SC Radiation Quality Standards Association

SC Radiation Quality Standards Association

Board Meeting

9:00 AM, August 26, 2006

Renaissance Hotel, Charleston, SC

Minutes

Welcome and Introductions

President Roxzanne Breland, DC called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Trustees present were: Dr. Roxzanne Breland; Wanda Hancock;Judy Weathersbee; Yancey Wells; Karen Sheriff; Dr. Susan Keeshan; Brian Webb (proxy for Gary Martin); Cynthia Waystack; Gail Alewine; Dr. Brian Davies (proxy for Dr. Percival); Dr. Kenneth Spicer; Charles Ditmer (proxy for Aaron Gantt, Ex-Officio); and Keely Fagen, Executive Director.

Compliance with Freedom of Information Act

The following Freedom of Information Act (FOI) compliance statement was read: “A notice of this meeting, its time, date and purpose has been posted with the Associated Press and the Governor’s Office in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act that the public be notified when the public’s business is conducted.” A motion was made, seconded and passed to accept the FOI compliance statement.

Open Forum to the Public

Dr. Breland asked if there was anyone present to address the Board in the open public forum. The policies and procedures for the open forum are as follows:

1. Anyone wishing to address the Board of Directors must sign in prior to the meeting.
2. All of those who have signed in will be granted five minutes to address only those issues listed on the meeting agenda. Comments will be limited to five minutes per person and will be timed by the Executive Director.

Ms. Fagen noted that there were four persons present to address the Board.

Ms. Cindi Luckett-Gilbert serves as the Deputy Chair, SC Society of Nuclear Medicine. She wanted to speak to the Board regarding the proposed statement for PET/CT Certification. Based on previous conversations, she felt that the Board’s plan would be satisfactory to her membership.

Dr. Leonie Gordon, Director of Nuclear Medicine, MUSC, stated that she agreed the persons operating the PET/CT machine and other hybrid nuclear medicine systems need to be registered. She agreed with the proposed statement by the Board. She suggested that the Board add that candidates who are considered “registry eligible” for the appropriate national examination be considered for temporary certification until such time as they pass the examination for permanent certification.

Mr. Mangle Raines, Operations Manager for Nuclear Medicine and Radiologic Technology at MUSC, stated that there is a shortage of nuclear medicine technologists. If a pathway is not established for these technologists to operate the PET/CT machines, there could be an even greater shortage.

Mr. David Davison, Clinical Coordinator at MUSC, stated that the nuclear medicine technologist has a vested interest in the training and operating the PET/CT machine. The machine is 90% nuclear medicine and 10% CT. Also, the Board may want to consider adding the term “SPECT/CT” to the proposed statement.

Dr. Breland thanked the guests for their comments.

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made, seconded and passed to approve the
February 2006 Board minutes as presented.

President’s Report

Dr. Breland welcomed everyone to the SCRQSA Board Meeting and Retreat. She introduced and welcomed Dr. Kenneth Spicer as the new representative to the SCRQSA from the SC Radiological Society. Dr. Breland distributed a Board Member Code of Ethics policy for each member to agree to and sign.

Dr. Breland asked each Board member to review the proposed statement for PET/CT certification (see below) and offer any comments based on the public statements that had been presented.

“In recognizing that the national certifying agencies, the American Registry for Radiologic Technologists (ARRT) and Nuclear Medicine Technology Certification Board (NMTCB), have created additional pathways for registration in the PET and or CT modalities, the SCRQSA recognizes the need to create appropriate certification to represent these two modalities.

SCRQSA should create a “PET” certificate for those persons who sit for and pass the NMTCB PET examination. Candidates would need to meet the criteria for examination as set by NMTCB. Please visit for additional information.

SCRQSA should create a “CT” certificate for those persons who sit for and pass the ARRT CT examination. Candidates would need to meet the criteria for examination as set by ARRT. Please visit for additional information.”

A motion was made, seconded and passed to accept the proposed statement.

It was suggested to add the term “SPECT” to the first paragraph to recognize this modality.

It was suggested to add the following statement:

“Candidates who are considered registry eligible to sit for the exam may apply for a temporary certificate.”

A motion was made, seconded and passed to add “SPECT” to the statement and to add the statement regarding registry eligible candidates.

Dr. Breland noted that the SCSRT Educators’ Council had requested that the SCRQSA Board review the following items:

1. Passing Score of Certified Limited Examinations: Currently the SCRQSA passing score has been set at 65 and has been set at 65 since the inception of the program. The SCSRT Educators Council would suggest a score of 70. Dr. Breland noted that the exam scores are not scaled but represent the raw score. It is for this reason that the Board originally determined that 65 would be a fair passing score after reviewing the national statistics. A motion was made, seconded and passed to maintain the passing score of 65.
2. One year student certificates: The SCRQSA Board has previously determined that one year student certificates will not be issued.
3. Provisional Certificates: The SCSRT Educators’ Council expressed concern that when a candidate who has been out of the work force for several years applies for and receives a temporary certificate. Based on the certification policies, if a candidate has graduated from an accredited program in radiologic technology, they may apply for and receive a temporary certificate and then must pass the state Radiography examination to receive permanent certification. The concern is that the candidate may not have knowledge of new changes in the industry and there is no way to document their clinical skill via examination. A motion was made to table this issue and Ms. Fagen will work with Mr. Wells and the Educators’ Council to review the concerns and make a recommendation on future action. The motion passed.

Dr. Breland presented a request by Ms. Sarah Bouc’hette to the Board. Ms. Bouc’hette stated extenuating circumstances in her letter that led to her not passing the Certified Limited General state examination. She has taken the exam three times, which is the limit. She requested an extension to her temporary B Radiography certificate in order to take a refresher course at HorryGeorgetownTechnicalCollege and sit for the examination again. According to the Rules and Procedures, a candidate who fails the examination three times must re-take an approved course and reapply for certification with the SCRQSA and pass the examination. A motion was made, seconded and passed that Ms. Bouc’hette retake the appropriate course and pass the examination in order to reapply for certification. Ms. Fagen will send Ms. Bouc’hette a letter stating the Board’s response.

Dr. Breland asked Ms. Fagen to review the foreign educated technologist’s item with the Board. Ms. Fagen noted that the Board had approved a statement on certification for foreign educated technologists that has been in place since 2002. Only approximately 10 candidates have been approved via this statement since that time. However, for those that have been approved for and have successfully completed the requirements for Radiography certification (non-ARRT), they are encountering difficulties in finding employment. Nearly all hospital settings will require both ARRT registry and SCRQSA certification for technologists. The foreign educated technologists cannot sit for ARRT registry unless they graduate from an accredited program. Ms. Fagen contacted ARRT regarding the issue and the ARRT stated they had previously had a policy for foreign educated candidates to present their qualifications and transcripts and after approval by ARRT, they were given the opportunity to sit for the registry. However, the ARRT experienced that it became increasingly difficult to review the many different documents and suspended this policy. Thus, any candidate who would like to sit for the registry must have graduated from an accredited program that the ARRT recognizes. The Board felt that the SCRQSA has appropriate qualifications in place for the review of foreign educated technologists and the SCRQSA’s mission is to certify individuals and ensure they are maintaining appropriate continuing education requirements to recertify.

Executive Director’s Report

Ms. Fagen reported on the current certifications issued for the SCRQSA: 5,297 permanent certifications, 333 Temporary B,15 provisional certifications and 34 CE probation certificates for a total of 5,679current certificates compared to 5,440in February 2006.

Ms. Fagen presented the SC vs. National exam statistics for the Limited General Radiography exam for the period January – June 2006. SC mean scores continue to be above the National mean scores.

Ms. Fagen reported to the Board that the ARRT has announced that they will increase the exam fees for states beginning January 1, 2008. The new fee will be $100 per exam. She will report this to the technical colleges as well.

Treasurer’s Report

Ms. Fagen reviewed the current financial report as of July 31, 2006 for Mr. Martin, Treasurer. The total income was $146,182.34and total expenses were $56,753.74. A motion was made, seconded and passed to approve the financial report for information.

Other Business

Dr. Breland proposedseveral new business items for the SCRQSA Board to review.

The office has many thousands of files for the certificate holders in the state. The Board has discussed previously a digital filing system to scan and categorize the applications and accompanying documentation for the certificate holders. Ms. Fagen met with SC DHEC staff to review their new digital system earlier in the year. SC DHEC contracted with Palmetto Microfilm Systems to implement their hardware, software and scanning systems. A motion was made, seconded and passed to direct Ms. Fagen to research a viable solution for a digital filing and documentation system for the SCRQSA to implement and the budget would not exceed $75,000. Ms. Fagen will present to the Board at their February meeting.

Dr. Breland also proposed to create a line item in the next year’s budget for travel for Ms. Fagen to attend meetings and conferences for the SCRQSA partnering organizations to represent the SCRQSA. She would be available to speak about the SCRQSA and to exhibit at the organizations’ conferences if needed. The Board proposed having Ms. Fagen create an exhibit booth for the SCRQSA to utilize at such events and a motion was made, seconded and passed to approve up to $2,500 in funds for the booth.

Executive Session

The Board entered into Executive Session at 11:30 a.m. to discuss personnel matters. A motion was made to conclude Executive Session at 11:45 a.m.

Several dates were discussed for the Board’s next meeting. Ms. Fagen will finalize the date as either February 16 or 17 and alert the Baord. There being no further business, a motion was made, seconded and passed to adjourn the meeting at 11:50a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Keely Fagen

Executive Director

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August 26, 2006 SCRQSA Board minutes