A project to define standards for radiology staffing, education and training across the European Union

The European Union Radiation, Education, Staffing & Training (EU-REST) study was a European Commission-funded, 24-month project that analysed workforce availability, education and training needs to ensure quality and safety aspects of medical applications involving ionising radiation in the EU and developed staffing and education/training guidelines for key professional groups involved in ensuring radiation safety and quality of medical radiation applications in the EU Member States. This article outlines the origin, development, goals and overall structure of the project. CRITICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This article provides a concise overview of the EU-REST project, which analysed the workforce availability of health professionals involved in the use of ionising radiation for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and the corresponding education and training in radiation protection. KEY POINTS: The aims, professional groups, components, and findings of The European Union Radiation, Education, Staffing & Training (EU-REST) study are described. The limited amount of data and literature on staffing recommendations constituted an important finding of the project. One of the study's recommendations is for each EU Member State to maintain a central registry of professionals involved in ionising radiation as well as on related equipment.