STC-22-048, Letter for the Notification of Issuance of the Medical Specialty Board Evaluation
| ML22215A094 | |
| Person / Time | |
|---|---|
| Issue date: | 08/04/2022 |
| From: | Brian Anderson NRC/NMSS/DMSST/MSEB |
| To: | State of CT, State of IN, State, Agreement States |
| DiMarco D | |
| References | |
| STC-22-048 | |
| Download: ML22215A094 (3) | |
Text
ALL AGREEMENT STATES, CONNECTICUT, INDIANA NOTIFICATION OF ISSUANCE OF MEDICAL SPECIALTY BOARD EVALUATION (STC-22-048)
Purpose:
To inform the Agreement States that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) completed an evaluation of the specialty boards previously recognized by the NRC.
Background:
On January 27, 2022, the Commission issued its Staff Requirements Memorandum (SRM) for SECY-20-0005, Rulemaking Plan for Training and Experience Requirements for Unsealed Byproduct Material (10 CFR PART 35) (Agencywide Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Accession Number ML22027A519). In this SRM, the Commission directed the staff to complete an evaluation of whether each recognized specialty board's certification process continues to satisfy the NRC criteria for specialty board recognition, in accordance with Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards procedure MSST-70-03, Procedures for Recognizing, Monitoring, and Terminating the Certification Process of Specialty Boards (ML20351A389). The Commission requested that the staff provide the results of their evaluation within six months of the date of the SRM.
Discussion: The NRC staffs evaluation of medical specialty boards previously recognized by the NRC is publicly available in ADAMS under the Accession Number ML22125A247. The staff concluded that 9 of 11 recognized specialty boards continue to meet the criteria in Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations (10 CFR) Part 35, Medical Use of Byproduct Material, and that the other two specialty boards, the American Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine (AOBNM) and the Certification Board of Nuclear Endocrinology (CBNE), have become inactive. The NRC is awaiting confirmation from AOBNM on its request to terminate NRC recognition of its board certification processes. The staff also could not find any evidence that CBNE was currently active and terminated CBNE as of September 27, 2019.
During the course of the staffs evaluation, the American Board of Radiology (ABR) informed the NRC staff that it plans to terminate its NRC-recognized board certification processes1, after December 31, 2023 (ML22091A272). The ABR indicated that issuing Authorized User (AU)-
eligible, Authorized Medical Physicist-eligible, and Radiation Safety Officer-eligible designations in their certificates was outside the scope of their mission and diverts resources from continuing to enhance their exam delivery and customer service. The ABR has also stated that the NRC and Agreement States have a pathway for individuals to be approved as AU without being board certified2.
1 The ABR board certification processes cover the specialty areas of diagnostic medical physics, nuclear medical physics, therapeutic medical physics, diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology.
2 https://www.theabr.org/blogs/authorized-user-eligibility-webinar-recording-and-faqs-available August 4, 2022
STC-22-048 The NRC assessed ABRs board certification processes as part of its evaluation and will continue to recognize ABRs board certification processes in its six specialty areas until December 31, 2023.
Diplomates of AOBNM certified between May 18, 2006, and March 5, 2019, will not have their continuing education and recertification affected by this boards inactive status. If an individual holds a certificate from a board for which the NRC or an Agreement State terminates recognition of the boards certification process, the certificate will be considered valid if the certificate was granted during the timeframe that the boards certification process was recognized. Any individuals who received AU-eligible certificates from a board prior to their termination date, may use the certificate for a period of seven years to be authorized on NRC and Agreement State licenses. After seven years, these individuals will need to meet the recentness of training requirements in 10 CFR 35.59.
For individuals with CBNE or AOBNM certificates, no further action is required if they are already authorized on NRC or Agreement State licenses and want to continue using licensed material. Individuals who would have sought board certification from AOBNM or CBNE can choose to obtain certification from a different NRC-recognized specialty board or can use the alternate training and experience pathway in 10 CFR Part 35 to be authorized on NRC or Agreement State licenses.
The NRC staff has added the specialty board evaluation to the Specialty Board(s) Certification Recognized by NRC Under 10 CFR Part 35 section of the NRCs Medical Toolkit. The staff has also updated this page with the results of the evaluation, including CBNEs termination, and has updated any certificates that were submitted during the course of the staffs evaluation.
If you have any questions regarding this correspondence, please contact me at 301-415-3340 or the individual named below:
POINT OF CONTACT: Jenny Fisher E-MAIL: Jenny.Fisher@nrc.gov TELEPHONE: (301) 415-1456 Brian C. Anderson, Chief State Agreement Liaison Programs Branch Division of Materials Safety, Security, State, and Tribal Programs Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards White, Alfred signing on behalf of Anderson, Brian on 08/04/22
ML22215A094 OFFICE NMSS/MSST NMSS/MSST NMSS/MSST NAME C. Valentin-Rodrgiuez C. Einberg D. White for:
B Anderson DATE 08/04/22 08/04/22 08/04/22