Medical physicists and especially clinical medical physicists working in hospitals, have in-depth knowledge in radiation dosimetry, including dose reconstruction and dose measurements. However, they are usually not involved in Nuclear or Radiological Emergency (NRE) situations. In a few instances where medical physicists were involved in NREs, it appeared that many lacked some specific knowledge and skills that are required in such situations.
As a response to this finding, the IAEA, in consultation with the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) and the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA), developed a specific training package to help prepare medical physicists to support NRE situations. The training package was developed with the kind support of the Government of Japan and in collaboration with Fukushima Medical University (FMU) and the National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS). The package was endorsed by the Japan Society of Medical Physics (JSMP).
The material is now hosted on a publicly available e-learning platform maintained by the IAEA. The online course that was created may be used for the training of other interested medical physicists worldwide.
