Rebecca Milman, PhD, DABR, Associate Professor & Medical Physicist and Section Chief of Radiological Sciences at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and Darcy Jennifer Wolfman, MD, Diagnostic Radiologist at Johns Hopkins Medicine, contributed this post.
While patient shielding has not been the most contentious issue of the past couple of years, there is no denying it has come to the forefront of many conversations about radiology practice and patient safety in medical imaging. If you haven’t been asked to weigh in on this topic, chances are you will. Luckily, you can stay up-to-date on the latest information through the recently-released Patient Gonadal and Fetal Shielding Education modules.
The set of six education modules were developed by the CARES committee, a multi-organizational committee whose membership draws from several imaging specialties, including radiologic technologists, educators, regulators, health and medical physicists and radiologists. The CARES committee has been working to help educate the radiology profession as a whole on the myriad of issues that surround patient shielding. The modules – hosted by the American College of Radiology® (ACR®), Association of Educators in Imaging and Radiologic Sciences (AEIRS) and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) – give you all the information you need to either learn about the recent changes in patient shielding for the first time or bolster the knowledge you already have. And don’t worry — each module is short. Perhaps even short enough to watch while you’re loading the dishwasher, during the kids’ swim practice or while Fluffy is at the groomer.
CME is available for all the modules, and if you’re not a radiologist? No problem! AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ is available for all physicians. Lucky enough to be a medical or health physicist? CAMPEP credits are also available. And don’t think we left out our front-line imaging experts — radiologic technologists can earn Category A credit as well. And the best part, these modules are free for everyone, not just ACR members. The modules are easily accessed through the ACR, AEIRS and AAPM, respectively.
Prepare now for the questions that will be coming your way about patient shielding from patients, technologists and colleagues, and likely friends and family, too, and get CME credit at the same time! With these short modules you’ll be prepared to continue providing the best quality care to your patients.
