1993 William McAdams Outstanding Service Award Acceptance

It is an honor and pleasure for me to receive this outstanding service award in the name of one of the founders of the American Board of Health Physics, William A. McAdams. As I stated at time of this presentation at the annual Health Physics Society meeting in Atlanta, this award should have at least the names of two other persons who have worked along with me in many of the activities outlined in my citation. I have been fortunate to have had the moral and technical support from my colleagues, Clayton French and George Chabot, who have contributed over many years to any success I have had in my professional career. In particular, they have contributed with me and in their own PEP sessions at HPS meetings to the preparation of candidates for the American Board of Health Physics Certification Examination. Perhaps I have received this award instead of one of them because I have been more vocal on issues relating to the certification exam process and how it might be improved as well as other issues relating to radiation protection in general.

I have been encouraged in recent years by the fact that the ABHP and members of its panels continue to try to improve the quality of the exam. I guess from the receipt of this award that most persons involved in the certification examination process realize that my criticisms of past exams were not personally directed. For many years, I have had personal communications with members of the ABHP and panels on ways to help improve the exam, including making questions more relevant to the activities of health physicists. Although not all of my suggestions have been implemented, I am aware that they have been considered at meetings of the ABHP. I continue to emphasize to candidates taking our courses that the best part of the examination process is going through the process of revisiting the fundamentals and philosophy on which our radiation protection profession is based. Although passing the exam must come quite high on the list of good things to happen, as evidenced by the calls I get from successful candidates of the ABHP exam, and although some candidates are motivated by job requirements to pass the ABHP exam, I believe that the growth of interest in the ABHP exam in recent years comes from the belief of candidates that the entire process will help in their further professional development and careers. Based on the work of the American Academy of Health Physics to sponsor activities that help to prepare candidates for the certification exam and the continued efforts of the ABHP to improve the quality of the exam, I am confident that this interest will continue for the benefit of all participants and our health physics profession. My colleagues and I express our thanks to all our past course participants who have expanded our knowledge thereby enriching our own careers in health physics.