Magdalena Stoeva, PhD
Secretary General, IOMP

IOMP Webinars technical support, promotion and recording

Access to professional and educational information, exchange of knowledge, building expertise and networking have always been the keystones in the development of Medical Physics. Being an interdisciplinary state-of-the art profession, Medical Physics often takes leadership in clinics, academics and research when it comes to delivering high quality diagnostic and therapeutic services.

The International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) is the world’s leader among the professional medical physics societies and as such it takes very seriously all aspects related to the professional development of its members. The role of the organization in this are increased immensely during the global COVID-19 pandemic, when it became clear that the societal restrictions would have negative effect on the professional development of our individual members, especially the ones with limited access to education and training facilities and outside expertise, which is a common scenario for the developing regions.

The clear need to provide professional support for our members turned into a driving factor to establish the IOMP Webinars initiative which turned into one of the most successful IOMP activities and for sure the one with the broadest reachout and coverage [1, 2]. With an official start during the International Medical Physics Week (IMPW) 2020, the IOMP Webinars quickly turned into an international educational and capacity building platform.

For over 30 months of active operation IOMP Webinars have scored remarkable numbers in terms of quality and coverage of the activity, with the most recent add-on – the CPD/CME certificates which IOMP provides free of charge to all participants who attended the webinars in full [3].

World’s leading experts in the field of medical physics, brilliant young medical physicists, IOMP leaders, IOMP regional and partner organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are among those who actively contributed in the IOMP Webinars.

IOMP Webinars have been a subject of sophisticated internal analysis when it comes to selecting the most appropriate subjects, the right speakers and audience in order to guarantee the highest quality of the activity. A few publications have focused on IOMP Webinars recently [4, 5, 6]. A dedicated talk is planned as part of the IOMP Session in the AOCMP 2022, 10-12 December, Taipei [7].

The top level statistics based on IOMP Webinars data speak by itself proving once again the value and the importance of IOMP Webinars for the global medical physics community.

IOMP Webinars in a nutshell – May 2020-December 2022

References:

  1. IOMP Webinars: https://www.iomp.org/iomp-school-webinars/
  2. IOMP Webinars recordings: https://www.iomp.org/iomp-school-webinars-recordings/
  3. IOMP Webinars certificates: https://www.iomp.org/certificates/
  4. Stoeva, M., Ng, K.H., Damilakis, J., Rehani, M.M., IOMP’s Global Perspectives for Medical Physics during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Ng, K.H., & Stoeva, M.S. (Eds.). (2021). Medical Physics During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Global Perspectives in Clinical Practice, Education and Research (1st ed.). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003144380
  5. Rehani, M.M., Damilakis, J., Bezak, E. et al. The International Organization for Medical Physics – a driving force for the global development of medical physics. Health Technol. 12, 617–631 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12553-022-00685-4
  6. Electronic Medical Physics World, Special Issue on IOMP Webinars, June 2022, Vol. 38 (13), No. 2, ISSN 2313-4712, https://www.iomp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/MPW-SI-IOMP-Webinars.pdf
  7. Stoeva, M., The Contribution of IOMP Webinars to the Education of Medical Physicists, AOCMP 2022, 10-12 December, Taipei, Daily Program, Mini Symposium 5, http://aocmp2022.com/storage/file/tinymce/rLruyId2Xl4PDC4VPYn50piysujJHBcSkCFFhuJ0.pdf