Purpose or Case Report: The goal of this study was to develop and share a consistent policy and procedure for the appropriate use of patient shielding in the pediatric environment. Education was developed to increase the level of awareness and skill sets to properly shield, or not shield, pediatric patients. The education was distributed to adult affiliated hospitals and within our institution to ensure consistency of care and safety measures.
Methods & Materials: A comprehensive patient shielding policy was developed by a team of technologists, medical physicists, and managers within our institution. An educational presentation was created to standardize acceptable shielding practices for CT, fluoroscopy and diagnostic radiology. The education was based on a retrospective review of cases from our radiation dose monitoring system and PACS, as well as literature searches for best practices in patient shielding. We provided examples of proper and improper shielding on diagnostic images and demonstrate the impact of shielding on both image quality and radiation dose. A competency quiz was developed to capture understanding of the material.
Results: ● Staff were educated on how to accurately shield patients for diagnostic imaging.
● Staff have a document on proper patient shielding to reference when needed.
● Staff were better prepared to address shielding concerns with parents and patients.
● Staff have more consistent shielding practices across the enterprise.
Conclusions: The Pediatric Shielding Education improved consistency of shielding practices at our institution.
● Staff are now competent on what constitutes appropriate shielding in diagnostic imaging, CT and fluoroscopy.
● Staff demonstrated an improved understanding of our shielding practices post education.
● Staff feel more empowered to discuss shielding practices with parents and are aware of their resources for more complex questions.
● Image quality and safety has improved in our pediatric patient population.