An investigation of medical physics career systems in 19 Asia-Pacific countries / 中华放射医学与防护杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the medical physics career systems of 19 Asia-Pacific countries, and provide international experience to better serve the career development of Chinese medical physicists. Methods In-depth interviews were given to the representatives of medical physicists from 19 countries. Basic personal information, country-specific data of medical physicist volume, academic degrees, professional titles, background, oversea education & training experiences, income, job attractiveness, certification, educational resources, time distribution, and reasons for resign were investigated. The data were processed by thematic framework analysis. Results According to the investigation, the volume of medical physicists in all 19 countries were small. A master degree or higher is becoming a minimum requirement for the medical physicists in 12 countries. Independent certification and qualification systems for medical physicist have been established in 8 countries. Independent career systems of medical physics have been developed in 9 countries. The income is a key determinant of the attractiveness of being a medical physicist. Quality assurance is the major task of medical physicist in Australia, Indonesia, Japan and Singapore, where no less than 50％ of the time was invested. Conclusions The comparison of 19 countries' career systems of medical physicists has shown a severe deficiency of medical physicists in China. Compared with developed countries, the relatively small education volume, the low criteria of accreditation programs, and the lack of independent career system have impeded the income, job content and time distribution of Chinese medical physicists. The government and associations are recommended to invest more resources to optimize the higher education, professional certification, career system, and job responsibilities, etc. The career system and admission standards for medical physicists should be gradually developed and improved in China.