Abstract
The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) recognized the need for a review of the current state of nuclear medicine physics training and the need to explore pathways for improving nuclear medicine physics training opportunities. For these reasons, the two organizations formed a joint AAPM/SNMMI Ad Hoc Task Force on Nuclear Medicine Physics Training. The mission of this task force was to assemble a representative group of stakeholders to: Estimate the demand for board‐certified nuclear medicine physicists in the next 5–10 years,Identify the critical issues related to supplying an adequate number of physicists who have received the appropriate level of training in nuclear medicine physics, andIdentify approaches that may be considered to facilitate the training of nuclear medicine physicists. As a result, a task force was appointed and chaired by an active member of both organizations that included representation from the AAPM, SNMMI, the American Board of Radiology (ABR), the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (ABSNM), and the Commission for the Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP). The Task Force first met at the AAPM Annual Meeting in Charlotte in July 2012 and has met regularly face‐to‐face, online, and by conference calls. This manuscript reports the findings of the Task Force, as well as recommendations to achieve the stated mission.PACS number: 01.40.G‐
Highlights
An appropriate quality control program is essential to the success of nuclear imaging
Questions may be answered by contacting local Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Regional Office or by contacting the Medicare Fiscal Intermediary
While board-certified Nuclear Medicine Physicists represent about 10% of the AAPM membership, a large number are nearing retirement age and relatively few have become certified in recent years
Summary
An appropriate quality control program is essential to the success of nuclear imaging. Eight of the 61 individuals listed by the ABSNM were board certified in Nuclear Medicine Physics by the ABR Based on these data, it appears that there are currently about 340 board-certified nuclear medicine physicists. The SNMMI reviewed its membership records and determined that there were approximately 600 members who identified themselves as medical physicists when renewing their membership This number is much larger than the number from the CRCPD database, which suggests a range of clinical responsibility from none (i.e., research scientists) to full-time clinical nuclear medicine physics responsibilities. This Task Force was not able to accurately determine the total number of board-certified nuclear medicine physicists It is likely the number is in the range of about 350–450, or slightly less than 10% of those receiving the AAPM Professional Survey. Without accurate information regarding the number of nuclear medicine physicists, it is very difficult to estimate the future needs
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