RADIATION AWARENESS AMONG CLINICAL PHASE MEDICAL SCHOOL STUDENTS IN QASSIM REGION, SAUDI ARABIA

Background and objective: Despite the importance of imaging in diagnosing many conditions in clinical practice, it has side effects on the patients and the radiologist. This study aimed at assessing awareness among medical students in their clinical years towards the risk of radiation on healthcare workers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted employing an electronic survey with pretested questionnaire on clinical phase medical students and interns in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia. A convenience sampling technique was used to recruit the participants. All collected data were subjected to statistical analysis using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results: Only 4.4% and 16.3% of the participants reported using medical radiation 'always' and 'frequently,' respectively. Only 1.2% of self-assessed radiation dosage knowledge was at the expert level. About 6.3% of participants knew the permissible radiation dosage. The most popular methods for learning radiation safety were workshops (42.9%) and offline courses (42.5%). Conclusion: The study findings highlight the need for comprehensive protection against radiation education and training for medical students. Keywords: Radiations, medical students, radiologist, imaging, awareness, knowledge, Qassim region