A Medical Physicist, Mr. Omuvwie Bernard Evwierhurhoma, has defined Medical Physics as the application of the concepts and methods of physics in medicine to the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases; and a Medical Physicist as a qualified expert responsible for the safe and effective use of radiation in order to achieve the best diagnostic or therapeutic outcome of the prescribed medical procedure.
He made these assertions while making a presentation titled, "Career Opportunities in Medical Physics," at a recent Town and Gown Seminar of the Department of Physics, Covenant University, where he was the Guest Speaker.
Mr. Evwierhurhoma, who is also the Head Medical Physicist, Eko Cancer Centre, EKOCORP Plc. (Eko Hospitals), Ikeja, Lagos, pointed out the need for physics students to seek information on the career possibilities of a physicist in order to adequately prepare and plan on areas to leverage on after graduation.
He stated that ignorance often causes many folks to see the study of physics as a focus on becoming a teacher at best. He elucidated that physics is a very broad area for anyone who wishes to pursue a professional career after graduation, and one of the core areas is medical physics.
According to him, major medical physics disciplines include Therapeutic Medical Physics (Radiation Oncology), Diagnostic Medical Physics, Nuclear Medical Physics, and Medical Health Physics, to name a few; and medical physicists work in hospitals, diagnostics centres, research, education, oil and gas, regulatory agencies, aviation, and the IT industry.
He also stated that a medical physicist's responsibilities include quality assurance, acceptance testing, and commissioning of equipment; equipment specification and procurement; education and training; research; RSA/RSO duties; radiation protection (patients and personnel); and consultation with oncologists and radiologists. The basic tools of a medical physicist include an Ion chamber, an electrometer, a survey meter, and a water or solid phantom.
He pointed out that under the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP), the major employment and focus areas of Medical Physics are Medical Imaging Physics, Radiation Therapeutic Physics, Nuclear Medicine Physics, Health Physics, Clinical Audiology Physics, Laser Medicine, Medical Optics, Neuro-physics, Cardio-physics, Physiological Measurement Techniques, Physics of the human and animal bodies, Healthcare Informatics, and Computational Physics.
He noted that the medical physicist was recognized for the first time in 2008 by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in the latest version of the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08) through the concerted effort of the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
In her remarks at the event, the Head, Department of Physics, Professor Mojisola Usikalu, appreciated God for making the day a reality and lauded the efforts of the Covenant University Management in putting together the Town and Gown platform, so as to improve students’ skills in their respective disciplines and to have a taste of what is obtainable after graduation.
She welcomed the Guest Speaker, Mr. Omuvwie Bernard Evwierhurhoma, and appreciated him for honouring the Department's invitation, while commending the senior faculty and staff of the Department for their presence, as well as their support and efforts towards the successful planning and execution of the event.
"As some of us already know, medical physics is the application of physics in medicine, either for diagnosis or therapeutic purposes for the benefit of mankind. The opportunities presented by the field are numerous, which will be revealed to us in the course of this presentation. I enjoin everyone, especially our students, to pay proper attention to the presentation, make meaningful comments and ask questions during the interactive session," she added.