Co-Director & Radiation Safety Officer - Radiation Safety
West Virginia University

Morgantown, West Virginia

Posted in Education and Training


This job has expired.

Job Info


Description

West Virginia University Health Science Center is currently accepting applications for Co-Director & Radiation Safety Officer with the Department of Radiation Safety 

About the Opportunity

Works with the Director and Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) to provide oversight for a comprehensive Radiation Protection Program and Health Physics operations, in order to ensure the safe and effective use of radiation and radioactive materials in an academic setting for research and development, patient care, diagnosis and treatment, and achieve optimum regulatory compliance. Develop and implement radiation safety policy for a variety of health physics operations as well as establish and enforce radiation safety procedures and training requirements throughout the entire West Virginia University Campus, Health Sciences Center, Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute, Jefferson Memorial Hospital and WVU Hospitals in accordance with Federal and State regulations as well as institutional policy and guidelines. Represent the University and Hospital at regulatory inspections, public hearings, or other forms of official meetings as required by Federal and State regulatory agencies within scope of the multiple U.S, Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) license provisions, State licenses and registrations, and Institutional policy.

We strongly believe in work-life balance and keeping time for things we love outside our work. WVU offers generous benefits, including:
•    13 paid holidays (staff holiday calendar)
•    24 annual leave (vacation) days per year
•    18 sick days per year
(for when you’re ill, for when you need time to care for sick family, for your own, or your family’s, regularly scheduled medical appointments. Who is family for the purpose of this leave? A lot of people in your life including immediate relatives and in-laws as well as others considered to be members of your household living under the same roof)
•    WVU offers a range of health insurance and other benefits (this position is a benefits-eligible non-classified staff position)
•    401(a) retirement savings with 6% employee contribution match, eligibility to continue health insurance, and other retiree perks. Looking for more retirement benefits information? Check out retirement health insurance benefits, retirement income, and FAQ’s.
•    Wellness programs

What you’ll do:

Radiation Protection and Radiological Health Program in Research and Development:

  • Provide oversight for the Radiological Health Program in maintaining USNRC and state licenses to use radioactive materials through preparation and submission of comprehensive applications for license renewal and amendments as required by regulations.
  • Review and approve applications for new uses of radioactive materials and radiation producing devices to assure relevant procedures and facilities are in compliance with USNRC, state and institutional requirements and are safe for personnel and patients.
  • Provide consultation to University faculty in the application of the institutional Radiation Safety Manual (RSM) for the use of new approaches in radiation research.
  • Direct radiological surveys of university campuses and hospital facilities to determine compliance with Federal, State and University radiation safety standards; enact necessary corrective actions and implement changes to reduce or eliminate radiation hazards.
  • Provide oversight for design and implementationof the radiological safety program; assess program effectiveness and radiological hazard evaluations, recommend controls, and provide technical support to operations personnel.
  • Provide oversight for the radioactive waste management program; approve ordering and receiving, processing and dispensing of decayed radioactive materials, and maintaining the records for compliance purposes.
  • Review plans for construction of all new radioisotope facilities and provide recommendations, as well as verifying and approving contamination survey reports submitted by authorized radiation researchers to ensure that results of such surveys are in compliance with federal and state regulation codes.
  • In cooperation with the RSO listed on USNRC licenses, order an immediate shutdown of a facility or cessation of work in any facility where it is evident that radiation hazards exist to the extent that continued operation would result in excessive radiation exposures to employees and members of public.
Medical License Operations, Clinical Research Trials:
  • Establish and monitor internal policies, processes, communications, training and systems to assure awareness and compliance with appropriate regulations and standards.
  • Provide oversight for the radiation operation program and on-site monitoring of more than 100 research and clinical laboratories of Principal Investigators (Pis) and personnel working under their supervision; monitor radiation exposures of about 1100 radiation workers.
  • Assist physicians and other health care providers in the development, implementation and regulatory compliance of new modalities and procedures that utilize radiation in diagnosis and treatment.
  • Monitor, investigate, and report incidents, radiation doses to employees and compliance with radiation emission requirements.
  • Develop and administer radiation safety training for physicians, medical researchers, nurses and other health care providers so that they may perform their duties within the provisions of USNRC broad-scope licenses.
  • Review all lRB protocols involving human subjects; provide recommendations regarding radiation doses and level exposures of research participants, care providers and the public.
  • Review all aspects of radiation dosimetry of the lnvestigational New Drugs (IND) and interact with the FDA to evaluate and approve individual organ doses and total effective radiation doses in regard to cancer drugs not yet approved by the FDA.
  • Assist Accelerator operators and PET/CT personnel in all radiation protection and shielding calculations, including dose and radioactivity levels to personnel and the environment.
  • Develop and monitor radiation safety practices, issues and concerns from all stakeholders including physicians, interdisciplinary healthcare personnel and inspectors/surveyors from JCHO, NRC, and FDA as well as state regulators.
  • Provide regulatory advice for the design of radiation shielding requirements and minimizing radiation exposures to faculty and students resulting from X-ray producing devices installed in the School of Dentistry.
  • Counsel personnel who declare their pregnancy so that they may safely work around radiation during pregnancy. Review previous radiation exposures and protective actions as well as risks associated with radiation exposure to the fetus. Issue pregnant personnel an additional dosimeter for fetal monitoring.
Administration- Financing and Budget:
  • Engage in fiscal activities in order to ensure the availability of supplies, equipment, and human resources necessary to meet the service commitments of the department in a timely and cost effective manner.
  • Overseeing fiscal and personnel management, budget analysis and report preparation, and program development.
Administration- Supervision:
  • Supervises technical and clerical personnel to ensure a competent and well informed, cohesive work force capable of meeting the goals and objectives of the department.
Technical and Operational Support:
  • Ensures the compliance of all authorized users of radioactive materials and radiation producing equipment with all regulatory requirements and guidelines by means of training, enforcement consultation and internal audits and inspections of facilities.
  • Assures the performance of radiation surveys of all areas where radioactive materials are used on a schedule consistent with the radioactivity of the respective radioactive agents and in accordance with USNRC licenses to Radiological Safety Committee.
  • Maintains an electronic radionuclide profile inventory system upon acquisition of radionuclides and their respective radiation levels which is monitored through Electronic Management Reports.
  • Participate in various committees charged with setting policies on the safe use of radiation and radionuclides and with evaluating prospective radionuclide users as prescribed by the University and Hospital USNRC licenses, and which are monitored by quarterly and annual reports to the Radiological Safety Committee and USNRC site visits.
  • Oversees and actively participates in educational programs designed for users of radiation and radionuclides by providing classes for orientation and in-services, formal classes and special guest lectures monitored through quarterly and annual reports to the Radiological Safety Committee.
  • Provides expert advice and assistance  for the acquisition of  equipment, project design, development of new programs and revisions of current programs and procedures in order to keep radiation exposures as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) across the university and hospital, monitored based on quarterly and  annual reports to  the Radiological  Safety Committee  and USNRC site visits.
  • Establishes and enforces appropriate radiation safety precautions and monitoring for patients receiving therapeutic and diagnostic doses of radiation. Monitored through quarterly and annual reports to the Radiological Safety Committee.
  • Assures that the activities of the Radiation Safety Department are documented accurately and consistently and on a timely basis to comply with all regulatory and institutional policies and procedural guidelines, monitored by supervision and quarterly and annual reports to the Radiological Safety Committee and USNRC site visits.
  • Develops "Analytical X-ray Guidelines" for West Virginia University according to the rules outlined in Title 64 Code of State Regulations 23 of the State of West Virginia.
  • Engages as the primary responsible party in preliminary radiation safety shielding evaluation, acceptance testing, diagnostic quality assurance, and radiation safety surveys on all dental X-ray units installed at the West Virginia University Dental School according to the rules outlined in Title 64 Code of State Regulations 23 of the State of West Virginia.
Training
  • Develops and implements on-going education programs for professional and support staff which include new employee orientation, in-service (continuing education) and new equipment and/or systems application training which enables the staff to perform in compliance with current policies/procedures, regulations, and best practices. Monitored by supervision through program documentation.
  • Maintains professional competencies, builds leadership skills, and attends to the development of the personnel and operations of the section, as demonstrated by department operations, participation in in-house seminars, professional societies, committee activities, special projects and/or formal education.
  • Develops and implements structured and informative radiation protection training programs in both the University and Hospital. Expand training curricula for the use of ionizing radiation in or on humans, and the in-vitro use of sources of ionizing radiation that meet and/or exceed regulatory requirements, and proactively anticipates new requirements as additional programs are promulgated.
  • Develops a computer-based training module for nurses - Epilepsy Monitoring Unit, Clinical Lab and Nursing division- who participate in caring for patients with radiopharmaceutical therapy. 
  • Enhances the Radiation Safety Program's department website, thereby increasing navigation capabilities and accessibility to forms, policies, procedures and reference materials
     


Qualifications

  • Master's degree in Health Physics, Radiological Sciences, or Natural Science (physical, chemical) OR related field.
  • Training and experience in a formal course designed for RSO presented by American Health Physics Organization accredited by the USNRC, that includes a minimum of 200 hours of classroom and laboratory training. The course shall cover radiation physics, radiobiology, and radiochemistry, dosimetry & instrumentation, radiation protection, and mathematics and statistics pertaining to the use and measurement of radioactivity.
  • Five (5) years experience:
  • Knowledge and understanding of USNRC regulations and familiarity with EPA and OSHA regulations;
  • Maintaining Radioactive Material licenses, radiation safety procedure writing,and personnel management;
  • Implementing and maintaining Radiological Protection Programs, including the management of radiological waste, dosimeter monitoring and conducting surveys;
  • Instructing and training on radiological programs: radiation protection, radiation detection,exposure/contamination controls, and biological effects of ionizing radiation;
  • Advisor to University Officials on the oversight of radiological protection
  • Capable of providing complete research support, including research plan generation, analytical investigation, data interpretation and presentation;
  • Significant experience in all aspects of radiation safety, including regulatory, and related to facility set-up, operation, and decommission
  • Extensive knowledge of Federal and State regulations and guidelines pertaining to radiation protection for workers in research and development and the medical setting, as well as members of the public.


About WVU

U. S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission license. Identified by U.S.NRC, the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) is authorized to manage and supervise specific licenses of broad scope in the application of the by-product material in Non-Human, Animal, and Medical applications. Listed or potential to be listed on USNRC licenses both on Medical and Non-Human Use of RAM.

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