X-ray therapy safety and awareness education for medical trainees and attending physicians

Medical imaging involving ionizing radiation is common in the clinical setting. Little is known about the level of radiation safety training for medical trainees and attending physicians. We sought to identify the level of radiation safety knowledge and training at the undergraduate, postgraduate, and attending physician level.

A 29-question survey was sent by email to two sites in Canada. We pooled the results of medical students, residents, and attending physicians. The primary outcome was to describe the amount of radiation safety training among these groups. The secondary outcomes were to describe the frequency of radiation exposure, level of radiation knowledge, and preferred training method for radiation safety.

Of 115 surveys that were properly completed, 31 (26.9%) medical students, 17 (14.7%) residents, and 67 (58.3%) attending physicians responded. A greater number of medical students (41.9%) reported they had zero hours of training time for radiation safety compared to attending physicians (14.9%) (p<0.05). A higher number of attending physicians (47.8%) and residents (64.7%) participated in patient care involving fluoroscopy daily or at least several times per week compared to medical students (3.2%) (p<0.001). Attending physicians had the greatest number of correct responses to radiation safety questions. Online courses and workshops were the preferred training methods.

Radiation safety training is an important component of medical education for medical trainees and attending physicians. Current radiation safety training requirements and procedures at various levels of medical training in Canada should be addressed. Implementing radiation safety education may improve adherence to the radiation safety principles.