Received: 5 May 2022 Accepted: 14 June 2022

DOI: 10.1002/acm2.13757

REVIEW ARTICLE

Health physics workforce in the United States

Michael A. Noska1 Caridad Borrás2 E. Vincent Holahan3 Shaheen A. Dewji4

Thomas E. Johnson5 Jerry W. Hiatt6 Wayne D. Newhauser7,8
John W. Poston9 Nolan Hertel10

1
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (retired), Falls Church, Virginia, USA
2
Radiological Physics and Health Services, George Washington University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
3
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
4
Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics Programs, George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology,
Atlanta, Georgia, USA
5
Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
6
Nuclear Energy Institute, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
7
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
8
Department of Physics & Astronomy, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA
9
Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
10
Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Correspondence
Michael A. Noska, Falls Church, 22042 VA, Silver Spring, 20993 MD, USA.
Email: mnoska@verizon.net

KEYWORDS
health physics, workforce

2.1 INTRODUCTION have been predicted,2,3 although not confirmed in the

literature.
Health physics is an applied science field focused on
the protection of workers, patients, the general public,
and the environment from ionizing and nonionizing radi- 2.2 DEFINITIONS OF THE
ation sources. The role of the health physicist (HP), PROFESSION
and the recognition of health physics as a distinct
field, may be traced to the advent of nuclear power The discipline of health physics is devoted to the
and its application after the Manhattan Project in the protection of people and their environment from the
1940s. The field grew steadily in size to meet the harmful effects of ionizing and nonionizing radiation
growing uses of nuclear technology until reaching a while enabling its beneficial uses.Broadly,health physics
peak in the mid-1990s.1 Subsequent shrinkage has may be considered an allied health profession with a
been attributed mainly to attrition due to retiring baby diverse scope of practice, including essential activities
boomers, a chronic decline in the number of replace- in medicine, research, industry, education, emergency
ment workers emerging from health physics education preparedness, radioactive waste management, environ-
programs, and a reduced demand for health physics mental protection, regulation, and many other niche
work in the nuclear power industry. Workforce shortages fields, such as radiation protection for national defense,

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited.
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, LLC on behalf of The American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2022;23(Suppl. 1):e13757. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/acm2 1 of 9

https://doi.org/10.1002/acm2.13757
NOSKA ET AL. 2 of 9

civil aviation, and spaceflight. The International Labour of remediation on the environment. Evaluation of the
Organization has recognized health physics profes- biological impact of exposure to radioactive materials
sionals as radiation protection experts,4 and several on humans, fauna, and flora is an essential part of the
radiation protection organizations, such as the Health environmental HP’s work.
Physics Society (HPS)5 and the International Radia- ∙ The medical HP plays a key role in the safety of
tion Protection Association, have articulated the basic workers, patients, and the public from medical uses
aspects of the profession.6 of radioactive materials and machine-produced radi-
For the purposes of this review, we define three ation. Medical HPs may also serve as radiation safety
categories of HPs, stratified by the level of attained officers (RSOs) in hospitals. The RSO is responsi-
qualifications: ble for overseeing and ensuring the safe operation
of a hospital’s radiation protection program, including
∙ An “HP” has earned a BS or higher degree, has some managing the radiation protection program; identify-
work experience, but does not hold professional certi- ing radiation protection problems and stopping unsafe
fication or a license to practice the profession.Suitable activities; initiating, recommending, or providing cor-
degrees include health physics, medical physics, rective actions; verifying implementation of corrective
physics, nuclear engineering, radiological science, or actions; and ensuring compliance with federal and
another closely related physical science; state regulations for safety and security. The train-
∙ An “eligible health physicist” is any HP who meets ing and experience requirements for a hospital RSO
established requirements for eligibility for professional are described in Title 10 (Energy) of the Code of
certification or licensure; Federal Regulations (CFR 35.50). The RSO also
∙ A “board-certified health physicist ” is any HP who may be required to evaluate and make recommenda-
has fully met all of the applicable requirements for tions regarding the potential hazards associated with
professional board certification. nonionizing radiation sources (e.g., microwaves and
lasers).
In describing HPs, it is convenient to categorize them ∙ A university or industrial HP is concerned with the
by the nature of their work (e.g., healthcare and regula- management and control of radiation sources used in
tory compliance) and the type of employer (e.g., private academic research, manufacturing, and other indus-
sector and government). In terms of types of jobs and trial applications, including radioactive materials and
employers, the health physics workforce is broadly dis- machine-produced radiation sources. They operate
tributed. Although an HP is usually specialized in one under the regulatory authority of the Nuclear Regu-
area, many HPs perform duties across several areas latory Commission, Environment Protection Agency,
and are able to move between employment sectors. Department of Energy (DOE), Occupational Safety
Some of the most important functions performed by HPs and Health Administration, and/or a state radiation
are described as follows: control program. Their duties include monitoring oper-
ations to ensure regulatory compliance and the safety
∙ Many HPs ensure the safe and secure use of nuclear of workers, the general public, and the environment.
materials in the nuclear fuel cycle,including the mining Academic HPs may teach undergraduate and grad-
and milling of uranium; uranium enrichment; reactor uate courses, perform research, and engage in other
fuel fabrication; electric power generation; the trans- scholarly activities.
port, storage, and disposal of used fuel; and the final ∙ Military HPs perform a wide variety of duties that
decontamination and decommissioning of nuclear encompass the diverse missions of the military’s radi-
fuel cycle facilities. HPs, radiation protection man- ation safety programs, including those pertaining to
agers (RPMs), and health physics technicians are weapons,propulsion,basic and applied research,radi-
employed at all stages of the nuclear fuel cycle to ation medicine, and emergency response. The military
ensure worker and public health and safety, the safety utilizes virtually all types of radiation sources, both
and security of the nuclear material, and protection of ionizing and nonionizing, and the military HP engages
the environment. in many of the programs earlier over the course of
∙ Environmental HPs generally specialize in the evalu- their careers.
ation of effluents from fuel cycle facilities and other ∙ A large number of HPs are employed by state and
facilities that utilize radioactive materials (e.g., phar- federal regulatory agencies. They are engaged in
maceutical manufacturing), remediation and decom- establishing and enforcing the rules and regulations
missioning of radioactive material facilities, mining for the safe and secure manufacture, use and disposal
and mineral extraction facilities, as well as the envi- of radioactive materials, and the uses of radiation-
ronmental impact of the use of radioactive materials. producing devices in industry and medicine. They also
They model the movement of radioactive materials in are engaged in the issuance of licenses and per-
the environment, the concentration of radionuclides mits to receive, possess, use, transfer, own or acquire
at each trophic level, and evaluate the overall effect radioactive material,and in the inspection of regulated
3 of 9 NOSKA ET AL.

facilities to ensure compliance with regulations and but the membership size of HPS (3100 in 2020) and the
safety requirements. number of holders of board certification (1300) provide
surrogate data. The HPS membership has decreased
by 14% since 2003; this has been mainly attributed to
2.3 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF a wave of retiring baby boomers and a comparatively
THE WORKFORCE small number of replacements entering the profession.
Interestingly, over the same time period, the number of
The exact size of the domestic professional health board-certified health physicists has remained constant,
physics workforce has been estimated at 3200 and 7000 that is, with ∼1300 holders of certificates from the Amer-
persons, depending on the definition used for HP and ican Board of Health Physics (ABHP). The decline in
other factors. It is common for professionals from other membership in the HPS is more severe than in societies
radiation and nuclear disciplines, as well as industrial of closely related professions; for example, the member-
hygienists, to hold health physics positions. In 2004, the ship of the American Nuclear Society shrank by only 5%
HPS estimated that ∼6700 radiation protection profes- over the past 15 years.1 The current declared member-
sionals are involved in radiation safety activities in the ship of HPS of ∼3100 is likely an underestimate, as not
United States, with as many as 50% of these individ- all HPs are members of the HPS.12
uals being in activities associated with nuclear energy
production.7 A later article from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics in 2011 referenced an HPS estimate of the
health physics workforce as being “more than 6500.” 8 2.4 EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education esti- PATHWAYS
mated that 4800 HPs were employed in the United
States in 2009 (excluding medical facilities and other Health physics is an applied branch of physics that
industries). “Based on very rough estimates,” another is highly multidisciplinary (see Section 2.2). HPs enter
2000 HPs may be employed in medical and health-care the profession through traditional degree programs in
facilities and other industries.9 health physics or a variety of alternate pathways. The
Limited data are available on the variation of pro- educational entry pathways vary considerably with sub-
fessional qualifications of radiation protection staff specialty, employer, and job responsibilities. As defined
employed in the United States. For example, a survey in Section 2.2, all types of professional HPs require at
by the Nuclear Energy Institute of all nuclear electric- least a BS degree or higher in health physics or related
generating stations in the United States revealed that science, with some positions requiring an MS or PhD
only 10% of 3800 radiation protection staff (includ- degree.
ing permanent and temporary, as well as professional
and other types) required a 4-year college degree in
health physics or a related field. Only the position of
RPM (HP) at each facility required a 4-year degree 2.4.1 Organizations involved in
(there are methods available to obtain the equivalent education
of a degree to satisfy this requirement) and a mini-
mum of 5 years of experience, including 3 years of The Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technol-
nuclear power plant experience directly related to the ogy (ABET) provides standards for higher education.
radiation protection program.10 The DOE’s National The ABET health physics standards for education out-
Laboratories and its contractors have a total of ∼400 comes and objectives were developed by the HPS.
full time professional HPs employed at their facili- There is considerable overlap between health physics
ties; these positions generally require a 4-year degree and medical physics, especially in the subspecialty of
in health physics or a related discipline. These data medical health physics. The HPS lists health physics–
of professional requirements should be interpreted related academic programs, including 31 schools offer-
with caution because they are based on limited data. ing a range of degrees from the BS to the PhD degrees
Neither the U.S. Department of Labor nor the Cen- (https://hps.org).
sus Bureau collects employment data specifically for
HPs but includes them in the broader category of
physicists.
Data are available on the distribution of the health 2.4.2 Undergraduate education
physics workforce by worker age, with over 50% of the
HPS members being over 50 years of age, and with A professional HP holds a bachelor’s (BS) or higher
many planning to retire within 10 years.1,11 Thus, many degree in physics, health physics, nuclear engineering,
workers are close to, or already eligible for, retirement. or in another biological or physical science. There are
The exact numbers of practicing HPs is not available, ∼18 regionally accredited colleges or universities in the
NOSKA ET AL. 4 of 9

United States that offer bachelor degree programs in TA B L E 1 Number of BS, MS, and PhD degrees in health physics
health physics,13,14 three of which are accredited by conferred in the United States between September 2019 and August
202017
the ABET (Idaho State University, Oregon State Univer-
sity, and the University of Massachusetts at Lowell).15 Curriculum BS MS PhD
Undergraduate programs in health physics are gen- Continued study/post-doc 13 6 0
erally located within physics and nuclear engineering
Academic employment 1 5 2
departments. Some programs offer an optional under-
Federal government employment 0 5 0
graduate concentration in health physics or nuclear
science. Undergraduate curricula focus on breadth of DOE contractor employment 1 5 1
knowledge and, typically, students interested in health State and local government employment 0 1 0
physics will take only a few courses specifically related Medical facilities employment 1 8 2
to health physics. Nuclear utility employment 1 0 0
Other nuclear-related employment 7 18 1
Other business employment 2 0 0
2.4.3 Graduate education
Foreign (non-U.S.) employment 0 0 4
Graduate education available in health physics includes U.S. military, active duty 0 1 3
MS and PhD degree programs, as well as related Unknown/not reported 14 18 0
degrees programs in biological or physical sciences Total 40 67 13
and engineering. All graduate degrees in health physics
count toward the requirements of an HP (see Section
2.4). Approximately 23 programs grant MS degrees and
17 grant PhDs.14 The curricula for MS degree programs
vary substantially across the United States, although 2.4.5 Alternate pathways
minimum standards for accreditation of an MS and PhD
degree programs in health physics have been estab- Consensus requirements for alternative pathways into
lished by ABET (www.abet.org). These include classes the profession of health physics are lacking, and the
in radiation physics, radiation biology, radiation detec- subject is controversial. Multiple alternative pathways
tion and measurements with laboratory experience, exist, including the promotion of radiation control tech-
internal and external radiation dosimetry, principles of nicians, the U.S. Navy Nuclear Propulsion program, the
radiation safety and health physics, and contemporary Army public health training program, USAF Bioenvi-
issues in health physics. As of 2020, only six gradu- ronmental Engineer training programs, DOE national
ate programs in health physics in the United States laboratory training programs, and civilian training pro-
were ABET-accredited (Clemson University, Colorado grams at nuclear power plants and shipyards.Alternative
State University, Idaho State University, University of training in radiation protection may be obtained through
Massachusetts at Lowell, Oregon State University, and courses offered by Oak Ridge Associated Universities
the University of Nevada at Las Vegas). In 2016, ∼20 (ORAU) and a number of commercial vendors, as well
accredited colleges and universities granted 66 master’s as courses sponsored by other federal agencies. Since
degrees and 23 doctoral degrees in health physics or 1948, ORAU has trained more than 30 000 scientists,
radiological sciences.16 Table 1 lists health physics grad- physicians, engineers, educators, regulators, and per-
uates by degree and post-graduation status, showing sonnel in a variety of radiation safety and health physics
relative stability in the number of master’s degrees con- topics through its Professional Training Programs. It cur-
ferred, but a drop in the number of doctoral degrees to rently offers 16 courses at its training facility at Oak
13.17 Currently, accreditation is not available for doctoral Ridge, TN. The NRC also offers 27 online and class-
health physics curricula. room radiation safety and health physics courses for
staff employed by the NRC and NRC Agreement States.
Course topics range from fundamental and advanced
2.4.4 Postgraduate training health physics to diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear
medicine. These types of courses augment a 4-year
Formal postgraduate training programs in health degree as an alternate pathway into the field of health
physics are scarce. A limited number of postgraduate physics. Basic RSO courses are commercially available
training opportunities in health physics are available that meet federal and state regulations and range from
from US national laboratories. It is worth noting that this 8 to 40 h each.
situation comprises a radical change with past prac- Associate degree programs typically prepare gradu-
tices; postgraduate training was used extensively from ates for careers as health physics technicians. Through
the 1950s to the 1970s, especially by the U.S. Public the industry-initiated Nuclear Uniform Curriculum Pro-
Health Service. gram, the commercial nuclear power industry has
5 of 9 NOSKA ET AL.

developed partnerships with multiple 2-year degree 2.5 CURRENT STATUS AND FUTURE
programs, including one in radiation safety.18 OUTLOOK
The current status of the health physics workforce
2.4.6 On-the-job training is difficult to discern because of insufficient data on
the supply and demand for health physics services.
In addition to a BS or higher degree, an HP must obtain Despite apparent declines in the number of HPs, the
applied radiation protection experience by working current workforce appears to meet the needs for radi-
under the supervision of an experienced HP, although ation protection across all sectors, mainly because
the type and amount of experience needed varies con- eligible workers have delayed their retirements due to
siderably. For example, the requirements for an RSO the uneven performance of the economy since 2008.
at a panoramic sterilization irradiation facility include However, it is generally accepted that the number of
just 3 months of supervised occupational experience, HPs will decline significantly in the near future due to
whereas the requirements for a hospital RSO include 5 the retirements of baby boomers.
years of professional experience in health physics. At a Predictions for future sustainability of the workforce
U.S. nuclear power plant, no prior work experience or on- are less certain. The NCRP concluded in its State-
the-job training is required,whereas an RPM in the same ment 123 that the nation will face a severe shortage
facility requires a minimum of 5 years of related experi- of radiation professionals that could jeopardize national
ence, which must include 3 years of nuclear power plant security without mitigation. A 2017 HPS publication
experience and 1 year of supervisory or management pointed out that the number of health physics grad-
experience.10 uates had declined by 55% from 1995 to 2015 and
predicted that future supply will not meet demand.20 On
the other hand, one author suggested that the health
2.4.7 Certification and licensure physics profession may be a victim of its own success
in that radiation protection programs have become so
Some positions in health physics require additional pro- effective as to be capable of functioning with safety
fessional board certification and/or licensure. The ABHP generalists replacing (higher cost) HPs.21 Further, this
is the main certification body for the practice of pro- author referenced the public’s aversion to radiation and
fessional health physics in the United States, and it is nuclear technology, along with the closure of numerous
responsible for establishing the qualifications for des- civilian nuclear power plants, as reasons to predict a
ignation as a certified health physicist (CHP), as well stagnant or diminished demand for radiation protection
as examining applicants. Requirements to become a specialists in the future. He did cite three potential areas
CHP include education, work experience, and success- for growth—decommissioning, environmental protec-
ful completion of a two-part certification examination. tion, and medicine—and recommended a strengthening
HPs with a graduate degree can also apply to become of standards for health physics education, training and
a “Certified Medical Health Physicist” by the American experience, and improved outreach to attract students to
Board of Medical Physics (ABMP). The ABMP19 offers the field.
certification in Medical Health Physics for diplomates The field of radiological emergency preparedness has
that have, by examination, been issued certificates with taken on increased importance since the events of 9/11,
the words “RSO Eligible”on their certificate. Similarly, the as the threat of intentional destruction and widespread
American Board of Radiology currently provides “RSO contamination with radiological or nuclear devices has
Eligible” status to diplomates in the Diagnostic Medical increased. The nuclear disaster in Fukushima, along
Physics and the Nuclear Medical Physics subspecial- with the earlier accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile
ties (this certification will cease in 2023). The American Island, illustrate the need to maintain a viable cadre
Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine offers certificates of highly trained radiation specialists to respond to
in the Radiation Protection Specialty. the effects of such radiologic accidents. However, the
low probability of these types of incidents creates
a conundrum for employers and government leaders,
2.4.8 Continuing education as it is generally not cost-effective to maintain staff
for the sole purpose of responding to such emergen-
CHPs are required to obtain 80 h of continuing edu- cies. Therefore, emergency preparedness and response
cation every 4 years. CHPs have many options to are typically collateral duties for HPs. However, the
obtain continuing education, as detailed on the Ameri- lack of surge capacity for large-scale incidents rep-
can Academy of Health Physics (AAHP) website.20 The resents a significant gap in the safety and security
HPS, AAHP, and other organizations provide continuing of the nation and highlights the need for specialized
education courses. training.
NOSKA ET AL. 6 of 9

With respect to the civilian nuclear power industry, TA B L E 2 Distribution of health physicists by employment
power plants require a total of ∼3700 radiation pro- sector12a
tection specialists, 400 of whom would be classified Number
as HPs.7 A recent study revealed that current needs Sector of HPs %
are being met for full-time nuclear power utility staffing, Government 447 20.9
that is, professional HPs and technicians. This finding
Industrial 283 13.2
was based on human resource data from a 2015 sur-
Medical 271 12.7
vey, using projected retirement and attrition data and
the projected supply from 2-year institutions and 4-year Military 50 2.3
advanced degree programs.22 The apparent adequacy National laboratory 210 9.8
of the workforce differed from earlier predictions of Private practice 237 11.1
possible shortages.2,3 A possible explanation is that University 312 14.6
the long-anticipated renaissance of the nuclear indus-
Other 328 15.3
try did not occur; only two new nuclear power reactors a
Based on a survey of HPS members (2138 respondents).
are under construction in the United States in 2021. In
addition, since 2013, 13 nuclear power plants have per-
manently ceased operations, and several utilities have is uncertain as personnel are assigned across multiple
announced that additional units, including Byron 1 and public health duties simultaneously.7 In addition, these
2, Dresden 1 and 2, Palisades, and Diablo Canyon 1 programs are challenged by attrition due to staff leaving
and 2, will close by 2025. As plant construction, clo- state service for higher paying federal or private sec-
sures, and decommissioning significantly impact the tor positions, which in turn necessitates the training of
demand for HPs, the future needs in the nuclear power replacement staff to qualify for licensing, inspection or
industry are difficult to forecast with certainty. The US compliance work. The NRC provides the training and
Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that employment in travel funds needed to meet these radiation control pro-
the nuclear sector will decline by ∼20% over the cur- gram requirements. A representative of the Conference
rent decade; however, some of these losses may be of Radiation Control Program Directors echoed the con-
offset by an increased demand for decontamination and cern of many at the 2013 NCRP WARP Workshop
decommissioning services.23 regarding the impact of large-scale retirements without
The status of the health physics workforce employed an adequate pool of replacements and concluded that it
in the medical sector is unclear. It is difficult to esti- may be necessary in the future to train general science
mate the number of HPs with specialization in medical graduates to perform radiation protection duties.25
health physics because of overlapping job responsibili- A workshop explored areas of health physics exper-
ties with medical physicists (see Chapter 3). Demand for tise that will be required to fulfill research needs.26 This
medical health physics is difficult to forecast because focused on research needs and did not cover workforce
it is driven by regulatory requirements, the size and issues. It was observed that, across many academic pro-
age of the population, the utilization of radiation in grams, alternative, non-radiological technologies have
medicine, productivity, and health-care economics. How- significantly reduced the use of radioactive materials
ever, due to technological innovations and the medical in biomedical research, decreasing the need for health
needs of an aging population, it can be expected that physics staff.
this sector would experience stable or slightly increased Recent unpublished data from Little and Johnson
employment. compiled job announcements from Colorado State Uni-
The federal government, the largest single employer versity alumni, as well as from the “Indeed” website
of HPs, decreased its ranks from 451 HPs in 2004 to 418 from June 2020 to February 2021 (Little and John-
HPs in 2016, with two thirds of these losses occurring son, email communication, 5 May, 2022) (Table 3). A
at the NRC (Table 2).24 More recent data from this site period of 8 months of data collection yielded 643 unique
indicate a stable federal workforce since 2016. The NRC job announcements for HPs. Of these, only 125 were
reductions were attributed, in part, to staff downsizing specifically denoted as technician level positions. A total
associated with the cancellation of new reactor projects of 194 were specifically announced as jobs for “HP,”
and the closing of 13 power plants since 2013. Of note, with 39 others titled “RSO.” Other job titles varied from
some federal departments,such as DOE,have used out- “Environmental Scientist” (typically for state level health
sourcing to augment the capacity of their professional physics positions, n = 27 announcements) to “Physicist”
HP staff. (n = 20). Job descriptions were carefully examined to
State radiation control programs, which are moni- ensure that nuclear engineering and medical physics
tored and periodically reviewed by the NRC, appear to positions were not misclassified as health physics. The
currently have an adequate health physics workforce. preliminary analysis indicated an average of 80 unique
These programs employ ∼1000 full-time equivalent postings per month, with ∼16 for technicians and 64 for
employees, although the actual number of employees professional HPs. Analysis of previous years is ongoing;
7 of 9 NOSKA ET AL.

TA B L E 3 Count of radiation protection job postings, June 2020 More and better quality data on the health physics
to February workforce are needed. In particular, more frequent and
Military 37 focused studies are needed to adequately characterize
Federal govt 34 the supply and demand for health physics profession-
State govt 58
als to ensure that the nation’s future needs will be
met. Although data are collected annually on health
National lab 58
physics education and employment, longer range fore-
Medical 22 casting of changes in supply (e.g., due to attrition) and
Industry 176 demand (e.g., due to changes in utilization of radiation
University 22 sources) are notoriously difficult because of the large
Other 236 impact of unpredictable factors, such as economic con-
Total 643
ditions. Hence, annually updated, short-term forecasts
are indicated to inform decision-making regarding the
workforce.
The recommendations later represent consensus
however, based on the quantity of data, similar numbers expert opinions on actions needed to ensure that
are expected for 2019 and 2018. These data suggest a the health physics profession will be able to meet
robust demand for HPs, and anecdotal information indi- the nation’s future needs. The Committee intention-
cates that competition for the limited pool of graduates ally declined to recommend detailed methods, timelines,
is high. responsibilities of individual organizations, and fund-
ing sources. These complex subjects are outside the
scope of this Review and, indeed, the Committee was
2.6 SUMMARY AND prohibited from activities that could be construed as
RECOMMENDATIONS advocacy.
The authors recommend the following actions to
We conclude that the demand for HPs is sector- and ensure the future adequacy of the nation’s profes-
specialty-specific and subject to varied and multiple fac- sional health physics workforce:
tors and external influences. One example of this is
driven by the shuttering of nuclear power plants; as they 1. Conduct comprehensive studies to accurately assess
cease generating power, new and different works are the current health physics workforce.
necessary for the decontamination and decommission- a. Increase the scope, specificity, and granularity of
ing phase, requiring a reallocation of HP resources. This workforce surveillance.
makes the assessment of workforce needs very chal- b. Study each employment sector and subspecialty
lenging. Although a review of the published literature in detail to obtain an accurate count of current HP
revealed a lack of evidence in support of earlier pre- positions.
dicted shortages,3 new data suggest that there may in c. Based on consistent and adequate survey from
fact be current pent-up demand for radiation protec- annual surveys, longitudinal analyses should
tion specialists that had not previously been recognized. be performed to better understand long-term
It is quite possible that major shortages were averted trends.
by a drop in demand in certain sectors (e.g., nuclear d. Coordinate and collaborate with survey efforts of
power) and the delayed retirements of a significant seg- other radiation professions in order to enhance the
ment of the workforce. However, the data available on direct comparability of survey data, for example,
the demographics of the professional health physics especially with the closely related profession of
workforce indicate that the profession will experience medical physics.
an unprecedented wave of attrition as baby boomers 2. Assess the supply of health physics professionals.
leave the workforce. The future impacts of the COVID- a. Determine current gaps in employment across all
19 pandemic are unknown. The demand for recent sectors and subspecialties.
graduates demonstrates the need to provide continued b. Conduct detailed assessments of health physics
support for health physics training programs. In addition, education and training programs to project future
although certain radiation protection operations may be supply.
performed by generalists under ideal conditions, it is c. Increase outreach to young students to encourage
clear that professional HPs are needed for accidents entry into the health physics field.
or other emergencies involving radiological or nuclear 3. Conduct detailed analyses to support forecasting of
activities. Furthermore, it must be acknowledged that employment needs by sector.
institutional knowledge, once lost, is difficult to regain, a. Increase the frequency and accuracy of workforce
and efforts should be made to retain and transfer this projections.
knowledge to the next generation of professional HPs. b. Compile and categorize vacancy announcements.
NOSKA ET AL. 8 of 9

c. Projections should attempt to improve prediction CONFLICT OF INTEREST

of future changes in demand, which appears to No conflict of interest.
have played a role in some projections that were
performed previously.
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