WE-G-BRA-03: Enhancing Medical Imaging Physics Education on a Global Basis with Shared Resources.

Abstract

To enhance and enrich medical imaging physics education by first translating personal professional experience into highly-effective educational resources and then sharing with both learners and medical physics educators on a global basis as an open and free resource. Effective medical imaging physics education that contributes to high-quality and safe clinical procedures requires medical physicists and students, anywhere in the world, having access to the science of contemporary imaging methods and procedures in a form that enriches both the teaching and learning activities. This is being achieved in two phases. The first (and continuing) phase is the translation of personal experience as a practicing clinical medical physicist in to a synergistic collection of educational resources including textbooks, online modules, and especially highly- effective visuals that can be used in classroom presentations and small group discussions. It is the availability of these visuals that enhances the performance of medical physicists as teachers who can devote their efforts to guiding the class learning activities and sharing their personal experiences and not be burdened with the production of extensive teaching materials. The second (and overlapping) phase is the development of a model and method for sharing as an open and free resource. This is achieved through a web site developed for that purpose, www.(blinded for review).org. These resources are used to support medical physics educators, programs, and individual learners both in the US and in over 100 different countries with an average of over 1000 users each day. The production and sharing of educational resources by an individual medical physicist complements and extends beyond the programs and activities of institutions and organizations. It is of significant value to learners anywhere in the world because the availability is not limited by costly course enrollment, membership, meeting registration, or geographic restrictions.