Virginia Law

Except as provided in 12VAC5-481-1780, licensees shall require the authorized medical physicist (AMP) to be an individual who:

1. Is certified by a specialty board whose certification process has been recognized by the agency, NRC, or an agreement state and who meets the requirements of subdivision 3 of this section. The name of board certifications that have been recognized by the 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. Hold a master's or doctor's degree in physics, medical physics, other physical science, engineering, or applied mathematics from an accredited college or university;

b. Have two years of full-time practical training or supervised experience in medical physics (i) under the supervision of a medical physicist who is certified in medical physics by a specialty board whose certification process has been recognized under this section by the agency, the NRC, or an agreement state; or (ii) in clinical radiation facilities providing high-energy, external beam therapy (photons and electrons with energies greater than or equal to 1 million electron volts) and brachytherapy services under the direction of physicians who meet the requirements in 12VAC5-481-1780, 12VAC5-481-2018, or 12VAC5-481- 2040; and

c. Pass an examination, administered by diplomates of the specialty board that assesses knowledge and competence in clinical radiation therapy, radiation safety, calibration, quality assurance, and treatment planning for external beam therapy, brachytherapy, and stereotactic radiosurgery; or

2. Meets the following requirements:

a. Holds a master's or doctor's degree in physics, biophysics, radiological physics, medical physics, health physics, other physical science, engineering, or applied mathematics from an accredited college or university or an equivalent training program approved by the agency, the NRC, or another Agreement state and has completed one year of full-time training in medical physics and an additional year of full-time practical experience under the supervision of an individual who meets the requirements for an authorized medical physicist for the types of use for which the individual is seeking authorization. This training and work experience shall be conducted in clinical radiation facilities that provide high-energy, external beam therapy (photons and electrons with energies greater than or equal to one million electron volts) and brachytherapy services and shall include:

(1) Performing sealed source leak tests and inventories;

(2) Performing decay corrections;

(3) Performing full calibration and periodic spot-checks of external beam treatment units, stereotactic radiosurgery units, and remote afterloading units as applicable; and

(4) Conducting radiation surveys around external beam treatment units, stereotactic radiosurgery units, and remote afterloading units as applicable; and

3. Has training for the types of use for which authorization is sought that includes hands-on device operation, safety procedures, clinical use, and the operation of a treatment planning system. This training requirement may be satisfied by satisfactorily completing either a training program provided by the vendor or by training supervised by an authorized medical physicist authorized for the types of use for which the individual is seeking authorization; and

4. Has obtained written attestation that the individual has satisfactorily completed the requirements of subdivisions 2 and 3 of this section; and is able to independently fulfill the radiation safety-related duties as an authorized medical physicist for each type of therapeutic medical unit for which the individual is requesting authorized medical physicist status. The written attestation shall be signed by a preceptor authorized medical physicist who meets the requirements in 12VAC5-481-1760, 12VAC5-481-1780, or equivalent NRC or agreement state requirements for an authorized medical physicist for each type of therapeutic medical unit for which the individual is requesting authorized medical physicist status.