Developing a new National Registration Board for MRS – Behind the Scenes
3. Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine (ANZSNM) a professional association representing Nuclear Medicine Scientists and Technologists; (David Lyall, Bridget Chappell.) 4. Medical Radiations Australia, Council of Medical Radiations Discipline Heads (MRA) a group representing Australian Universities offering Medical Radiation Sciences programs of study (Kerry Thoirs). The MRP NSC determined create a series of working parties which allowed many others within the profession to contribute to the creation of a raft of policies for submission to the new national board. Draft documents have been produced for the national registration standards and guidelines (as per National Law Act 2009 s38 and guidelines and codes of conduct s39) with Francesca Holloway as Registration Standards Project Manager. These working parties have been developing policies related to: – Continuing Professional Development (Lead: Neil Hicks. MRPNSC: Christopher Hicks, David Collier, Marilyn Baird, MRA: Kerry Thoirs, AIR: Min Ku, ANZSNM: Bridget Chappell, Adam Free born, and John Ryan – Recency of Practice (Lead: Marilyn Baird. MRPNSC: Christopher Hicks, Ingrid Egan, – Wayne Nuss, Adam Freeborn, Mark Marcenko, MRA: Kerry Thoirs, AIR: Bruce Harvey, Sharon Brackenridge, ANZSNM: Bridget Chappell, and John Ryan – Supervised Practice (Lead: Wayne Nuss. MRPNSC: Roger Weckert, Mark Marcenko, Ingrid Egan, David Lyall )MRA: Shane Dempsey AIR :Bruce Harvey, Tim Way, David Collier, ANZSNM: David Thomas, Adam Freeborn, Elizabeth Bailey – Code of Conduct and Ethics (Lead: Ingrid Egan. MRA: Kerry Thoirs, AIR: Jo Page, ANZSNM: Elizabeth Bailey – Scope of Practice (Lead: Ingrid Egan. All members of MRPNSC ) Other Mandatory Standards such as Criminal History (CH), Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) and English language proficiency (ELP) had no working party because the Board has no discretion but to implement the nationally agreed upon policies. Nevertheless other professions’ standards were reviewed by the Steering Committee with Francesca Holloway as lead. These draft standards and guidelines will be submitted to the new MRP Board. The MRP Board will consider the submissions and develop standards which will be made available for public comment over the next 12 months via websites. The MRP NSC also consulted with all university heads of discipline in September of 2010 regarding course status and outlined the areas of National Registration that may impact upon Australian education.
3. A new Accreditation Council for Medical Radiation Science After much intense negotiation the MRP NSC also created a proposal for an Australian Medical Radiation Sciences Accreditation Council (AMRSAC). It is expected that such a body will in the future accredit university courses, and ensure that MRS practice will be maintained at the highest levels of competence. The development of a new MRP Accreditation Council began with the Steering Committee and was driven by the Accreditation Working Party. The Accreditation working party had tripartite representation of all current stakeholders: i.e. MRS Professional Associations, State Regulators and University Heads. The working party was lead by Neil Hicks and Stan Naylor (Registrar) and included from the AIR : David Collier, Tim Way and Bruce Harvey; from ANZSNM: David Lyall and Bridget Chappell; and University Head of Disciplines: – Kerry Thoirs and Shane Dempsey. During the development of the Constitution for the proposed “MRS Accreditation Council” extensive consultation occurred with Pharmacy, Physiotherapy, Optometry, Psychology , Podiatry, Dental and Chiropractic Accreditation Councils, all of which had recently undergone review. The Accreditation Council working party together with the National Steering Committee have agreed upon a budget and constitution and begun the process to have the new Australian Medical Radiation Sciences Accreditation Council, AMRSAC incorporated, should the submission be successful.
58 Gamma Gazette September 2011