April 2012, Issue 1
Medical Physicists
now classified by ILO
as a profession
Peter Smith
Medical physicists are classified under
'physicists' rather than under 'health
professionals' as ILO decided this was more
consistent with the ISCO conceptual model.
The list of tasks for group 211 ('Physicists and astronomers') includes a number specific to medical physics.
To clarify the position of medical physicists working in health care there is a note including “…..medical physicists are considered to be an integral part of the health work force alongside those occupations classified in sub-major group 22, Health professionals…..”.
This achievement of international recognition of the profession of medical physics is an important step for the development of the whole medical physics community, in particular in the developing countries with the growing need for building capacities in medical physics.
The list of tasks for group 211 ('Physicists and astronomers') includes a number specific to medical physics.
To clarify the position of medical physicists working in health care there is a note including “…..medical physicists are considered to be an integral part of the health work force alongside those occupations classified in sub-major group 22, Health professionals…..”.
This achievement of international recognition of the profession of medical physics is an important step for the development of the whole medical physics community, in particular in the developing countries with the growing need for building capacities in medical physics.