New York Consolidated Laws, Education Law - EDN § 8702. Definition of “practice of medical physics”

1. The “practice of the profession of medical physics” shall mean the use and application of accepted principles and protocols of physics in a clinical setting to assure the correct quality, quantity and placement of radiation during the performance of a radiological procedure, so as to protect the patient and other persons from harmful, excessive or misapplied radiation.  Such practice shall include, but not necessarily be limited to:  radiation beam calibration and characterization;  oversight and responsibility for patient radiation dose measurement, calculation and reporting;  oversight and responsibility for quality control;  instrument specification;  optimization of image quality;  acceptance testing;  shielding design;  protection analysis on radiation emitting equipment and radio-pharmaceuticals;  and consultation with a physician to assure accurate radiation dosage and application to a specific patient.

2. A license to practice medical physics shall be issued with special competency in one or more specialty areas in which the licensee has satisfied the requirements of section eighty-seven hundred five of this article.

3. The practice in any specialty by a person whose license is not issued with special competency for such specialty shall be deemed the unauthorized practice of the profession of medical physics.

4. Only a person licensed under this article shall practice the profession of medical physics.