Radiological Protection and Safety

Code:

OPT2_32

Acronym:

PSR

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Medicine

Instance: 2024/2025 - 2S (of 17-02-2025 to 13-06-2025)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Molecular Pahology and Immunology
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Masters Degree in Medicine

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIM	35	Official Study Plan	2	-	3	28	81

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

According to the new legal framework for the regulation of radiological protection and safety, students in medicine, veterinary medicine, and dental medicine courses must have a foundational course on radiological protection.

In the case of radiological facilities (Radiology, Dentistry, Nuclear Medicine, or Radiotherapy), the completion of one or more curricular units on radiological protection, with at least four credits from the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), immediately qualifies the individual for recognition as a radiological protection officer as per Article 159 of Decree-Law No. 108/2018 of December 3, amended by Decree-Law No. 139-D/2023 of December 29, 2023.

The goal is to equip the future professional with theoretical and practical tools that enable them to, at any moment in their clinical practice, weigh the risk-benefit ratio of prescribing examinations and treatments involving ionizing radiation, considering the patient, the professional involved, and society. Radiological protection is essential for both the physicians who prescribe such exams and the practitioners in specialties such as Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, or Radiotherapy. To achieve these goals, it is necessary to cover the physical principles involved in the production and absorption of radiation, as well as an ethical and regulatory approach, in addition to the entire body of current regulations.

Learning outcomes and competences

Understanding the basic principles of physics of ionizing radiation applied to Medicine and its application in the context of medical practice, whether from the perspective of the prescribing physician or the executant physician. The student will be able to make an assessment of the risks and benefits of using radiation in Medicine, and apply their knowledge for a balanced and efficient integration of these in their clinical practice. Knowledge of national and international legislation and regulatory components.

Working method

Presencial

Program

- History of radiological protection
- Basics of Nuclear Physics and Radiation
- Interaction of radiation with matter
- Detection of ionizing radiation
- Natural sources of ionizing radiation
- Artificial sources of ionizing radiation
- Biological effects of ionizing radiation
- International regulation of radiological protection
- Ethical foundations of the application of ionizing radiation
- Fundamental principles in radiological protection
- Operationalization of radiological protection
- National legislation and responsibilities
- Internal and external irradiation
- Population classification
- Classification of areas
- Facilities and valences
- Licensing and registration of facilities
- Radiological protection and safety practices
- Management of radiological accidents

Mandatory literature

Claus Grupen; Introduction to Radiation Protection: Practical Knowledge for Handling Radioactive Sources, Springer, 2010
Bushberg, Seibert, Leidholdt, Jr., Boone; The Essential Physics of Medical Imaging, Wolters Kluwer Health, 2012
Vários; ICRP Publication 103: The 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP, 2007

Complementary Bibliography

ed. C.J. Martin e D.G. Sutton; Practical Radiation Protection in Health Care, Oxford University Press, 2002
Malone, Zolzer, Meskens, Skourou; Ethics for Radiation Protection in Medicine, Series in Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, CRC Press, 2019

Teaching methods and learning activities

The classes will consist of the explanation of the theoretical material, including the physical and mathematical tools necessary for an understanding of the fundamental principles of radiological protection and safety. The theoretical-practical component will complement the theoretical component, in the application of this knowledge to the resolution of quantitative problems by manipulating various parameters and practical applications in the case of the hospital environment, or qualitative problems, such as the application of standards and regulations in various real medical application scenarios of ionizing radiation.

keywords

Health sciences > Ethics in health sciences
Physical sciences > Physics > Electromagnetism > Radiation physics
Physical sciences > Physics > Applied physics > Medical physics

Evaluation Type

Evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	70,00
Participação presencial	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Estudo autónomo	60,00
Frequência das aulas	28,00
Total:	88,00

Eligibility for exams

Terms of frequency: 75% of frequency in the theoretical-practical classes (TP)

Calculation formula of final grade

Formula for Evaluation: Denomination of the evaluations (all quoted for 20 values): EN (global exam, Normal epoch), ER (global exam, Extraordinary epoch).

Options for obtaining approval, N >= 9.50 values:

(1) N = EN
(2) N = ER

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Student workers (TE), associative leaders (DA), and other students with special status will be assessed in a manner similar to regular students. However, in cases where the law exempts students from failure due to absences in classes, they will be subject to evaluation through a final theoretical/theoretical-practical exam on the content taught in this course unit. They must achieve a minimum grade of 9.5 out of 20 in this exam.

Final grade = Final theoretical exam grade (100%)

Classification improvement

The improvement of the grade obtained in the continuous assessment process can be achieved through a Final Exam, according to the formula:

Final grade = Final theoretical exam grade (70%) + Continuous assessment grade (30%).

The minimum grade for each component is 9.5 out of 20.