Medical Physics Training and Education: Learning from the Past and Looking to the Future.

Medical physicists are essential partners in various fields of medicine and may be specialized and certified in 1 or more subspecialties depending on the country and the certifying body. As radiation oncology is quickly evolving with the constant introduction of new technology and approaches, medical physicists must adapt their knowledge, skills, and competencies on a regular basis to maintain patient safety and quality of care. Here, members of the physics and education editorial team present and discuss 3 recent articles that illustrate the need for adaptation of medical physics education programs and curricula. The first paper, learning from the past, looks back at 13 years of the Harvard Medical Physics Residency Program, which combined clinical and research training in a multi-institutional environment. 1 Lyatskaya Y Winey B Kiger WS et al. Combined clinical and research training in medical physics in a multi-institutional setting: 13-year experience of Harvard Medical Physics Residency Program. J Appl Clin Med Phys. 2023; 24: e13806 Crossref Scopus (2) Google Scholar Looking toward the future, the second paper summarizes the third European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology/European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics (ESTRO/EFOMP) core curriculum for medical physics experts (MPEs), which aims to tackle the ambitious challenge to provide a common standard training framework in Europe. 2 Garibaldi C Essers M Heijmen B et al. The 3rd ESTRO-EFOMP core curriculum for medical physics experts in radiotherapy. Radiother Oncol. 2022; 170: 89-94 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar The third paper proposes a comprehensive and pragmatic artificial intelligence (AI) curriculum, aimed at all subspecialties of medical physics. 3 Zanca F Hernandez-Giron I Avanzo M et al. Expanding the medical physicist curricular and professional programme to include artificial intelligence. Physica Medica. 2021; 83: 174-183 Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (22) Google Scholar