The Professional Role of a Medical Physicist

About this programme

The aim of this course is to convey knowledge about the hospital physicist profession by analysing the relationship between science and practice, describing national/international regulations, underlying the importance of communication in teamwork considering also the ethical dimension of communication with patients and non-experts in the field. This course will prepare you for the professional life of a medical physicist, going also beyond the technical and clinical aspects. You will learn about the physicist's duties in areas such as organization of health care, leadership, project management, coordination, as well as procurement processes. You will be introduced to national and international regulations that are relevant for the profession so you will be able to understand and interpret possible changes in national regulations and/or EU directives, and learn about how the Swedish national, European and International education systems for medical physicists compare to each others. You will be presented with an overview of the actual occupational role of the hospital physicist as a specialist in nuclear medicine, diagnostic radiology, magnetic resonance physics, radiotherapy and radiation protection. Particular emphasis will be also given to the importance of communication both in a teamwork collaboration with other members of the professional staff as well as in the communication with patients and their relatives. Ethical aspects and implications of the latter will be also taken into consideration.