SU-E-E-03: Ethics and Professionalism Education in Medical Physics: A Needs Assessment Study

Area of Science:

• Medical Physics
• Bioethics
• Professional Education

Background:

• Ethics and professionalism are crucial in medical physics.
• Existing ethics curricula may not fully address the needs of trainees.
• Understanding current challenges is vital for effective education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the needs for ethics and professionalism education in medical physics.
• To identify ethical and professional challenges faced by medical physicists.
• To inform the development of a customized ethics curriculum for trainees, supplementing TG159 recommendations.

Main Methods:

• A web-based survey was distributed to American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) members.
• The survey assessed current practices, attitudes, and perceptions regarding ethics education and misconduct.
• 1362 (17.7%) of 7708 members responded.

Main Results:

• 60% of respondents reported receiving no formal ethics/professionalism education.
• 81% of current trainees received ethics instruction, compared to 35% of post-training professionals.
• Over 90% supported continuing ethics education, with a preference for discussion sessions.
• Respondents reported instances of misconduct, including issues with mentorship, task fairness, authorship, data fabrication, and falsification.

Conclusions:

• Survey data is informing the creation of a case-based ethics curriculum for medical physics trainees.
• The developed curriculum and materials aim to address identified needs and challenges.
• This initiative may serve as a valuable resource for other medical physics training programs.