radiation not exclusively under federal control under an agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the use of some sources of radiation not regulated by the federal government, such as radiation machines and naturally occurring radioactive material. The roles of state health physicists are ever-evolving, and the scope of their work is constantly expanding. This has come about most recently due to several factors, including additional federal requirements involving source security, emerging radiation machine technologies, expansion of emergency planning to include terrorist incidents, and more states with issues involving technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material. These changes in the role of state health physicists and the new challenges are adding to the need for health physics resources and knowledge base. Several approaches are being used to address the training needs and technological and regulatory challenges, but these will continue to be needed to meet future workforce needs.