Future of Medical Physics in KSA

1. Future of Medical Physics in KSA Dr. Nabil Maalej Physics Department King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

2. Outline

3. Outline

4. 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.

5. The Medical PhysicistBridges Physics and Medicine Medical Physicist Medicine Physics

6. Medical Physics Disciplines • Radiation therapy Physics • Diagnostic Imaging Physics • Medical Nuclear Physics • Health Physics

7. Medical Physicist’s Primary Discipline (USA) Source: 2002 AAPM Survey

8. General Areas of Responsibility of the Medical Physicist • Clinical • Regulatory Compliance • Education • Research

9. Medical Physicist’s Primary Responsibilities Source: 2002 AAPM Survey

10. Pathways into Medical Physics B.S. in Physics or related field M.S. or Ph.D. 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

12. KFUPM Master’s Program Follows guidelines of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM Report 79: Academic Program Recommendations for Graduate Degrees in Medical Physics).

14. Academic Program Requirements

15. COURSE # TITLE CR MEPH 510 Radiobiology 2 MEPH 561 Radiological Physics and Dosimetry 3 MEPH 563 Radioisotopes in Medicine and Biology 3 MEPH 566 Radiotherapy Physics 3 MEPH 567 Diagnostic Radiology Physics 3 MEPH 569 Health Physics 4 18 Core Courses

16. COURSE # TITLE CR MEPH 501 Physics for Medicine and Biology 3 MEPH 511 Instrumentation for Medical Physics 3 MEPH 568 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) 2 MEPH 570 Advanced Brachytherapy Physics 2 MEPH 571 Advanced External Radiation Oncology 3 MEPH 573 Imaging in Medicine 3 MEPH 574 Applications of Digital Imaging: DSA, CT, MRI 2 MEPH 575 Diagnostic Ultrasound Physics 3 MEPH 581 Laboratory in Radiological Physics – Radiotherapy 1 MEPH 582 Laboratory in Radiological Physics – Diagnostic Radiology 1 MEPH 583 Laboratory in Radiological Physics – Nuclear Medicine 1 MEPH 584 Laboratory in Radiological Physics – Health Physics 1 MEPH 585 Laboratory in Radiological Physics – CT, MRI, and DSA 1 MEPH 586 Laboratory in Radiological Physics – Medical Ultrasound 1 MEPH 591 Selected Topics in Medical Physics 1-3 MEPH 592 Independent Reading 1-3 Medical Physics Elective Courses

17. 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)

19. Clinical Training Collaboration with KFSH&RC 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

20. 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.

22. 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

23. Outline

24. 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

25. 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

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

27. 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

28. The Ministry of Health (MOH) The Head of Preventive Health estimates MOH future needs at 100 clinical medical physicists over the next 5 years

29. MOH Statistics (2001)

30. Hospital Statistics (2001)

31. 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 )

32. 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

33. 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 ).

34. 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)

35. 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

36. Conclusion

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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