Investigation of occupational radiation exposure among students in clinical training and internships using optically stimulated luminescence dosimetry

Background Radiation dose monitoring is essential for undergraduate students who receive clinical training during their bachelor's studies and in clinical practice during their internship, as it underlines the challenges related to radiation protection and helps maintain the safe practice that is applied during their professional work. The aim of this study was thus to evaluate the radiation doses to which these undergraduate students are exposed as a part of their mandatory clinical courses. Material and methods Two hundred readouts of OSL dosimeters were recorded over a 12-month period for the internship students (60 male and female students) and students in clinical training (140 male and female students) in their second, third, and fourth years at the applied radiologic technology department program. The data were collected from August 2024 to August 2025. Results Among the male internship students, the effective doses ranged from 0.12 to 0.47 mSv in the four quartiles for the year. The mean effective dose for the first to the fourth quartiles were 0.29, 0.18, 0.26, and 0.21 mSv, respectively. The mean doses for the male and female internship students across the four quartiles were 0.24 mSv for both groups. Conclusion The results showed that the doses were the lowest and within an acceptable range compared with those of different countries and the recommendations of national and international organizations. This is due to the good education about radiation safety provided to students during the program in the applied radiologic technology department as well as the regular monitoring of students’ radiation dose exposure.