Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE MPH2003

 
TITLE Medical Physics and Radiation Protection Placement 1

 
UM LEVEL 02 - Years 2, 3 in Modular Undergraduate Course

 
MQF LEVEL 5

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Medical Physics

 
DESCRIPTION This study-unit gives students the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge to professional practice via hands-on placements and site visits to various practice settings relevant to Medical Physics and Radiation Protection and to carry out, report on, critically evaluate and reflect on selected BASIC level procedures and scenarios in each of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Protection making possible the acquisition of skills in clinical procedures, quality control, patient dosimetry and risk, occupational and public radiation protection, protocol optimization and technical report writing. The unit will include over a hundred hours of clinical experience mostly in local hospitals and clinics and students will be taught and supervised by the clinical Medical Physicists working in these locations.

Study-unit Aims:

This study-unit aims to:
- Provide opportunities for the students to familiarize themselves with the various clinical sites where Medical Physicists and Radiation Protection Experts practise their professions;
- Provide students with the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge to professional practice via hands-on tasks in professional placements;
- Supervise students in carrying out, reporting on, critically evaluate and reflect on selected BASIC level procedures and scenarios in each of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Radiation Oncology, Nuclear Medicine and Radiation Protection permitting the acquisition of skills in handling equipment, quality control, dosimetry, protocol optimization, risk assessment and technical report writing.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Describe selected BASIC level Medical Physics and Radiation Protection procedures in diagnostic and interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology and radiation protection (listed below under Skills);
- Define and explain technical terminology used in the practice setting;
- Explain the purpose and practical implementation of formal systems of work (‘local rules’) with regard to safety in the various specialties of medical physics practice;
- Explain how to care for radiation protection badges;
- Describe their own role and the roles of other healthcare professions in providing modern healthcare services in a multi-disciplinary setting; and
- Explain the importance of building bridges to other healthcare professions for the multidisciplinary team building.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

- Conduct selected BASIC level Medical Physics and Radiation Protection procedures in diagnostic and interventional radiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology and radiation protection (list below);
- Apply radiation protection principles to own personal protection;
- Follow formal systems of work (‘local rules’) with regard to safety in the various specialties of medical physics practice;
- Care for radiation protection badges;
- Report, critically evaluate and reflect on the different methodologies and scenarios, allowing them to gain skills in effective and technical report writing through the use of a logbook and the writing up of an eportfolio;
- Organize, plan and manage one’s workload;
- Communicate orally and in writing with both experts in the field and non-experts;
- Work productively in both mono-disciplinary and multi-disciplinary teams;
- Criticise constructively and accept constructive criticism;
- Adapt to new situations;
- Reflect and evaluate one’s own practice and learning;
- Apply research skills and use published evidence to develop and improve the quality of one’s own practice;
- Work within the scope of one’s practice and abilities;
- Seek advice when a task is outside one’s ability; and
- Assume responsibility for one’s own actions.

Basic level MP and RP procedures:

D&IR and Dentistry:
- Describe the various D&IR and Dentistry units at MDH and a health centre;
- Report on the use of imaging devices used in D&IR and Dentistry;
- Report the patient pathway in D&IR and Dentistry, use of patient management software and consent forms;
- Report a range of observed basic clinical procedures and protocols;
- Apply basic clinical image processing techniques to D&IR and Dentistry images;
- QC a projection radiography system;
- Demonstrate the use of ion chambers, test objects, anthropomorphic phantoms;
- Compare observed typical image quality metric values for common x-ray examinations;
- Calculate DRL for a projection radiography procedure;
- Estimate body dose for an individual patient in a projection radiography procedure;
- Assess basic shielding and personal protective equipment beam penetration;
- Report observed occupational/public radiation protection measures taken within the D&IR and Dentistry environment; and
- Perform a basic radiation survey.

Radiation Oncology:
- Describe the various RO units at SAMOC;
- Report the patient pathway in RO, use of patient management software and consent forms;
- Report a range of observed basic clinical procedures and protocols;
- Apply a TPS for basic planning procedures;
- Report observed basic plan verification;
- Basic QC of radiotherapy CT, superficial x-ray unit, linear accelerator and XVI; and
- Report observed occupational/public radiation protection measures taken within the RO environment.

Nuclear Medicine:
- Describe the NM and Radioisotope units at MDH;
- Report the patient pathway in NM, use of patient management software and consent forms;
- Report a range of observed basic clinical procedures and protocols;
- Apply basic clinical image processing techniques to NM images;
- Perform QC on a dose calibrator, well counter, gamma probe;
- Report observed occupational/public radiation protection measures taken within the NM environment; and
- Perform a basic contamination survey.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main
- IAEA. (2005). Radiation Oncology Physics - A Handbook for Teachers and Students.
- IAEA. (2014). Diagnostic Radiology Physics - A Handbook for Teachers and Students.
- IAEA. (2014). Nuclear Medicine Physics - A Handbook for Teachers and Students.
- Brown, B. H., Smallwood, R. H. et al. (1998). Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering. IoP Publishing.
- Martin, A., Harbison S., Beach,K., et al. (2018). An Introduction to Radiation Protection. CRC.
- IAEA. (2009). Clinical Training of Medical Physicists Specializing in Radiation Oncology. Training Course Series 37.
- IAEA. (2010). Clinical Training of Medical Physicists Specializing in Diagnostic Radiology. Training Course Series 47.
- IAEA. (2011). Clinical Training of Medical Physicists Specializing in Nuclear Medicine. Training Course Series 50.
- Emerald-Emit Project. (2003). Project website: http://emerald2.eu/cd/Emerald2/

Supplementary
- Knoll, G. F. (2010). Radiation Detection and Measurement. Wiley.
- Del Guerra, A. (2004). Ionizing Radiation Detectors for Medical Imaging. World Scientific.
- Wood, A. W. (Ed), Ken Karipidis (Ed). (2017). Non-ionizing Radiation Protection: Summary of Research and Policy Options. Wiley.

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Placement and Independent Study

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Reflective Diary SEM2 Yes 40%
Portfolio SEM2 Yes 60%

 
LECTURER/S Mona Lisa Camilleri

 

 
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The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
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It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

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