Hail Medical Students’ Knowledge About Imaging Modalities, Risks and Protection in Radiology

Background: Safety in radiology become a very important patient and occupational safety issue with this constant increase in the use of diagnostic radiology in modern evidence-based medicine. The objective of this study was evaluation of the knowledge of Hail University medical students about safety measures in radiology to ensure they have the essential knowledge to protect themselves and their patients. Method(s): In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous electronic questionnaire was sent to 174 randomly selected students. The questionnaire contained 38 questions. The respondents’ answers to these questions were used to classify them according to their demographic characteristics, and evaluate their knowledge about common imaging modalities, radiation risks, and safety measures. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 22 software. Result(s): Seventy-five (51.7%) of 145 respondents were female and 70 (48.3%) were male. Fifty-five respondents (37.9%) were in year 4, 38 (26.2%) were in year 5, and 52 (35.9%) were in year 6. The mean score for knowledge about common imaging modalities was 4.10 ± 2.030 out of 10, that for knowledge about the risks of radiation was 3.17 ± 1.954 (range 0–8) out of 13, and that for knowledge about radiation protection measures was low at 0.79 ± 0.922 (range 0–4) out of 8. Overall, there was improvement in knowledge about imaging modalities and the risks of radiation as the number of clinical years increased (P<0.01), but it was still unsatisfactory. Conclusion(s): The study showed there is very limited knowledge about radiation risks and safety measures among clinical years medical students which highlights the need for an urgent action taken by medical schools to improve their students’ knowledge about these topics.