The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Act--Title 3, Subtitle K, Texas Occupations Code Annotated Chapter 602.
  (2) Active duty--A person who is currently serving as full-time military service member in the armed forces of the United States or active duty military service as a member of the Texas military forces, as defined by §437.001, Government Code, or similar military service of another state.
  (3) Address of record--The mailing address of each licensee or applicant as provided to the agency pursuant to the Act.
  (4) Advisory committee--The Medical Physicist Licensure Advisory Committee, an informal advisory committee to the board whose purpose is to advise the board regarding rules and the licensure, enforcement, and discipline of medical physicists.
  (5) APA--Administrative Procedure Act, Texas Government Code, Chapter 1601 as amended.
  (6) Applicant--A person seeking a medical physicist license from the board.
  (7) Armed forces of the United States--Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps of the United States or a reserve unit of one of those branches of the armed forces.
  (8) Board--The Texas Medical Board.
  (9) Diagnostic radiological physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the diagnostic application of x-rays, gamma rays from sealed sources, ultrasound radiation, or radiofrequency radiation and the use of equipment associated with the production and use of that radiation.
  (10) License--A certificate issued by the Board that authorizes the holder to engage in the practice of medical physics.
  (11) Licensed medical physicist--A person who holds a license issued under the Act.
  (12) Medical health physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the safe use of x-rays, gamma rays, particle beams, radionuclides, and radiation from sealed radionuclide sources for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes in humans and the use of equipment required to perform appropriate radiation tests and measurements.
  (13) Medical nuclear physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the therapeutic and diagnostic application of radionuclides, except those used in sealed sources for therapeutic purposes, but including therapy with radiolabeled microspheres and with the use of equipment associated with the production and use of radionuclides.
  (14) Military service member--A person who is on active duty.
  (15) Military spouse--A person who is married to a military service member.
  (16) Military veteran--A person who served on active duty and who was discharged or released from active duty.
  (17) Physician--A person licensed to practice medicine by the Texas Medical Board under Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 152, or if out-of-state a person who holds a valid license to practice medicine in that state or territory.
  (18) Practice of medical radiological physics--The use of principles and accepted protocols of physics to assure the correct quality, quantity, and utilization of radiation during the performance of a radiological procedure prescribed by a practitioner that will protect the patient and others from harmful radiation. The term includes radiation beam calibration and characterization, quality assurance, instrument specification, acceptance testing, shielding design, protection analysis on radiation-emitting equipment and radiopharmaceuticals, and consultation with a physician to assure accurate radiation dosage to a specific patient.
  (19) Practitioner--A doctor of medicine, osteopathy, podiatry, dentistry, or chiropractic who is licensed in this state and who prescribes radiologic procedures for other persons.
  (20) Provisional license--An authorization to practice medical physics for a period not to exceed 180 days for individuals currently licensed or certified in another jurisdiction.
  (21) Quality assurance--An all encompassing term that includes data recording, patient management, outcome analysis and equipment performance monitoring.
  (22) Quality control--A subset of quality assurance that concerns monitoring the performance of imaging, treatment and associated radiological equipment.
  (23) Radiation--Ionizing and/or nonionizing radiation above background levels used to perform a diagnostic or therapeutic medical or dental radiological procedure.
  (24) Radiological physics--The branch of medical physics that includes diagnostic radiological physics, therapeutic radiological physics, medical nuclear physics, and medical health physics.
  (25) Radiological procedure--A test, measurement, calculation, or radiation exposure used in the diagnosis or treatment of disease or other medical or dental conditions in humans that includes therapeutic radiation, diagnostic radiation, nuclear magnetic resonance, or nuclear medicine procedures.
    (A) The activities and services which fall within the definitions in the Act of the practice of medical radiological physics, diagnostic radiological physics, therapeutic radiological physics, medical nuclear physics, or medical health physics are not radiological procedures.
    (B) The activities and services which fall within the Texas Regulations for Control of Radiation, as defined in 25 TAC §289.201(b) (relating to General Provisions for Radioactive Material) and §289.231(c) (relating to General Provisions and Standards for Protection Against Machine-Produced Radiation), concerning radiographic entrance exposure rates; entrance exposure rates for fluoroscopy; dose measurements of the radiation output of computed tomography (CT) x-ray systems; equipment performance evaluations; surveys, calibrations, and spot checks for therapeutic radiation systems operating above 150 kVp up to 1MeV, and surveys, calibrations, and spot checks for therapeutic radiation systems operating at energies of 1MeV and above, are not radiological procedures.
  (26) Submit--The term used to indicate that a completed item has been actually received and date-stamped by the board along with all required documentation and fees, if any.
  (27) Supervision--To oversee the work of a medical physicist holding a training license in the performance of those duties defined as the practice of medical physics. For the purpose of fulfilling the work experience and examination requirement, the supervisor shall be responsible for the training licensee's work during this period. The supervisor assumes the responsibility, and must have the authority, to observe and correct the actions of the individual being supervised. There are three levels of supervision as described in subparagraphs (A) - (C) of this paragraph.
    (A) General Supervision--The training licensee works under the overall control and direction of the supervisor, but the supervisor's presence is not required during the performance of the work.
    (B) Direct Supervision--The supervisor is present in the building or institution and immediately available to furnish assistance and direction throughout the work. The supervisor need not be in the room where the work is being performed.
    (C) Personal Supervision--The supervisor is physically present in the room where the training licensee is working.
  (28) Training License--A certificate authorizing an individual to practice medical physics under the supervision of a licensed medical physicist.
  (29) Therapeutic radiological physics--The branch of medical physics that deals with the therapeutic application of x-rays, gamma rays, particle beams, or radiations from radionuclide sources and the use of equipment associated with the production and use of that radiation.
  (30) Upper division semester hour credits--Third-level or above (junior, senior or graduate) course work completed from a regionally accredited college or university.

Source Note: The provisions of this §160.2 adopted to be effective July 7, 2016, 41 TexReg 4819