Medical students ’ knowledge of ionizing radiation and radiation protection

Objectives: To assess the knowledge of fourth-year medical students in ionizing radiation, and to study the effect of a 3-hour lecture in correcting their misconceptions. Methods: A cohort study was conducted on fourth-year medical students at King Abdul-Aziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the academic year 2009-2010. A 7-question multiple choice test-type questionnaire administered before, and after a 3-hour didactic lecture was used to assess their knowledge. The data was collected from December 2009 to February 2010. The lecture was given to 333)72% ( participants, out of the total of 459 fourth-year medical students. It covered topics in ionizing radiation and radiation protection. The questionnaire was validated and analyzed by 6 content experts