title: Career Progression in Medical Physics

authors: Round, W. Howell

subjects: Career pathway

abstract: In several western countries there is a formal medical physicists’ training scheme after which a lot of graduates are employed in government hospitals where there is a formal, national salary scale and levels of responsibility through which physicists can expect to move. Those who are employed in private institutions are usually employed on contacts that are somewhat similar to those in the government institutions, but with perhaps a higher salary level but with an expectation that they will have a higher output. This is often not the case in AFOMP countries, especially in developing countries where there may be very few medical physicists. There may not be a “recognised” path that a clinical medical physicist would expect to follow from being a trainee/registrar/resident to a chief physicist in charge of the physics in an imaging or radiation oncology or medical physics department. There is often no official salary scale, limited access to continuing professional development, and little concept of how their careers might be expected to progress, especially amongst administrators. Those countries that do define a career path for medical physicists usually do so through a nation- or state-wide employment contract (or award) negotiated between the profession and the government. These can be used as a model for career planning elsewhere. A survey done of the career pathways in other countries showed that where awards exist, often they are constructed as a multilevel system consisting of, for example, four levels: physicist, senior physicist, principal physicist and chief physicist. Minimum education qualifications and experience are often needed to enter each level, along with a compilation of achievements and an expectation that the physicist will be able to fulfil the requirements of the level. If possible, such systems should be set up in all AFOMP countries where this is possible so that medical physicists will be able to see where their career will lead and how far they have progressed. Sometimes this can be difficult to set up because being a medical physicist is not a government-recognised profession in some countries, even though it is recognised by the International Labour Organization. To ensure that physicists’ careers will develop in a way that will fully develop their potential, it is important that issues such as have proper education and training, sufficient access to continuing professional development, interaction with physicists within and outside their own institution. Also, for those who temporarily leave the profession, a pathway for them to re-enter must be available. Career progression is something that all AFOMP National Member Organizations must address if the potential of their members is to be properly developed and their skills to be fully utilized.

text: Career Progression in Medical Physics In several western countries there is a formal medical physicists’ training scheme after which a lot of graduates are employed in government hospitals where there is a formal, national salary scale and levels of responsibility through which physicists can expect to move. Those who are employed in private institutions are usually employed on contacts that are somewhat similar to those in the government institutions, but with perhaps a higher salary level but with an expectation that they will have a higher output. This is often not the case in AFOMP countries, especially in developing countries where there may be very few medical physicists. There may not be a “recognised” path that a clinical medical physicist would expect to follow from being a trainee/registrar/resident to a chief physicist in charge of the physics in an imaging or radiation oncology or medical physics department. There is often no official salary scale, limited access to continuing professional development, and little concept of how their careers might be expected to progress, especially amongst administrators. Those countries that do define a career path for medical physicists usually do so through a nation- or state-wide employment contract (or award) negotiated between the profession and the government. These can be used as a model for career planning elsewhere. A survey done of the career pathways in other countries showed that where awards exist, often they are constructed as a multilevel system consisting of, for example, four levels: physicist, senior physicist, principal physicist and chief physicist. Minimum education qualifications and experience are often needed to enter each level, along with a compilation of achievements and an expectation that the physicist will be able to fulfil the requirements of the level. If possible, such systems should be set up in all AFOMP countries where this is possible so that medical physicists will be able to see where their career will lead and how far they have progressed. Sometimes this can be difficult to set up because being a medical physicist is not a government-recognised profession in some countries, even though it is recognised by the International Labour Organization. To ensure that physicists’ careers will develop in a way that will fully develop their potential, it is important that issues such as have proper education and training, sufficient access to continuing professional development, interaction with physicists within and outside their own institution. Also, for those who temporarily leave the profession, a pathway for them to re-enter must be available. Career progression is something that all AFOMP National Member Organizations must address if the potential of their members is to be properly developed and their skills to be fully utilized.

year: 2014

title: (Un)Problematic constructions of teachers’ professional identities in early childhood policies and practices in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Kamenarac, Olivera

abstract: The impacts of policy reforms on the early childhood education (ECE) sector have been a focal point of scholarly discussions in Aotearoa New Zealand. Interestingly, only a few studies touched on impacts of the policy changes on teachers’ identities (Farquhar, 2010; Warren, 2013). Contributing to this research area, my doctoral study investigated how teachers’ professional identities have been (re)constructed in response to the shifting discourses in the New Zealand ECE over the last three decades. In this presentation, I argue that opposing political agendas have forced teachers to simultaneously negotiate multiple and yet confronting political interests and priorities in their work. As a result, some problematic (or not?) constructions of teachers’ professional identities have emerged, hindering the idea of ECE as a democratic, socially just and equitable place for all children and families.

text: (Un)Problematic constructions of teachers’ professional identities in early childhood policies and practices in Aotearoa New Zealand The impacts of policy reforms on the early childhood education (ECE) sector have been a focal point of scholarly discussions in Aotearoa New Zealand. Interestingly, only a few studies touched on impacts of the policy changes on teachers’ identities (Farquhar, 2010; Warren, 2013). Contributing to this research area, my doctoral study investigated how teachers’ professional identities have been (re)constructed in response to the shifting discourses in the New Zealand ECE over the last three decades. In this presentation, I argue that opposing political agendas have forced teachers to simultaneously negotiate multiple and yet confronting political interests and priorities in their work. As a result, some problematic (or not?) constructions of teachers’ professional identities have emerged, hindering the idea of ECE as a democratic, socially just and equitable place for all children and families.

year: 2019

title: Book review: Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand – Edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru

authors: Beattie, James John

subjects: book review

abstract: This article reviews the book: “Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand”, edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru.

text: Book review: Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand – Edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru This article reviews the book: “Beyond the scene: Landscape and identity in Aotearoa New Zealand”, edited by Janet Stephenson, Mick Abbott and Jacinta Ruru.

year: 2010-12