WHY UT SOUTHWESTERN?
With over 75 years of excellence in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, UT Southwestern is committed to excellence, innovation, teamwork, and compassion. As a world-renowned medical and research center, we strive to provide the best possible care, resources, and benefits for our valued employees. Ranked as the number 1 hospital in Dallas-Fort Worth according to U.S. News & World Report, we invest in you with opportunities for career growth and development to align with your future goals. Our highly competitive benefits package offers healthcare, PTO and paid holidays, on-site childcare, wage, merit increases and so much more. We invite you to be a part of the UT Southwestern team where you'll discover a culture of teamwork, professionalism, and a rewarding career!
JOB SUMMARY
Ensures employee health and safety standards are met in all areas of the organization. Ensures the safe use of radioactive materials, radiation-producing machines, and lasers through licensure, registration, and compliance with accepted environmental, health, and safety standards. Maintains knowledge/expertise on existing/proposed changes in radiation and laser safety regulations; interprets and applies relevant laws and regulations, summarizes information, and implements necessary changes. Offers advice on shielding, safe work practices and regulatory requirements.
The Radiation Safety Program provides radiation safety services to UT Southwestern Medical Center, University Hospitals, Parkland Health and its associated clinics, and Children's Health and its associated clinics. The Radiation Safety Specialist Lead will assist in the development and maintenance of a comprehensive radiation safety program, including developing and providing radiation safety trainings, performing audits to ensure regulatory compliance, and maintaining records as required per regulatory standards. The Radiation Safety Specialist Lead position is part of our Radioactive Materials Program and will also provide support to the Radiation Safety Advisory Committee and the Subcommittee for Non-Human Use of Radiation in Research. The Radioactive Materials Program holds a broad-scope RAM license that covers multiple Nuclear Medicine clinics, 100 RAM sublicenses to PIs for research, interventional radiology, and radiation oncology procedures. The Radioactive Materials program also covers our cyclotron facility, use of Gamma Knife and GammaPod for radiation therapies, and cutting edge technologies including PET MR for nuclear medicine research and PET LINAC for adaptive radiation therapy.
BENEFITS
UT Southwestern is proud to offer a competitive and comprehensive benefits package to eligible employees. Our benefits are designed to support your overall wellbeing, and include:
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PPO medical plan, available day one at no cost for full-time employee-only coverage
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100% coverage for preventive healthcare-no copay
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Paid Time Off, available day one
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Retirement Programs through the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS)
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Paid Parental Leave Benefit
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Wellness programs
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Tuition Reimbursement
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Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Qualified Employer
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Learn more about these and other UTSW employee benefits!
EXPERIENCE AND EDUCATION
Required
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Education
Bachelor's Degree in basic or applied science, engineering, safety, industrial hygiene or related field.
- Experience
5 years related experience or
Pertinent Military experience or relevant certifications may be considered for some of the required experience.
Preferred
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Education
Master's Degree in related field
- Experience
3 years related experience.
JOB DUTIES
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Coordinates and supervises activities to achieve and maintain compliance with regulatory requirements and institutional safety practices. Performs as the Assistant Radiation Safety Officer for a large institutional broad scope RAM license for medical use (both research and clinical). Assists with the RAM licenses for the Cyclotron facility and the use of the Gamma Knife and GammaPod. Assists with the state registrations for x-ray, mammography, and laser use.
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Designs, develops, implements, and oversees the organization‿s radiation and laser safety programs and procedures to safeguard employees and surrounding communities meet regulatory requirements. Designs new and/or recommends improvement to existing processes and procedures including (but not limited to) those related to the technical areas for which the employee serves as the lead. Responsibilities include serving as staff lead for the following:
a. Develops written procedures for the radiation safety and laser safety programs.
b. Reviews and evaluates radiation safety “Increase Controls” regulations and standards, including 10 CFR Part 37, to determine needed revisions for radiation safety program, policies, and procedures.
c. Coordinates with Animal Care and Use Committee and performs protocol reviews of animal procedures to ensure that requirements are met to use radioactive materials safely.
d. Analyzes the hazards associated with research protocols that involve the use of radiation and or radioactivity; makes recommendations for minimizing those hazards
e. Maintains the RAM sublicenses to include initial application review, renewal, and expirations. Maintains the configuration management for RAM sublicense data with the safety software program. -
Performs staff liaison duties in support of various UT Southwestern committees to include the Radiation Safety Advisory Committee, Subcommittee for Non-Human Use of Radiation in Research, Subcommittee for Human Use of Radiation in Research, and Clinical Laser Safety Committee.
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Develops and conducts safety training programs and monitors for effectiveness. Conducts training and orientation sessions for employees to minimize potential safety hazards, including exposure to radiation and lasers. Delivers in-lab training for Authorized Users, lab contacts, and users, particularly for hospital staff, academic classes or specialty training.
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Performs surveys of laboratories and facilities (i.e., clinical and research lasers, RAM research labs, clinical RAM use including Radiation Oncology, renewal and termination surveys of radiation use locations, radiation-producing machines including linear accelerators and mammography) to ensure adherence to safety regulation and procedures. Operates portable radiation and contamination survey instruments, as well as radiological counting instruments. Operates dose calibrator to perform required quality assurance testing. Assesses public dose from the use of radiation sources.
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Provides radiation and laser safety support to clinical services, which includes the following: performing radiation safety preparations for clinical radiopharmaceutical therapies (i.e., thyroid ablations, MIBG therapies), monitoring and instructing medical patients receiving radiation exposure to radioactive substances during clinical procedures, supporting physicians and clinical staff during the clinical use of lasers, and supporting research and clinical groups during the procurement of laser-related items.
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Provides technical guidance, mentoring, and oversight to radiation safety specialist, as needed. May supervise staff and manage Human Resources activities including recruiting and selection, hiring and termination, training, professional development, mentoring, counseling, performance evaluations.
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Prepares for and responds to emergencies including hazardous materials incidents and emergency situations involving radiation and lasers. Prepares reports of findings and submits recommendations. Participates in emergency drills including fire drills. Individual may be on-call or emergency situations may require the individual to respond at times outside of set work schedule.
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Acts as the secondary back-up for the staff member responsible for the following essential functions: radioactive materials ordering and receipt program, radioactive materials shipping and receiving to include appropriate DOT and IATA expertise, radioactive waste shipping and disposal.
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Performs other duties as assigned.
SECURITY AND EEO STATEMENT
Security
This position is security-sensitive and subject to Texas Education Code 51.215, which authorizes UT Southwestern to obtain criminal history record information. To the extent this position requires the holder to research, work on, or have access to critical infrastructure as defined in Section 117.001(2) of the Texas Business and Commerce Code, the ability to maintain the security or integrity of the critical infrastructure is a minimum qualification to be hired and to continue to be employed in the position.
EEO
UT Southwestern Medical Center is committed to an educational and working environment that provides equal opportunity to all members of the University community. As an equal opportunity employer, UT Southwestern prohibits unlawful discrimination, including discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, citizenship status, or veteran status.
