On 18-20 May 2009 the first interregional meeting of the INT/6/054 Technical Cooperation Project on Strengthening Medical Physics in Radiation Medicine was held at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, bringing together medical physicists from around the world, and representatives from the medical physics professional societies including the International Organizations for Medical Physics (IOMP), the European Federation of Organizations for Medical Physics (EFOMP), the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), the Latin American Association of Medical Physics (ALFIM), the the Asia-Oceania Federation of Organization for Medical Physics (AFOMP), the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), the World Health Organization (WHO), the European Commission (EC), and the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA).
This was the first planning and coordination meeting of the IAEA's new TC project INT/6/054: Strengthening Medical Physics in Radiation Medicine which was approved by the IAEA Board of Governors for the period 2009-2013.
The objective of the project is to promote the recognition of medical physics in radiation medicine and to harmonize educational material in order to ensure safe and effective diagnosis and treatment of patients. Specifically, the project aims for the following:
1. Define internationally endorsed role and responsibilities of Medical Physicists and requirements for education and training, including clinical requirements.
2. Identify gaps in education and training and develop/harmonize educational materials as needed
3. Raise awareness and recognition of Medical Physics as a profession
Meeting participants presented the work of their respective organizations and discussions were held on how to meet the project objectives. Working Groups to address the issues above were formed that will continue to collaborate on stengthening medical physics in radiation medicine