(Fahim Muhammad Rafiul Islam, Program Officer, SCMPCR, Bangladesh)
Report of SCMPCR on Accredited Training programs for Medical Physics and Bio Medical Engineering
Technology has advanced so quickly in the modern era that it is impossible for one person to learn everything in a single room. Everywhere in the world, there are people with a diverse range of knowledge. In South Asia, around 4 billion people reside. While some regions lack educated professionals but have cung-edge machinery, other places have qualified medical physicists but inferior equipment. South Asia Centre for Medical Physics and Cancer Research (SCMPCR) has been conducting Different categories of training program for the cancer care professionals since 2018.
In the year of 2022, two elearning programs and one in service training program has been held.
E-learning programs (ELP)
Recent advances in radiation technologies have opened the field to new and promising radiation strategies. SCMPCR organized its 6th and 7th e-learning program this year to maintain this trend of medical physics progress (Figure-1). ELP-6 began on July 1 and ran through July 22. ELP-07 took place from October 7 through October 22. Both were a series of 8 lectures and a group discussion.
Unlike other e-learning programs, ours is unique. With accredited programs, we offer group discussion and examination facilities. Young students or medical physicists are given the opportunity to be moderators in these programs so that we can develop the skills of the next generation.
| E-learning Program Name | Details | Accredited by |
| SCMPCR E-learning Program (ELP-06): Clinical Medical Physics in Modern Radiotherapy | Duration:01 July 2022 – 22 July 2022 Group Discussion: 17 July 2022 Examination: 22 July 2022 CPD Credit Points: 20 | International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) |
| SCMPCR E-learning Program (ELP-07): Computed Tomography and Interventional Radiology | Duration:7 October 2022–28 October 2022 Group Discussion: 23 October2022 Examination: 28 October2022 CPD Credit Points: 32 | European Board for Accreditation in Medical Physics (EBAMP) |
As you can see on the map below 144 medical physicists registered for the events from all over the world (Figure-2). It was a fantastic chance to earn 20 and 32 CPD points recognized by the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) and European Board for Accreditation in Medical Physics (EBAMP) respectively.
There were participants from 36 different nations. Out of them, 25 are from Bangladesh, 42 are from India, 5 are from Nepal, and the remainder is from other nations, including Israel, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mexico, Sudan, Morocco, Indonesia, China, United Arab Emirates, China, Sudan, Mexico, Egypt, Cambodia, Lebanon, Singapore, Australia, Colombia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Palestine, Botswana, Romania, Bulgaria, Hong Kong, Philippines, Slovakia, France, and United Arab Emirates.
These ELPs were a real delight for the participants; each session was instructive and informative. They had the ability to learn from leading medical physics professionals and engage with a large number of other medical physicists.
Reputable international medical physics experts from several countries delivered their valuable talks here.
The program schedules were as below-
Apart from 8 classes and exam, we had one day of group discussion (Figure-4). Prof. HA Azhari and Dr. Jeyasingam Jeyasugiththanwere in charge of program moderation. All the students and most of the speakers were present in the group discussion. The students raised all the problems from the previous lectures and they were solved through discussion. Finally, all moderators from previous lectures and some participants shared their experiences with all.
The evaluation and the examination was held on July 22 and 28 October 2022. 50 % Marks were the passing marks of the examination. Those who attended the examination and achieved more than 50% marks received a certificate with CPD points. The rest of the participants received the certificate of attendance. Every participant, moderator, as well as speakers, enjoyed the courses.
In order to enhance the quality of our programs, we also solicit feedback (Figure-5) from all speakers and participants after each session. We strive to develop future leaders along with QMP to enhance skills in all areas. We promote education that is accessible and of a good standard.
Radiation therapy is currently crucial in the treatment of cancer patients because cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. With as little harm to surrounding healthy tissue as possible, radiotherapy aims to deliver a carefully calculated dose of radiation to a predetermined tumor volume.
In Service Training Program
SCMPCR invited one senior expert Eng. Salih Arican from Germany for in-service training in October 2022 (24 October -14 November 2022) at the Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST).
A circular is given to different media for applying for the training program on Medical Imaging and Radiotherapy. An overwhelming response of around 100 applications was received by the organizing committee. SCMPCR in-service committee has selected 37 efficient participants to enroll in the course.
In this in-service training, the trainer was Mr. Salih Arican who is a B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and M.Sc. in Medical Physics, (Germany). Eng. Salih Arican has expertise is on specializing in communications engineering, as an electrical engineer (Dipl.-Ing.). After the successful completion of the examination, the participants received the certificates. Following the completion of the course, Mr. Salih Arican also offered some demonstrative lectures at MIST on advanced imaging technologies of health physics and radiotherapy and biomedical engineering.
SCMPCR is constantly working to train Medical Physicists , Radiotherapists, as a whole cancer professionals, to be qualified in the South Asia Region and beyond, in accordance with SDG goal 3 of ensuring health and well-being for all by 2030.