Author: Isaac J. Bailey, Lindsay S. DeWeese, Anna M. Mench, Celeste Winters 👨🔬
Affiliation: Oregon Health & Science University, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Oregon Health & Science University 🌍
Purpose: The emergence and recent FDA approval of several new radiopharmaceutical therapies have increased demand for physicists to provide specialized support. However, these topics are not yet included in the standard CAMPEP residency core curriculum. To address this gap, our program has developed a Theranostics and Radiation Safety Rotation to equip medical physics residents with the unique expertise they will need to provide support for these emerging trends and treatments in our field.
Methods: The rotation preceptors, residency director, and steering committee members met to discuss and develop this rotation’s educational components and methods of delivery. The learning objectives were guided by the main goal of introducing relevant therapies and associated dosimetry methods and identification of important regulatory guides and safe practices. This would serve as a primer on theranostics in order to provide a solid baseline of skills.
Results: The Radiation Safety and Theranostics Rotation implemented in our residency program spans four months in the second year of the program and includes the following four distinct modules: Radiation Safety and Regulations, Y-90 Therapies, I-131 Therapies, and Lu-177 Therapies. The associated educational activities include regulation review exercises, medical event case studies, clinical procedure observation, dosimetry calculation software training, one-on-one clinical sessions with physicians, imaging-based dosimetry calculations, and a resident seminar presentation. Based on two years of rotation evaluation, both residents made use of these skillsets in their professional roles following residency. One resident accepted a physicist position covering Y-90 dosimetry and program oversight; the other resident accepted a theranostics-focused nuclear medicine position.
Conclusion: While few residency programs offer a radiation safety or theranostics specific component, we demonstrate the feasibility and value of integrating such a rotation within a standard two-year residency. Incorporating this essential content is critical to addressing the growing demand for specialized medical physics support.