Proposition: a pregnant resident physician should be excused from training rotations such as angiography and nuclear medicine because of the potential exposure of the fetus.
It has been reasonably well documented that a pregnant resident physician can assume radiology rotations, including higher-exposure rotations such as angiography and nuclear medicine, without exposing the fetus to radiation levels that exceed national and international guidelines. Hence, many medical physicists support the contention that rotations should not be altered because a resident is pregnant. On the other hand, many if not most physicists subscribe to the ALARA (as low as reasonably achievable) principle, especially in cases of fetal exposure where increased radiation susceptibility is combined with an inability to decide for one-self. In addition, altered rotations usually can be accommodated by swapping rotations with other residents, with the pregnant resident taking high exposure rotations after delivery of the child. Policies on this issue vary among institutions, possibly because medical physicists have not come to closure on the issue. This issue of Point/Counterpoint is directed toward that objective.
Nickoloff
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Columbia University and The New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Department of Radiology, New York 10032-3784, USA. nickolo@cpmail-nz.cis.columbia.edu
Brateman
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D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000379:methods; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D009683:Nuclear Medicine / Q000193:education*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011832:Radiation Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011871:Radiology / Q000193:education*