Highlights
- •Medical physics is a young profession, lacking recognition within the medical professions.
- •This workforce survey aims to understand the status, motivation and experience of the medical physicists in the country.
- •A subsection also aims to understand the status of women medical physicists in Malaysia.
Abstract
Objective
Medical physics in Malaysia is still considered a young profession. This workforce
survey aims to understand the status, aspirations, motivation and experiences of medical
physicists (MPs) in the country. A subsection of this survey also aims to understand
the role of women.
Method
A survey was carried out between April 20 and May 30, 2018 by a working group under
the Medical Physics Division of the Malaysian Institute of Physics (IFM). The survey
form was designed using Google Form and sent to various public and private institutions
nationwide that employed MPs registered with IFM.
Results
A total of 106 responses (28% men and 72% women) were analysed. This represented 30%
of the medical physics workforce. Majority of them had postgraduate degrees, but their
clinical training is mostly obtained on the job with no certification. The number
of low-ranking female MPs was disproportionately high. MPs worked long hours and achieving
work-life balance (WLB) was a challenge. Factors that improved their WLB included
working close to home, having a supportive manager and flexible working hours. Most
MPs aspired to become professional and mentor younger compatriots, besides contributing
to patient care and research. Gender discrimination was reportedly low.
Conclusion
Medical physics in Malaysia is growing and has a strong representation of women. In
future, they would probably take over the top management from their male counterparts,
whose number had stagnated. A united effort was essential to set up a proper clinical
training system to train clinically qualified MPs.
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References
Department of Statistics Malaysia. Vital Statistics, Malaysia, 2018. 2018 [cited 2019 18/7/2019]; Available from: https://www.dosm.gov.my.
Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook – EAST ASIA/SOUTHEAST ASIA :: MALAYSIA. 2019 [cited 2019 18/7/2019]; Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 24, 2019
Accepted:
October 3,
2019
Received in revised form:
September 17,
2019
Received:
August 16,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 Associazione Italiana di Fisica Medica. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
