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MEDICAL PHYSICS INTERNATIONAL Journal, vol.1, No.1, 2013THE INCLUSION OF MEDICAL PHYSICISTS INISCO-08‘Medical physicist’ is classified in ISCO-08 as anexample of an occupation which comes under unit group2111 ‘Physicists and Astronomers’. Medical physicistsare also listed in Volume 2 of ISCO-08 ‘Index ofoccupational titles’ [10]. The list of tasks undertaken by‘Physicists and Astronomers’ include tasks undertakenby medical physicists, such as ‘ensuring the safe andeffective delivery of radiation (ionising and non-ionising)to patients to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic result asprescribed by a medical practitioner’, as well as the moregeneral tasks undertaken by many different physicsprofessions, including ‘conducting research andimproving or developing concepts, theories,instrumentation, software and operational methodsrelated to physics and astronomy. Appendix 1 reproducesthe full text of this unit group [11].Groups Major Groups Sub-major Groups Minor Groups Unit GroupsTotal No. 10 43 130 4361. Managers2. Professionals3. Technicians & Assoc.Profs.4. Clerical SupportWorkers5. Service & SalesWorkers6. Skilled Agricultural,Forestry etc.7. Craft and RelatedTrades8. Plant & MachineryOperators9. ElementaryOccupations10. Armed Forces21 Sci. & Eng. Profs.22 Health Profs.23Teaching Profs.Etc.211 Physical & Earth Sci.Profs.Etc.226 Other Health Profs.Etc..Figure1. Illustration of structure of ISCO-08 and specific groups relevant to medical physics2111 Physicists &AstronomersEtc.2269 Health Profs.Not ClassifiedElsewhereEtc.As noted there were discussions as to whether medicalphysicists should be included under sub-major group‘Health Professionals’. To recognize that medicalphysicists work in health care and alongside otherprofessions classified under ‘Health Professionals’ theISCO-08 has a note at the end of unit group 2111‘Physicists and Astronomers’ which includes thestatement ‘…medical physicists are considered to be anintegral part of the health work force alongside thoseoccupations classified in sub-major group22, Healthprofessionals..’.See Appendix 1 for full text. This isreinforced by a note under sub-major group 22 ‘HealthProfessionals’ which states ‘In using ISCO inapplications that seek to identify, describe or measure thehealth work force, it should be noted that a number ofprofessions considered to be a part of the health workforce are classified in groups other than sub-major group22, Health professionals. Such occupations include butare not restricted to: addictions counsellors, biomedicalengineers, clinical psychologists and medicalphysicists.’[11].BENEFITS OF INCLUSION OF MEDICALPHYSICISTS IN ISCO-08The inclusion of medical physicists in ISCO-08achieves the original objective of the InternationalOrganization for Medical Physics and others inconfirming the status of medical physics as a professionalongside other health professions such as medicaldoctors. In some countries specific jobs are opened onlyif the profession exists in ISCO [5].Ministries of Health,health employers, medical physics organizations, andindividual medical physicists can refer to ISCO-08 toensure medical physicists are correctly classified andaccorded the appropriate recognition, status and salary. Arelated benefit is that the recognition of medicalphysicists should assist in ensuring the correct staffing ofmedical physicists when establishing new healthcareinfrastructure, particularly in developing countries.A benefit from inclusion of medical physicists underUnit Group 2111 ‘Physicists and Astronomers’ is thecollection of data on employment of medical physicists inhealthcare. If medical physicists had been classified under‘226 Other Health Professionals’ then only the total12