Standards
The BSS or the 'International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources' are jointly sponsored by a number of international bodies, and issued by the IAEA, in order to internationally harmonize radiation protection and safety. (The links take the reader to the respective BSS paragraphs.)
- Requirement for qualified experts in radiotherapy physics. BSS II.1(d)
- Guidance on operation considerations. BSS II.18
- Guidance on calibration, clinical dosimetry and quality assurance. BSS II.19-23
- Investigation of accidental medical exposure. BSS II.29-30
- Responsibilities of an employer. BSS 1.5-9, and BSS II.15-16
- What are my main responsibilities as a radiation oncologist?
- What are my main responsibilities as a radiotherapy technician?
- What are my main responsibilities as a medical physicist in radiotherapy?
6. What are my main responsibilities as a radiation oncologist?
- Ensuring overall radiation protection of the patient;
- Responsibility for diagnosis, treatment, follow up and supportive care of the patient;
- Ensuring that the exposure of normal tissue is kept as low as reasonably achievable while required dose is delivered to the planning target volume;
- Establishing optimized protocols for therapeutic procedures, in consultation with the medical physicist;
- Ensuring radiotherapeutic procedures of women who are pregnant or likely to be pregnant be avoided unless there are strong clinical indications;
- Evaluating any radiation accident or incident from a medical point of view.
7. What are my main responsibilities as a radiographer?
- Identify the patient prior to treatment occasion;
- Administering the radiotherapy to the patient, including the correct set up and delivery;
- If the female pregnant is pregnant or likely to be pregnant, inform the physician and seek advice;
- In case of concern in relation to unusual reaction of patient, inform the physician;
- In case of concern in relation to unusual event relating to treatment unit or treatment parameters, inform the physicist.
8. What are my main responsibilities as a medical physicist in radiotherapy?
- Ensuring the correct calibration of treatment units both during commissioning and on a regular basis;
- Ensuring the correctness and accuracy in patient dose calculations, both computerized and manual;
- Designing, implementing and supervising quality assurance procedures;
- Participating in the continuing review of the radiotherapy practice’s resources (including budget, equipment and staffing), operations, policies and procedures;
- Planning, in conjunction with the radiotherapy physician and the RPO, the facilities for radiotherapy practice;
- Preparing performance specifications for equipment with regard to radiation protection;
- Ensuring the establishment and maintenance of a radiation protection programme for the safety of staff and the public;
- Test equipment for acceptance, commission equipment for clinical use and supervise equipment maintenance;
- Participating in the investigation and evaluation of incidents and accidents;
- Contributing to the radiation protection training programme.
Copyright © 2009 International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna International Centre, PO Box 100, 1400 Vienna, Austria