Medical physics course offered by MU gains good response

MANGALURU: Post-graduation course in medical physics that Mangalore University is set to offer from this academic year, making it the first state university to do so, has evoked good response. Against approved intake of 14 seats, university has already received 25 applications for the course. Incidentally, the open house session that university conducted in last week of June saw students make inquiries about the course and 13 students apply for it.
H M Somashekarappa, coordinator, medical physics division, Mangalore University told TOI that the response is good given that the university is the first state university in Karnataka to do so. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of government of India has approved and recognised the medical Physics course, Somashekarappa said, adding that S A Bharadwaj, chairman of AERB inaugurated the medical physics division and the course on May 18.

Entailing a one-year internship for those interested in making a non-teaching professional career out of it, Somashekarappa said this professional course has ready job openings for those completing it. There is a steady growing demand for radiology safety officers (RSO) in hospitals, which are increasingly dependent on machines such as x-rays, MRI, CT scans and angiogram for accurate diagnosis of condition of patients who come to them.

Medical physicists are concerned with two areas of activity. These include clinical service and consultation and academics and research. Both the areas are equally important in capacity building, treating the patients and developing new methods and techniques to deliver the benefits of radiation physics to general public, he said, adding further medical physicists have the responsibility for ensuring radiation protection in all medical applications.

Mangalore University has signed MoU with medical colleges and hospitals for conducting practical classes related to radiation therapy and planning, radiation dose estimation and optimisation, image analysis, calibration, brachytherapy treatment planning, radiation response of thermo luminescent dosimeters. The course will provide hands-on-training to students during one year internship after completion of two years MSc course.

In addition to the faculty members from Mangalore University, oncologists and health physicists form collaborating institutes; scientists from BARC will be participating in teaching and training the students of this programme, Somashekarappa said. Besides, Mangalore University has also appointed select experts and scientists of national and international repute from different fields as Adjunct Professors, he added.