In order to propose effective and efficient radiation protection and safety education in hospitals, an interview survey was conducted to identify factors that promote effective and efficient radiation protection and safety education, and a qualitative inductive analysis was performed. As a result, two core categories of factors factors promoting effective and efficient radiation protection and safety education in hospitals were derived: “Efficient management of education” and “Measures for effective education”. “Effective management of education” consists of four categories: ‘existence of an organizational culture to promote education’, ‘organization of departments and personnel in charge of education’, ‘rational practice of education’, and ‘efficient and thorough management of students’, and it was designed to achieve efficiency while maintaining a balance with reality.

The “Measures for Effective Education” section consists of the following six categories: “Devices for Educational System”, “Setting Educational Goals for Each Student”, “Measures for Educational Content and Methods”, “Measures for Teaching Materials”, “Measures for Educational Evaluation”, and “Review based on Feedback”.

A questionnaire survey was conducted with 2,664 female medical staff members (nurses, doctors, and radiology technicians) working at six hospitals in the Kanto area to examine their concerns regarding occupational exposure and the current status of radiological protection measures. Overall, 35.4% of the respondents had current or past radiological work experience. Regardless of prior radiological work experience, 42.6% of the respondents had concerns about occupational exposure, especially exposure associated with fluoroscopy and IVR. Among the respondents currently engaged in radiological work (369 individuals), 49.1% wore only one personal dosimeter on their abdomen, and 47.9% wore two dosimeters, with one being on their abdomen and the other around their neck. Regarding the dose limit for female individuals of reproductive age stipulated by Japanese radiation protection regulations, 67.0% of respondents answered that these limits were “necessary”, and 1.2% deemed them “not necessary”. Expectations for more education on radiation protection measures and thorough radiation control were suggested, as well as the need to continue the dose limits for women of reproductive age established in the Japanese radiation protection regulations.

A web survey was conducted to clarify the status of skin care in patients undergoing radiation therapy after breast cancer surgery. Eleven radiation therapy facilities across Japan participated in the survey, and responses were received from 95 participants. A total of 84 participants (88.4%) received a skin care orientation before starting radiation therapy, and 72 participants (75.8%) were practicing skin care. However, 32 participants (33.7%) expressed anxiety about skin care. The orientation was effective in encouraging skin care implementation (p<0.001), but did not significantly reduce the likelihood of anxiety about skin care (p=0.347). Skin care concerns included radiation dermatitis symptoms patients were currently experiencing and expected symptoms and coping methods after the end of radiation therapy. The results of this study indicate a need to establish a nursing system that provides continuous support for skin care implementation for breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy, both during and after treatment.

Nurses often face ethical issues in their practice, but in many cases they find it difficult to act on these issues. Ethics education assists nurses to think through ethical quandaries and to proceed with the appropriate action. This paper reports on a nurse’s ethical concerns and the actions needed to create a better practice. In a master’s course in nursing ethics, a student who practiced outpatient radiology care expressed concern that patients’ sensitive information (e.g., diagnostic images that reveal private body parts) was routinely shared with third parties without their consent. The ethics professor suggested that the student explore her concerns by examining themes that included relevant ethical and legal concepts. The student concluded that the sharing of patients’ sensitive information with third parties lacking their consent is neither ethically nor legally justified. The student has gained confidence so that she can take action to safeguard the patients’ sensitive information.