The History, Development, and Realisation of Medical Radiation Physics Education in Sweden

• This paper describes the history of Swedish medical radiation physics education and gives details of the core curriculum of today’s 5-year specialised medical radiation physicist programme, which fulfils the need to educate clinical physicists with versatile basic knowledge and skills who are well prepared for professional life in all sub-areas of medical radiation physics and radiation protection. The education of medical radiation physics in Sweden has traditionally had a high international reputation, and goes back as an academic education to the mid-1950s. ‘Medical Physicist’ became a protected professional title and a state-registered health care profession in 1999. Physicists must now hold a licence to practise any sub-area of the profession, that is, diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, magnetic resonance tomography, or radiation therapy. In addition, the medical physicist must obtain expert skills and knowledge in radiation protection of both ionising and non-ionising radiation. The university departments at Gothenburg, Lund, Stockholm and Umeå Universities, have the authority to award a degree of Master of Science in Medical Physics. These departments have in close symbiosis with their respective university hospitals developed the education programmes over more than 50 years, aim to produce qualified medical physicists with expertise in all the fields of medical radiation physics to meet the changing needs of the health-care sector and society at large. The programmes also provide a good academic grounding and a scientific approach, preparing graduates for a future research career.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Radiologi och bildbehandling (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging (hsv//eng)

Keyword

medical physicist

medical physics

education

health care profession

Sweden

Publication and Content Type

art (subject category)

ref (subject category)