Radiation Protection and Professional Practice
Radiation protection principles
Know ALARA, time-distance-shielding, and the distinction between occupational, public, and patient dose limits. Understand the linear no-threshold model, dose quantities (Sv, Gy), and the role of the radiation safety officer and medical physicist. For MR, radiation protection applies to the RT component; MR adds non-ionizing hazards (static, gradient, RF).
Regulatory and professional standards
Familiarize with ACR/NRC regulations, state licensure, and institutional policy. Know scope of practice: who may prescribe, plan, and deliver; the roles of radiation oncologist, physicist, dosimetrist, therapist, and MR technologist. Informed consent, documentation, and incident reporting (e.g., misadministration) are examinable.
Quality and safety culture
Understand root-cause analysis, event reporting, and continuous quality improvement. Recognize the importance of credentialing and training for MR-guided RT.
Traps
Questions may conflate dose limits for workers vs public, or imply MR involves ionizing radiation (it does not). Do not assume any staff member can operate the MR-linac; training and credentialing are required. Incident reporting is mandatory, not optional.
Rule of thumb
Apply ALARA to ionizing radiation and the three MR safety principles (static field, time-varying gradients, RF) to MR; document and report any event.
Worked example
A therapist notices a setup discrepancy before beam-on: stop, verify with on-board imaging, document, and report per policy - never proceed on assumption.