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Dear all, I have read with great interest the recent thoughts on AT careers, accreditation and service structures within the Assistech entourage. The points raised by all participants show a significant level of disparity between individuals and indeed groups, which I suppose reflects the state of the nation. With regard to accreditation, I suspect that the situation is significantly more complex than is perceived on the surface and that indeed not all parties working in the US (including those with ATP or ATS accreditation) believe that a single piece of paper adequately encompasses the differing professions and as such their differing approaches to AT. There has for some time been a general debate amongst those professional in the AT community (particularly in the area of service provision) as to the ideal make-up of an AT service. My own experience has highlighted the importance of a multi-disciplinary environment that includes both clinical and scientific/technical professions and even within a so called clinical engineering/clinical scientific service, there are enormous benefits to be derived from having a team with backgrounds often comprising mechanical engineering, electronic engineering, physics, computer science, industrial design etc....etc. Whilst it is important that each member of these professions when working in AT has a basic understanding of the field, the strength of their contribution lies in the combined expert knowledge of their individual subjects, the basic AT knowledge allowing them to speak the same language. For this reason alone I am not convinced by the argument for AT certification. However, further to this there are other problems. In order to practice as a registered professional within the NHS we currently undergo an exhaustive process of academic/professional attainment followed by a prolonged period of professional training, and a subsequent structured framework of continued professional development; all carried out under the scrutiny of our respective professional bodies (In my case IPEM). It is a little known fact that it takes longer to become a State Registered Clinical Scientist in the UK, than a Certified Medical Practitioner and any additional accreditational requirement would curtail an already diminishing supply of scientific/technical professionals. I agree that there needs to be some sort of shake-up but what form that takes is still open to debate. Best wishes Jeff ______________________________________________ Dr Jeffrey D. Morris Principal Physicist & Head of Assistive Technology Medical Physics & Clinical Engineering Directorate Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust RE Unit Rookwood Hospital Llandaff Cardiff, UK CF5 2YN Tel: 029-2031-3931 FAX: 029-2031-3785 Mob: 07770-971526 e-Mail: [log in to unmask]