Education and Training of Medical Physicists in Europe

Introduction: Medical Physicist, as a professional who works in a hospital environment, is a member of a wide clinical team which is responsible for the correct diagnosis and the therapeutic methods applied using radiation. The role of a Medical Physicist is multifold and consists of the estimation of the dose received by patients and personnel, the quality control of radiological equipment, the studies for shielding requirements and the training of several health professionals (doctors, medical physicists, radiologists, technicians, nurses). All the above are prerequisites in order to receive the professional license to act as Medical Physicist.Aim-Research Inquires: The aim of European Union (EU) via European Federation of Medical Physics (EFOMP) is to apply a common policy among the EU countries in the area of Education and Training in Medical Physics within the context of the current developments in the European Higher Education Area arising from “The Bologna Declaration”. A short-term perspective is the free movement of professionals within EU, via the assurance of knowledge and skills uniformity. A necessary preliminary stage is the collection, classification and further process of relevant information at the European level.Methods-Techniques: To achieve the above in an efficient way EFOMP prepared a questionnaire and sent it to the National Organisation for Medical Physics of each country member of EFOMP (NMO). 23 out of 34 country members responded. The main parts (3 in total) of this questionnaire and some typical questions were:Part A: Medical Physics Education•Which degree is required? Is this a university degree? How many years of studies does it represent?•Is there a nationally approved education programme and, if yes, then by whom?•Where do the education and training take place (University, Hospital, or both of them)? Are these centers accredited and who gives the accreditation?Part B: Qualified / Specialist Medical Physicist•Is there a license or diploma required to work as Medical Physicist? Is it officially provided (i.e. government)?Part C: Register of Medical Physicists•Is there a Register of Medical Physicists in the country? If yes, how is someone registered?•Is there a renewal mechanism in the Register? If yes, is it based on a Continuing Professional Development system (CPD)?Results (Summarised):•In all countries that responded in this questionnaire, the basic educational requirement to enter Medical Physics is a university degree (basic titles: BSc 30%, MSc 57%).•There are 3 different approaches concerning post-graduate education and training (university studies only 23%, hospital only 18% and combining university and hospital 59%).•In 61% of all countries it is mandatory to hold a diploma or license to work as a Medical Physicist.•65% of all countries have an organised Register for Medical Physicists.•A formal CPD programme is in operation in 52% of the countries.Conclusions: The processing of the above results leads the EFOMP to propose some general guidelines. It is strongly recommended that holding a university Masters degree (MSc) and having 2 years’ training in a hospital environment are the necessary requirements to take the license to act as a Medical Physicist. EFOMP strongly encourages NMO’s to organise a formal CPD programme and to include a CPD-based renewal mechanism for the Register of Medical Physicists