Online training in radiation protection

The Diagnostic Reference Levels in Medical Imaging online course, available in English and Spanish, provides continuing education to medical imaging professionals, regulators and others who are interested in establishment and use of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs). It contains 13 modules in which the participant will learn the practical steps for establishing DRLs and their use in clinical practice.

The course aims to help participants:

• Understand the concept of DRLs, what are the DRLs and what is their role in the optimization of protection of patients;
• Understand the DRL process and components that need to be considered;
• Understand dose metrics and values used in the DRL process;
• Learn how to establish and appropriately use DRLs in different imaging modalities;
• Learn about useful sources of information relevant to the DRL process.

The estimated total time for the course is 7 hours. Progress is tracked so the course may be completed in stages. After viewing all modules and passing the final quiz, participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is also available for viewing without obtaining a certificate in English.

Tips & Tricks: Radiation Protection in Radiography is a collection of individual short lectures on topics in radiography. The course is designed to provide education for diagnostic imaging professionals regarding radiation protection in radiography.

The current topics include Radiation Protection During C-Arm Fluoroscopy and Improving Radiation Protection through Reject/Repeat Analysis Programs (RAPs). 

Throughout this e-learning course the participants are expected to:

• Improve their understanding of radiation protection in different subspecialties of radiography.
• Learn techniques for applying the principle of optimization.
• Understand the role and ethics of medical radiation technologists.
• Grasp the importance of proper communication with patients and legal guardians in terms of radiation protection.
• Become familiar with reject/repeat analysis programs (RAPs) and their role in quality control.

The estimated time for each topic is approximately 1 hour. After completing each topic, participants can take a final exam to receive a certificate of completion.

This course available in English, Russian and Spanish provides continuing safety and quality education to radiotherapy professionals. Participants improve their understanding of safety in radiotherapy, learn techniques to reduce and avoid radiotherapy incidents and understand the value and use of incident learning systems.

The course aims to help participants:

• Improve their understanding of safety in radiotherapy;
• Learn techniques to reduce and avoid radiotherapy incidents;
• Understand the value and use of incident learning systems;
• Learn about useful sources of information to enhance safety in radiotherapy;
• Gain insight into improving safety culture in medical clinics/facilities;
• The course is organized into twelve modules, each with a short quiz at the end. These quizzes serve as a self-check for participants to review their own understanding of the material.

The course covers major incidents in radiotherapy, learning and reporting incidents, process maps, severity metrics, basic causes and safety barriers, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis, and safety culture.

Each of the course’s 12 modules includes  a short quiz to help participants review their  understanding of the material.

The course is estimated to take five hours to complete. Participants who wish to do so can receive a certificate of completion. 
 

This course available in English, Russian and Spanish provides continuing education to health professionals on the safe and effective use of CT. This e-learning course explores the technical applications of patient radiation protection in CT imaging.

The course aims to help participants:

• Learn the appropriate use of CT and be able to apply this understanding in a clinical setting;
• Understand the dose reduction potential of various CT  scan parameters, automatic exposure control, reconstruction algorithms and other CT techniques;
• Understand different dose metrics for CT and learn how radiation dose tracking methods can be used;
• Address the unique needs of various CT protocols, including those for chest, abdomen, and head, as well as those for pregnant or paediatric patients.

The course covers justification and optimization of radiation dose, overviews of referral guidelines, explanations of the technical parameters of CT scanning, dose metrics, and specific CT protocols for body regions and for patients particularly vulnerable to radiation risk.

Each of the course’s 11  modules concludes with a short series of questions to help participants review their  understanding of the material.

The course is estimated to take up to five hours to complete. Participants who wish to do so can take a final exam to receive a certificate of attendance.

The course is also available for viewing without obtaining a certificate in English, Russian and Spanish.  

This course available in English consists of six webinars organized by the IAEA in the period of 2016-2019. Each webinar is addressing a specific topic related to radiation protection of patients and medical staff during fluoroscopy guided interventional procedures.

The course aims to help participants:

• Learn about the growing use of fluoroscopy to guide various types of minimally invasive procedures in place of open surgery, and the associated radiation protection issues
• Understand the radiation induced risks to the patient and medical staff in interventional procedures under fluoroscopy guidance
• Understand key elements of radiation management during fluoroscopy guided procedures
• Learn about the latest recommendations of international organizations on radiation dose limit for lens of the eye
• Understand the various approaches to estimating occupational radiation doses to the lens of the eye
• Learn about tools to map patient skin doses
• Learn how to improve detection of skin injuries in patients and factors that help avoid such injuries
• Learn how to utilize a local patient radiation management program
• Comprehend the need for implementing a strong quality assurance program
• Understand the influence of system specification and setup on optimization of clinical protocols

The estimated time for the course is 6 hours. After viewing all webinar recordings, participants can take a final exam to receive a certificate of completion.

Radiation Protection in Interventional Procedures: Practical Tutorials is available in English and Russian , consists of 13 short practical tutorials on radiation protection for health professionals. Each tutorial explains and demonstrates visually the effect of different factors on patient and staff radiation exposure.

The course aims to help participants:

• Learn the effect of important factors on patient and staff dose;
• Appreciate the importance of proper use of fluoroscopy equipment;
• Improve their understanding on the effect of protective tools and their proper use;
• Learn how real time dose monitoring systems help;
• Improve their understanding on the risks for the eye lens and proper protection.

The estimated time for the course is 2 hours. After viewing all tutorials and passing all quizzes, participants receive a certificate of completion. The course is also available for viewing without obtaining a certificate here.

The Radiation Protection in Dental Radiology online course available in English and Spanish provides education in radiation protection for dentists and other dental professional staff. It contains nine modules in which the participant plays the role of a dental professional at The Family Dental Centre.

The course aims to help participants:

• Improve their understanding of radiation protection in the context of dentistry;
• Learn how X rays pose a potential risk to patients;
• Understand how dental X ray equipment works and how this influences patient dose;
• Develop knowledge of appropriate use of dental imaging in different clinical contexts;
• Learn how to apply the principle of optimization and recognize the value of advice from medical physicists;
• Familiarize with common errors that lead to repeat X ray examinations, reject analysis programmes;
• Learn the importance of quality assurance programmes;
• Learn how to ensure that you and your staff avoid risks from X rays.

The estimated total time for the course is 7 hours. Progress is tracked so the course may be completed in stages. After viewing all modules and passing the final quiz, participants receive a certificate of completion.

The course is also available for viewing without obtaining a certificate in English and Spanish.