HP's and RPT's: What is the difference?

[Tokarev]

Hello everyone!


   I think I have finally found a place to answer my question!  And that is:


What is the difference between a Heath Physicist and a Radiation Protection Technician?

I think, from what I have gathered, an HP is a high type of RPT, but I am probably wrong.




Thank you all so much!

[GLW]

What is the difference between a Heath Physicist and a Radiation Protection Technician?

I think, from what I have gathered, an HP is a high type of RPT, but I am probably wrong.

Yep, you would be,....wrong that is,...

an RPT is a technician, a Radiation Protection Technician,...

a Health Physicist is:

well, a quick google search would have put you here;

http://hps.org/publicinformation/hpcareers.html

and then you would have gleaned the following,....

.....Prominent among scientists is the health physicist, who controls the beneficial use of radiation while protecting workers and the public from potential hazards. The health physics profession is diverse and one of the most interesting and rewarding fields of scientific endeavor......In 1942 a group of physicists working with the first nuclear reactor became concerned with the health of project workers and the general public. As a result, they took on the responsibilities of coping with radiation hazards never before encountered. These physicists were called health physicists, and the profession known as health physics came into existence.....Radiation control incorporates an understanding of many disciplines. It has common scientific interests with many areas of specialization: physics, biology, biophysics, engineering (nuclear, civil, mechanical, or electrical), chemistry, genetics, ecology, environmental sciences, metallurgy, medicine, physiology, and toxicology. The wide spectrum of knowledge required of the health physicist makes this profession both challenging and rewarding.....

designating a Health Physicist as a high type of RPT is akin to designating Enzo Ferrari as a high type of mechanic, the designation denigrates both and neither elevates nor respects either,...

Enzo was certainly able to turn a wrench with skill, but the daily maintenance and exacting implementation of the scuderia was entrusted to Attilio,...

the skillsets are complimentary, the foci are different,...

[Tokarev]

Thank you so much!

Yep, that makes a lot of sense.  Just a difference of foci.

It is no wonder becoming an HP sounds so exclusive.  You HP's are amazing!  (You too, RPT's!)

[Marlin]

Hello everyone!


   I think I have finally found a place to answer my question!  And that is:


What is the difference between a Heath Physicist and a Radiation Protection Technician?

I think, from what I have gathered, an HP is a high type of RPT, but I am probably wrong.




Thank you all so much!

   The easy explanation is a comparison of a Lawyer to a cop or a Doctor to a Emergency Mediccal Technician (EMT). Health Physicist can be just a title for a position but typically is an individual certified by the Health Physics Society with a degree an appropriate amount of professional experience and references.

[Tokarev]

Thanks!
That is an easy analogy, my father is a certified EMT.  Much different from a doctor.

[Marlin]

Thanks!
That is an easy analogy, my father is a certified EMT.  Much different from a doctor.

   I was a certified EMT years ago, we were trained to stabilize, and transport so a doctor could work in the environment they were trained for, the emergency room. To gray up the distinction a bit there are different levels of EMTs as there are for Radiation Protection technicians (RPTs). EMTs can be different levels that are formalized by certification such as Ambulance, Intermediate, and Paramedic. There is no formal distinction for different levels of RPTs but they exist in a informal way on a needs of the facility basis and desired experience. Unlike EMT RPT experience in specific facilities is important as RPT work is in commercial power, Department of Energy and medical environment and it is not necessarily transferable.

[peteshonkwiler]

Wow! Some good answers here. Good thing you didn't ask the difference between HPT and RCT.

[GLW]

Wow! Some good answers here. Good thing you didn't ask the difference between HPT and RCT.

well Pete,...

they're all technicians,....

the tricky ones are those 0288 RCMs,...

[peteshonkwiler]

well Pete,...

they're all technicians,....

the tricky ones are those 0288 RCMs,...

Hahaha! Yea, verily.

[Tokarev]

Thank you all so much!

Gosh, finding out anything concerning radiation/nuclear stuff on the internet is EXTREMELY hard.  I have learned so much while lurking/posting here.

[Marlin]

Thank you all so much!

Gosh, finding out anything concerning radiation/nuclear stuff on the internet is EXTREMELY hard.  I have learned so much while lurking/posting here.

Lots of training material on Nukeworker if you become a Gold member. Lot's of material in the forums if you have the patience to sort through all the posts with the search funtion but option A is better there are a lot of posts in the forums and some need to be taken with a grain of salt.

Good Luck 

[Tokarev]

Thank you so much!  I have just 1 more question for you guys, and i'll stop bothering you all.  Right after I find the proper forum for it...