Specialist medical physicist in Sweden—implementation of a higher professional level raising the bar for patient safety and clinical precision for meeting future challenges in therapy and diagnostics

This paper outlines the development of the specialist medical physicist role in Sweden. Since introducing certification in 1999, the need for advanced expertise in patient safety, technology, optimization, and regulation became evident. In response, the Swedish Medical Physicist Association and the Swedish Society for Radiation Physics launched a national specialist training program in 2004, further refined in 2010. The program includes registration, clear competency goals, and supervision requirements and is endorsed by most Swedish hospitals. Following the EU Council Directive 2013/59/Euratom, Sweden committed to establishing the Medical Physics Expert role, prompting a proposed legislative amendment mandating specialist training in radiotherapy, radiology and nuclear medicine, and MRI, as this area is highly specialized within the expertise of Swedish medical physicists. This paper is meant to inspire similar initiatives internationally.