Safety in nuclear medicine: Responsibilities of health professionals

Frequently asked questions by the health professionals

» What are my main responsibilities in radiation protection as a nuclear medicine specialist?

You have the primary responsibility for ensuring overall radiological protection of patients and to:

Ensure that each medical exposure is justified in consultation with the referring physician;
Ensure that the exposure of patients is the minimum required to achieve the intended objective, taking into account the relevant guidance levels for medical exposure;
Establish optimized protocols for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, in consultation with the medical physicist and technologist;
Provide criteria to manage the examination of pregnant women, paediatric patients, medico-legal procedures, occupational health examinations and medical and biomedical research;
Evaluate any radiation incident or accident from a medical point of view.

» What are my main responsibilities as a nuclear medicine technologist?

As technologist you have a key position in protection of the patient. Your responsibilities and duties are to:

Identify the patient;
Inform the patient;
Inform accompanying persons and staff nursing a patient after a nuclear medicine examination or therapy;
Verify that the female patient is non-pregnant;
Ensure that a mother in lactation is given information about discontining nursing;
Perform the radiological procedure following an optimized protocol and ensuring patient protection;
Calculate administered activity to a child according to the local rules;
Verify the administered radiopharmaceutical and its activity;
Perform regular quality control of activity meter and gamma camera;
Contribute to the preparation of specifications for new equipment;
Participate in optimization of imaging protocols;
Inform the nuclear medicine physician and radiation protection officer (RPO) in the case of an accident or incident.

» What are my main responsibilities as a medical physicist in nuclear medicine?

Your responsibilities are to:

Plan together with the nuclear medicine physician and the radiation protection officer (RPO), the facilities for nuclear medicine practice;
Prepare performance specifications for equipment with regard to radiation protection;
Participate in the continuing review of the nuclear medicine practice's resources (including budget, equipment and staffing), operations, policies and procedures;
Carry out acceptance testing and commissioning of equipment;
Design, implement and supervise QA procedures;
Supervise equipment maintenance;
Be responsible for calibration of equipment and dosemeters;
Perform patient dose assessment;
Participate in optimization of imaging protocols;
Participate in the investigation and evaluation of incidents and accidents;
Contribute to the radiation protection training programme.

Health professionals