title: The education and training of clinical medical physicists in 25 European, 2 North American and 2 Australasian countries: similarities and differences.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The clinical medical physicist is part of a team responsible for safe and competent provision of radiation-based diagnostic examinations and therapeutic practices. To ensure that the physicist can provide an adequate service, sufficient education and training is indispensable. The aim of this study is to provide a structured description of the present status of the clinical medical physicist education and training framework in 25 European, 2 North American and 2 Australasian countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  For this study, data collection was based on a questionnaire prepared by the European Federation of Organizations in Medical Physics (EFOMP) and filled-in either by the corresponding scientific societies-organizations or by the authors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the majority of cases, a qualified medical physicist should have an MSc in medical physics and 1-3 years of clinical experience. Education and training takes place in both universities and hospitals and the total duration of the programs ranges from 2.5 to 9 years. In 56% of all European countries, it is mandatory to hold a diploma or license to work as a medical physicist, the situation being similar in Australasian and 4 states of USA. Generally, there are national registers of medical physicists with inclusion on the register being voluntary. There are renewal mechanisms in the registers usually based on a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) system.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, a common policy is followed in general, on topics concerning education and training as well as the practice of the medical physicist profession, notwithstanding the presence of a few differences.
authors.affiliation: University General Hospital of Athens Attikon, 1, Rimini Street, 12462 Athens, Greece. apstefano@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Stefanoyiannis
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Christofides
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Psichis
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Geoghegan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gerogiannis
authors.forename: W H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Round
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Geronikola-Trapali
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Armeniakos
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Kaplanis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Prentakis
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Chatziioannou
mesh_terms: D044362:Australasia; D005060:Europe; D009656:North America; D009683:Nuclear Medicine / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D010825:Physics / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards