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Chougule A. Status of medical physics education and training in AFOMP region. Phys Eng Sci Med 2021; 44:357-364. [PMID: 33646476 DOI: 10.1007/s13246-021-00984-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Medical physicists are health professionals recognized by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and hence medical physicists working in a clinical environment should have the required competency and undergo a structured training program and residency under an experienced medical physicist in a recognized institution. Furthermore, medical physics is a rapidly growing area needing a high degree of knowledge and professional competency due to the rise in complexity of treatment procedures, increasing access to medical technology, and the requirement of coordination between the disciplines of medicine, physics and biomedical engineering. The unprecedented surge in medical physics competency in the last 2-3 decades is due to the implementation of specialized physics intensive procedures such as particle therapy, image-guided & intra-operative radiotherapy, advanced imaging and nuclear medicine techniques. In this scenario to handle this new technology era the quantity of qualified medical physicists needs to be in consonance with the competency needed. There is a special requirement for education and training of medical physicists which led to the opening of numerous educational programs around the world. The Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP) was founded in 2000 and today 19 countries national medical physicist associations (NMPO) are member of AFOMP. The AFOMP region is populated by over 4.5 billion people and socioeconomically is very diverse with GDP per capita as high as around US $60,000 [Australia] to as low as around US $750 [Nepal]. We conducted a survey by sending questionnaires to AFOMP NMPOs to assess the status of medical physics education and training in the region. We have received responses from 20 countries in the AFOMP region to the questionnaire. It was observed that 16 [80%] countries from AFOMP have well organized master program in medical physics, however only 8 [50%] programs were accredited and in only 9 [45%] countries are medical physicists registered as health professionals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arun Chougule
- Department of Radiological Physics, SMS Medical College & Hospitals, Jaipur, India.
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Ng KH, Brady Z, Ng AH, Soh HS, Chou YH, Varma D. The status of radiation protection in medicine in the Asia-Pacific region. J Med Imaging Radiat Oncol 2021; 65:464-470. [PMID: 33606359 DOI: 10.1111/1754-9485.13165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
More than half of the world's population live in Asia-Pacific. This region is culturally diverse, with significant disparities in terms of socio-economic status, provision of health care and access to advanced technology. The medical use of ionising radiation is increasing worldwide and similarly within the Asia-Pacific region. In this paper, we highlight the current status in usage of ionising radiation in medicine in the region, and review the legal framework, implementation and activities in radiation protection. Asia-Pacific countries are active in strengthening radiation protection by promoting education and training. Various projects and activities initiated by international organisations such as the IAEA, WHO and ICRP have provided stimulation in the region, but more work is needed to continue to improve protection practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwan Hoong Ng
- Department of Biomedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Zoe Brady
- Radiology Department, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Aik Hao Ng
- Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, National Cancer Institute, Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | - Hwee Shin Soh
- Medical Radiation Surveillance Division, Ministry of Health, Putrajaya, Malaysia
| | - Yi Hong Chou
- Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Technology, Yuanpei University of Medical Technology, Hsinchu, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital and School of Medicine, and National Yang Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Radiology, Yee Zen General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Dinesh Varma
- Department of Neuroscience, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Surgery, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Wong JHD, Ng KH, Sarasanandarajah S. Survey of postgraduate medical physics programmes in the Asia-Oceania region. Phys Med 2019; 66:21-28. [PMID: 31546154 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2019.09.079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The increased use of medical imaging and radiation therapies has resulted in a high demand for medical physicists. Although medical physics programmes are well established in advanced countries, the same cannot be said for many low- and medium-income countries. In some countries, there may be huge variations in the graduates' skill and quality, which pose a problem in ensuring patient safety, providing quality assurance in treatments, optimisation of protocols and standardisation of quality. It also makes any yet-to-be-established regional peer recognition efforts problematic. In order to understand the depth of this problem, a survey was carried out as part of the home-based assignment under the RAS 6088 IAEA programme. A large diversity in terms of course content, duration, clinical training and student profile could be observed across the Asia-Oceania universities surveyed. Out of 25 programmes, only six received recognition from professional bodies, and they were mostly in Australia and New Zealand. Hence, to ensure quality education, a regional curriculum model needs to be developed to harmonise standards. And there is still a long way to go towards standardizing medical physics education and clinical training in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeannie Hsiu Ding Wong
- Department of Biomedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
| | - Kwan Hoong Ng
- Department of Biomedical Imaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
| | - Sivananthan Sarasanandarajah
- Department of Physical Sciences, Peter Mac Callum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia & School of Health and Biomedical Sciences, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia and Ex- IAEA, Vienna, Austria.
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A review of international and developed practices of medical physics from a legislative and regulatory point of view and its applicability and comparison with Pakistan. AUSTRALASIAN PHYSICAL & ENGINEERING SCIENCES IN MEDICINE 2019; 42:407-414. [DOI: 10.1007/s13246-019-00750-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Round WH, Ng KH, Rodriguez L, Thayalan K, Tang F, Srivastava R, Fukuda S, Krisanachinda A, Deng X, Han Y. AFOMP policy number 6: code of ethics for medical physicists in AFOMP Countries. AUSTRALASIAN PHYSICAL & ENGINEERING SCIENCES IN MEDICINE 2018; 41:809-810. [PMID: 30406922 DOI: 10.1007/s13246-018-0708-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
This policy statement, which is the sixth of a series of documents prepared by the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (AFOMP) Professional Development Committee, gives guidance on how medical physicists in AFOMP countries should conduct themselves in an ethical manner in their professional practice (Ng et al. in Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 32:175-179, 2009; Round et al. in Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 33:7-10, 2010; Round et al. in Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 34:303-307, 2011; Round et al. in Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 35:393-398, 2012; Round et al. in Australas Phys Eng Sci Med 38:217-221, 2015). It was developed after the ethics policies and codes of conducts of several medical physics societies and other professional organisations were studied. The policy was adopted at the Annual General Meeting of AFOMP held in Jaipur, India, in November 2017.
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Affiliation(s)
- W H Round
- , 100 Te Awa Road, R D 3, 3283, Hamilton, New Zealand.
| | - K H Ng
- Department of Biomedical Imaging, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - L Rodriguez
- Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center, Manila, Philippines
| | - K Thayalan
- Medical Physics Division, Dr Kamashi Memorial Hospital, Chennai, India
| | - F Tang
- Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
| | - R Srivastava
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Ghent University Hospital, C. Heymanslaan 10, Radiotherapiepark, 9000, Ghent, Belgium
| | - S Fukuda
- Radiation Quality Control Section, Clinical Research Cluster, National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS), National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology (QST), Chiba, Japan
| | - A Krisanachinda
- Department of Radiology, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - X Deng
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Y Han
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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Tsapaki V, Tabakov S, Rehani MM. Medical physics workforce: A global perspective. Phys Med 2018; 55:33-39. [PMID: 30471817 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2018.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2018] [Revised: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 10/14/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE The International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) performed a detailed study following the first survey published in 2015 with the particular objectives: 1) gather data on global medical physicists (MPs) workforce, 2) identify differences between geographical regions and, 3) investigate whether there is a gender dimension in higher hierarchy positions. METHODS An online questionnaire was send to IOMP members and contact points in countries where no professional MPs society existed. Information requested: total number (N) of MPs (men and women), N of current elected executive board (EB) of societies and women proportion in the board, president gender and number of women presidents for the last 10 years. IOMP archives were also investigated for data on gender composition related to chairs of committees, officers and IOMP awardees. RESULTS Ninety three countries reported 29,179 MPs, from which 8702 were women (29.8%) and 20,477 men. The most dense MPs population was in Europe (34%), followed by North America (33%) and Asia/Oceania (24%). Societies EB women members constitute 21-40%, but rarely reach the presidential position. The IOMP archived data show that women MP representation decreases in higher hierarchy positions. CONCLUSIONS Global MPs production does not meet clinical needs especially in Latin America/Caribbean and Africa (6% of total MPs workforce and small number of MPs/million of population). Rough estimations showed that approximately 58,950 MPs will be required by 2035. Women representation is away from the United Nations and European Commissions goals. Women representation in higher hierarchy position is low.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Tsapaki
- Medical Physics Dpt, Konstantopoulio General Hospital, Agias Olgas 3-5, 14233 Nea Ionia, Greece.
| | - Slavik Tabakov
- Dept. Medical Engineering and Physics London, King's College Hospital, United Kingdom.
| | - Madan M Rehani
- Global Outreach for Radiation Protection, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Adjunct Professor of Radiology & Medical Physics, Duke University, Ex-IAEA, Vienna, Austria.
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Surveying trends in radiation oncology medical physics in the Asia Pacific Region. Phys Med 2016; 32:883-8. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmp.2016.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2016] [Revised: 06/02/2016] [Accepted: 06/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
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Kron T, Azhari HA, Voon EO, Cheung KY, Ravindran P, Soejoko D, Inamura K, Han Y, Ung NM, TsedenIsh B, Win UM, Srivastava R, Marsh S, Farrukh S, Rodriguez L, Kuo M, Baggarley S, DilipKumara AH, Lee CC, Krisanachinda A, Nguyen XC, Ng KH. Medical physics aspects of cancer care in the Asia Pacific region: 2014 survey results. AUSTRALASIAN PHYSICAL & ENGINEERING SCIENCES IN MEDICINE 2015; 38:493-501. [DOI: 10.1007/s13246-015-0373-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 08/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Round WH, Stefanoyiannis AP, Ng KH, Rodriguez LV, Thayalan K, Han Y, Tang F, Fukuda S, Srivastava R, Krisanachinda A, Shiau AC, Deng X. AFOMP Policy No 5: career progression for clinical medical physicists in AFOMP countries. AUSTRALASIAN PHYSICAL & ENGINEERING SCIENCES IN MEDICINE 2015; 38:217-21. [DOI: 10.1007/s13246-015-0355-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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AFOMP Policy Statement No. 4: recommendations for continuing professional development systems for medical physicists in AFOMP countries. AUSTRALASIAN PHYSICAL & ENGINEERING SCIENCES IN MEDICINE 2012; 35:393-7. [DOI: 10.1007/s13246-012-0163-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2012] [Accepted: 10/16/2012] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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