Dear Members,
President, AMPI
As a president of Association of Medical Physicist of India (AMPI), I wish you all a very happy International Day of Medical Physics (IDMP). As you know to depict the contribution of Medical Physics & Physicists in health care every year IDMP is celebrated on 7th November, commemorating the birth day of Dr. Marie Curie, the scientist of the century. Her discovery of radioactivity which lead to introduction of radiation for treatment and boost to medical physics applications in healthcare are unforgettable.
Despite of immense contribution of medical physics and physicist to healthcare the professional status of medical physicist is not yet well recognized to its deserved level. So, to bring the medical physicists from darkness of not-recognition to better recognition, International Organisation of Medical Physics (IOMP) has started celebrating IDMP from year 2013 so as to provide a platform for all medical physics community to come forward on international level with well-defined theme. The IDMP theme for 2016 is The Education in Medical Physics: The key to Success.
For any profession, education is the only tool which has a potential for improvement, betterment of professional competence and profession itself and when it comes to the medical and health, professional competence is something for which we all strive as it involves priceless human life. For dynamic field like medical physics where newer technologies for diagnosis and treatment are evolving at very rapid speed, continuous updating of knowledge, skills, ability and competence of professionals becomes essential which can be fulfilled only through continuous professional education.
Medical physics education has come a long way in India since 1960 when Diploma in Radiological Physics (Dip. R.P.) was started with help of World health organisation (WHO). Since then medical physics education courses, syllabus, skill up gradation has accommodated many transformations with time and today more than 20 universities/institutions are providing Medical physics education to cater to need of the country. Further to provide platform and opportunity to medical physicists a professional organisation Association of Medical Physicist of India (AMPI) was founded in 1976, forty years ago, with objective of encouraging, developing, improving medical physics and medical physicist community in India. In last 40 years AMPI has expanded its activities with formation of various regional chapters working continuously to improve medical physics education, training, skills and is the third largest Medical Physicists organisation in the world. AMPI being the member of IOMP strongly supports the initiative of IOMP for betterment of medical physics community in India and worldwide by celebrating IDMP on national level and also at regional levels in various parts of India.
I congratulate and wish you all a very happy INTERNATIONAL DAY OF MEDICAL PHYSICS.
Prof. Arun Chougule
President, AMPI