Current through Register Vol. 24-18, September 15, 2024
Except as provided in WAC 246-240-078, the licensee shall
require an authorized user of a manual brachytherapy source for the uses
authorized under WAC 246-240-251 to be a physician who:
(1) Is certified by a medical specialty board
whose certification process has been recognized by the department, NRC, or an
agreement state. The names of board certifications that have been recognized by
the department, NRC, or an agreement state are posted on the NRC's medical uses
licensee toolkit web page. To have its certification process recognized, a
specialty board shall require all candidates for certification to:
(a) Successfully complete a minimum of three
years of residency training in a radiation oncology program approved by the
Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical
Education or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or the Council
on Postdoctoral Training of the American Osteopathic Association; and
(b) Pass an examination, administered by
diplomates of the specialty board, which tests knowledge and competence in
radiation safety, radionuclide handling, treatment planning, quality assurance,
and clinical use of manual brachytherapy; or
(2)
(a) Has
completed a structured educational program in basic radionuclide handling
techniques applicable to the use of manual brachytherapy sources that includes:
(i) Two hundred hours of classroom and
laboratory training in the following areas:
(A) Radiation physics and
instrumentation;
(B) Radiation
protection;
(C) Mathematics
pertaining to the use and measurement of radioactivity; and
(D) Radiation biology; and
(ii) Five hundred hours of work
experience, under the supervision of an authorized user who meets the
requirements in WAC 246-240-078, 246-240-278 or equivalent agreement state or
NRC requirements at a medical institution authorized to use radioactive
materials under WAC 246-240-251, involving:
(A) Ordering, receiving, and unpacking
radioactive materials safely and performing the related radiation
surveys;
(B) Checking survey meters
for proper operation;
(C)
Preparing, implanting, and removing brachytherapy sources;
(D) Maintaining running inventories of
material on hand;
(E) Using
administrative controls to prevent a medical event involving the use of
radioactive material;
(F) Using
emergency procedures to control radioactive material; and
(b) Has completed three years of
supervised clinical experience in radiation oncology, under an authorized user
who meets the requirements in WAC 246-240-078, 246-240-278, or equivalent NRC
or agreement state requirements, as part of a formal training program approved
by the Residency Review Committee for Radiation Oncology of the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education or the Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada or the Council on Postdoctoral Training of the American
Osteopathic Association. This experience may be obtained concurrently with the
supervised work experience required by (a)(ii) of this subsection;
and
(c) Has obtained written
attestation that the individual has satisfactorily completed the requirements
in (a) and (b) of this subsection and is able to independently fulfill the
radiation safety-related duties as an authorized user of manual brachytherapy
sources for the medical uses authorized under WAC 246-240-251. The attestation
must be obtained from either:
(i) A preceptor
authorized user who meets the requirements in WAC 246-240-078, 246-240-278, or
equivalent agreement state or NRC requirements; or
(ii) A residency program director who affirms
in writing that the attestation represents the consensus of the residency
program faculty where at least one faculty member is an authorized user who
meets the requirements in WAC 246-240-078, 246-240-278, or equivalent NRC or
agreement state requirements, and concurs with the attestation provided by the
residency program director. The residency training program must be approved by
the Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate
Medical Education or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada or
the Council on Postdoctoral
Training of the American Osteopathic Association and must
include training and experience specified in (a) and (b) of this
subsection.
Statutory Authority:
RCW
70.98.050. 11-03-068, § 246-240-278,
filed 1/18/11, effective 2/18/11; 07-14-131, § 246-240-278, filed 7/3/07,
effective 8/3/07; 06-05-019, § 246-240-278, filed 2/6/06, effective
3/9/06.
