(Sunday, 7/12/2020) [Eastern Time (GMT-4)]
Room: AAPM ePoster Library
The profession of medical physics continues to adapt to ongoing changes in society, technology, government regulations, and resource limitations. To ensure the place of medical physics in the healthcare system, physicists must work to influence the regulatory framework, which defines educational and postgraduate training requirements and the job competencies.
In 2013, the European Community (EU) defined the role of medical physics in radiation safety in updates to several Directives—including Directive 266—governing the medical use of ionizing radiation. Member states were required to modify national regulations accordingly. In Poland, the Scientific Society for Medical Physics and other groups have long worked to have a voice in government policy to ensure patient safety and to protect their profession. Numerous regulatory achievements have been made, most notably an amendment to a comprehensive healthcare act issued by the Polish Ministry of Health in 2002 and 2008 to regulate healthcare-related professions.
Recently, medical physicists helped to introduce two provisions in the “Atomic Law” of 2018, which defined the competencies of certified medical physicist for radiotherapy, nuclear medicine, and radiology. However, due to the limited scope of this act, these provisions defined the role of medical physicists only with regard to safety, quality assurance and dosimetry, without addressing the other important clinical responsibilities. Another parliamentary act passed in 2018 included medical physics among the healthcare-related professions requiring postgraduate training (3.5 year residency program and national exam). While passage of a single, comprehensive law regulating all of these issues would be ideal, it is not essential provided that these issues are regulated in other laws. Continued vigilance of the regulatory framework is warranted.
Despite the regulatory achievements to date, we still need establish minimum requirements for the undergraduate university curriculum and to obtain financial support (national or European) for residency programs.
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Leadership: Strategic Planning
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