Future of Medical Physics in KSA

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Future of Medical Physics in KSA

• Dr. Nabil Maalej
• Physics Department
• King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

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Outline
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Outline
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What is a Medical Physicist?

• A medical physicist is a professional who
  specializes in the application of the concepts
  and methods of physics to the diagnosis and
  treatment of human disease.

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The Medical PhysicistBridges Physics and Medicine
Medical Physicist
Medicine
Physics
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Medical Physics Disciplines

• Radiation therapy Physics
• Diagnostic Imaging Physics
• Medical Nuclear Physics
• Health Physics

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Medical Physicists Primary Discipline (USA)
Source 2002 AAPM Survey
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General Areas of Responsibility of the Medical
Physicist

• Clinical
• Regulatory Compliance
• Education
• Research

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Medical Physicists Primary Responsibilities
Source 2002 AAPM Survey
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Pathways into Medical Physics
M.S. or Ph.D. in Physics or related field
B.S. in Physics or related field
M.S. or Ph.D. in Medical Physics
Medical Physics Postdoctoral Training
Medical Physics Residency Program
On the Job Clinical Training in Medical Physics
On the Job Clinical Training in Medical Physics
Practicing Medical Physicists
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KFUPM Masters Program

• Follows guidelines of the American Association of
  Physicists in Medicine (AAPM Report 79 Academic
  Program Recommendations for Graduate Degrees in
  Medical Physics).

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Academic Program Requirements
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Core Courses
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Medical Physics Elective Courses
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Needs For Improvement

• Hiring Medical Physics Faculty
• Stronger collaboration with hospitals
• Laboratory facilities
• Better collaboration between KFUPM and UQU
• Target accreditation by Commission of Medical
  Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP)

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Clinical Training Collaboration with KFSHRC and
RKH

• The student spends 4 months of hospital training
  to complete a clinical rotation in radiation
  therapy, diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine and
  health physics
• The student observes and practices clinical
  procedures under the direct supervision of a
  senior clinical medical physicist
• The student writes progress reports and a final
  report on the procedures he performed

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Need for Residency

• Residency programs are aimed at both educating
  and providing practical experience so that the
  medical physicist would be ready to practice in a
  hospital setting and obtain board certification.

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Residency Accreditation

• Commission of Medical Physics Education Programs
  (CAMPEP)
• Compliance with standards of training
• Overall quality of the program
• Number and competence of the teaching staff
• Teaching loads
• Rigor and breadth of instructional offerings
• Adequacy of facilities Machinery and
• Procedures
• Supporting personnel
• Aptitude of students
• Performance of the graduates

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Outline
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Medical Physicist Rewards

• Challenge of applying the principles of physics
  to medicine
• Satisfaction of working with the state of the art
  medical technology
• Contributing to the well-being of patients
• Receiving competitive compensation

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Professional Credentials of Medical Physicists

• Education M.S.
• Training Training vs. Residency
• Certification By specialty
• Am. Board of Radiology (ABR)
• Am. Board of Medical Physics (ABMP)
• Canadian College of Medical Physics (CCMP)
• Others

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Average Income (MS Degree in USA)
Source 2002 AAPM Survey
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Survey

• Dr. Al-Jarallah of the Physics Department
  surveyed the need for medical physicists in 23
  hospitals and medical schools across the Kingdom
  (May 2000)
• The survey showed an urgent need for 33 clinical
  medical physicists at those hospitals

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The Ministry of Health (MOH)
The Head of Preventive Health estimates MOH
future needs at 100 clinical medical physicists
over the next 5 years
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MOH Statistics (2001)
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Hospital Statistics (2001)
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Recommended Staffing Level

• The Inter-Society Council for Radiation Oncology
  recommends one full time Oncology Medical
  Physicist for every 400 treated cancer patients
  per year (Radiation Oncology in Integrated Cancer
  Management, Blue Book, 1991)
• The AAPM recommends one Diagnostic Imaging
  Medical Physicist for a 300 bed hospital (report
  33 Staffing levels and responsibilities in
  diagnostic radiology, 1991 )

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Estimate of the Need

• Based on the staffing recommendation and the
  number of hospitals, the Kingdom is in need of
  approximately 150 Medical Physicists to have one
  medical physicist for every 300 beds

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Number of Medical Physicists

• According to a 2001 survey, there are 18 Medical
  Physicists in 11 radiotherapy centers
  (Collaborative Quality Assurance Program for
  Dosimetry of Radiation Therapy Equipment in KSA,
  Dr Jazi Al-Mokhlef et al ).

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Reality of The job Market

• Most hospitals do not have a Medical Physicists
• Most hospital administrators do no know what is
  the role of a Medical Physicist
• Many hospitals have no quality management program
  and rely on the supplier of their equipment to do
  yearly maintenance (conflict of interest)

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Reality of The job Market

• There are no regulations that require hospitals
  to hire medical physicists
• There is no association for Medical Physicists to
  promote the profession in the Kingdom
• There is no medical physics job announcement
  bulletin

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Conclusion
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Conclusion Education

• We have promising BS (Umm Al-Qura University) and
  MS programs in Medical Physics (King Fahd
  University of Petroleum and Minerals)
• There is need for support and stronger
  collaboration with hospitals
• To maintain high standards aim for accreditation

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Conclusion Training

• There are limited opportunities for the training
  of Medical Physicists in the Kingdom
• There is an urgent need for a residency program
  to prepare Medical Physicists for their clinical
  jobs and for board certification

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Conclusion Carrier

• There is a need for medical physicists to insure
  quality health care
• This need is not evident for most hospital
  administrators and government institutions
• There is an urgent need for a Medical Physics
  Association that will promote the profession,
  facilitate employment, and lobby for government
  regulations to insure quality health care

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