| CODE | MPH5015 | ||||||
| TITLE | Legislative, Ethical, Professional and Leadership Issues in Medical Physics | ||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Medical Physics | ||||||
| DESCRIPTION | A Medical Physicist is more than a physical scientist; as a healthcare professional he needs to deal with other healthcare professionals, hospital management and patients. In such circumstances skills associated with interpersonal relationships become highly significant. The role of the Medical Physicist also requires significant managerial competence and the role must be exercised within the framework of a national healthcare service and a European and national legislative context. Medical Physicists are also concerned with the introduction of innovative medical devices into the clinical areas and the optimization of their use. This study-unit will therefore also focus on the present and emerging developments in medical devices which would be driving future Service Quality Development and Innovation. The study-unit aims to produce graduates who would be well prepared to face the rapidly changing world of medical device technology and who would be able to scan the technological horizon effectively. Graduates would assess which technologies would be suitable for introduction into the clinical environment in which they work (Health Technology Assessment) and be able to provide hospital management with the advice necessary for service development. Study-Unit Aims: The aims of the study-unit are: - To present an overview of the legislative, ethical, professional and leadership issues associated with the work of a Medical Physicist; - To present current and emerging developments in medical physics so that graduates would be well prepared to face the rapidly changing world of medical device technology and be able to scan the technological horizon effectively; and - To produce graduates who would be able to assess which technologies would be suitable for introduction into the clinical environment in which they work (Health Technology Assessment) and be able to provide hospital management with the advice necessary for Service Quality Development and Innovation in the areas of medical devices and protection from ionizing radiation and other physical agents. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - List and explain the functions of healthcare organizations, describe the way healthcare is organized, discuss principles of clinical governance and the position of Medical Physics services within such organizational structures; - Discuss ethical issues in healthcare relevant to the scope of the profession (including data protection); - Discuss those aspects of Healthcare Psychology and Sociology relevant to the profession; - Explain the contribution of medical physics to quality healthcare including the educator role; - Describe and apply relevant international, European and national legislation regarding medical devices and risk from ionizing radiation and other physical agents; - Explain the roles of the Medical Physics Expert, Radiation Protection Expert and Radiation Protection Officer as defined in European Council directives and national legislation; - Discuss the development of the medical physics profession in both the local and European context; and - Explain the principles of quality management, healthy technology assessment, clinical service development and innovation as applied to Medical Physics Services. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Promote quality, safety and cost-effectiveness in healthcare and contribute to the creation of a safety culture in healthcare; - Practise within the legal and ethical boundaries of the profession; - Work collaboratively with other healthcare professionals, support staff and service users, their relatives and carers; and - Communicate effectively information, advice, instruction and professional opinion to management, colleagues, other healthcare professionals, support staff, service users, their relatives and carers. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - S.B. Sherriff, P.P. Dendy. EFOMP Policy statement 11 Guidelines on Professional Conduct and Procedures to be Implemented in the Event of Alleged Misconduct. - Serago C. F, et al. Code of Ethics for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine: report of Task Group 109. AAPM. - Christofides S. The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics policy statement No. 13: Recommended guidelines on the development of safety and quality management systems for medical physics departments. Physica Medica (2008). - Caruana, C. J., Tsapaki, V., Damilakis, J., et al. (2018). EFOMP policy statement 16: The role and competences of medical physicists and medical physics experts under 2013/59/EURATOM. Physica Medica 48:162-168. - Caruana, C. J., Christofides, S., & Hartmann, G. H. (2014). EFOMP Policy Statement 12.1: Recommendations on Medical Physics Education and Training in Europe 2014. Phys Med. 30(6):598-603. - Caruana C. J., et al. The role of the biomedical physicist in the education of the healthcare professions: An EFOMP project. Physica Medica (2009) 25, 133-140. - Caruana C J Leadership in Medical Physics: a strategic and robust approach. IoPP-IPEM publishers. Supplementary Readings: - National Academy of Engineering & Institute of Medicine. New Medical Devices: Invention, Development, and Use. - Schlander M. Health Technology Assessments by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence: A Qualitative Study. Springer. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture and Independent Study | ||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Carmel J. Caruana Keith Schembri Nolan Vella |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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