WAC 246-240-278   Training for use of manual brachytherapy sources.  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, the U.S. NRC, or an agreement state. (Specialty boards whose certification process has been recognized by the commission or an agreement state will be posted on the NRC's web page at http://www.nrc.gov.) To be 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 Committee on Postgraduate Training of the American Osteopathic Association;

     (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 high and low dose-rate brachytherapy; and

     (c) Obtain written certification under oath, signed by a preceptor authorized user who meets the requirements in WAC 246-240-278 or equivalent U.S. NRC or agreement state requirements, that the individual has achieved a level of competency sufficient to function independently as an authorized user of manual brachytherapy sources for the medical uses authorized in WAC 246-240-251; 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 U.S. NRC requirements at a medical institution, 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 U.S. 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 Committee 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 certification under oath, signed by a preceptor authorized user who meets the requirements in WAC 246-240-078, 246-240-278 or equivalent agreement state or U.S. NRC requirements, that the individual has satisfactorily completed the requirements in subsection (1)(a) of this section, or (a) and (b) of this subsection and has achieved a level of competency sufficient to function independently as an authorized user of manual brachytherapy sources for the medical uses authorized under WAC 246-240-251.



[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.]