An interview with Claire-Louise Chapple , IRPA Executive Council member and former SRP Honorary Secretary

Claire-Louise Chapple is Head of Imaging Physics & Radiation Safety at Newcastle Upon Tyne NHS Foundation Trust . She has recently completed six years as Honorary Secretary of SRP and in January 2021 was elected as a member of the IRPA Executive Council . She has a seriously impressive CV , including a host of UK and international professional activities , and a number of awards and certifications , including receiving the SRP Founders ’ Medal in 2018 .

Editorial Team member Sam Watson talks to Claire-Louise about her involvement with SRP , the future of radiation protection , and the challenges of maintaining a healthy work-life balance .

Claire-Louise ’ s interest in patient dosimetry started back when she was an MSc Medical Physics student in Aberdeen and chose this as a specialist area . She says she was partly drawn to this because the project involved driving around Scotland , visiting remote hospitals to do patient dosimetry measurements . Other memories from that time include obtaining samples from the Scottish coastline for measurement of radioactivity content . This involved collecting seaweed and “ kicking limpets off rocks ”!

Since then Claire-Louise has worked in the medical physics department at the Newcastle hospitals , firstly undertaking research in patient dosimetry , dose reduction and optimisation . Work in patient dosimetry has

Radiation Protection Today Winter 2021

continued and her range of radiation protection work has expanded to include personal dosimetry , bone densitometry and development of Computed Tomography Quality Assurance services . She is also involved in further research and teaching , in addition to working as an RPA and a Medical Physics Expert ( MPE ).

Involvement with SRP Claire-Louise became Honorary Secretary of SRP in 2015 and recently completed six years in office at the 2021 AGM . As Immediate Past Honorary Secretary she continues to sit on SRP Council for one more year and thinks that Mary Allan is doing a great job as the current Honorary Secretary . She says such involvement is hugely rewarding , partly because of the people you get to meet and friendships made , and also to “ feel involved with helping things move forward , to give something back to the profession , to share experience .”

IRPA Executive Council Elected to the Executive Council of the International Radiation Protection Association ( IRPA ) in January this year , Claire- Louise says that it is a bit like SRP Council but formed of representatives of a number of IRPA Associate Societies ( of which SRP is one ). She explained to me that it oversees IRPA ’ s work , sets strategy and helps communication between the Associate Societies . It also helps co-ordinate activities , makes sure that RP practitioners in different countries are included and liaises with other international organisations .

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