Medical Physics Education and Training Capacity In Zimbabwe: Institutional Structures, Geographic Distribution, and Workforce Alignment
Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate national structure, capacity, and geographic distribution of Medical Physics education and training in Zimbabwe, and assess alignment between academic output and clinical workforce absorption.
Methods
An institutional evaluation used programme data from Zimbabwe’s two principal Medical Physics training institutions: University of Zimbabwe (UZ), Harare, and National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Bulawayo. Data covered programme structure, curriculum scope, regulatory alignment, staffing, laboratory and clinical training resources, intake capacity, and graduate output. Aggregate student and alumni tracer data contextualized transitions from education to clinical training.
Results
Both UZ and NUST offer academically robust programmes aligned with national requirements and international guidance, covering radiation oncology, diagnostic radiology, nuclear medicine, and radiation protection. Training delivery is constrained by non-curricular limitations, including limited in-house laboratories, restricted access to licensed clinical and computational software, and reliance on external public hospitals for clinical attachments. Clinical training depends on two public radiotherapy centres. Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals operates three older-generation linear accelerators functional under finite service contracts, while Mpilo Central Hospital has two linear accelerators of similar vintage that were non-operational at the time of study due to infrastructural challenges. External beam radiotherapy practice at public hospitals is limited to three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy. Education and clinical training are geographically concentrated in Harare and Bulawayo. Graduate output is modest, with approximately one to two clinically certified Medical Physicists transitioning annually through the national internship pathway, while internship availability and supervision capacity, and creation of clinical posts remain limited.
Conclusion
Zimbabwe’s Medical Physics education programmes show curricular strength and international alignment but operate within structural, infrastructural, and geographic constraints that limit effective clinical training and workforce pipeline throughput. Expansion of clinical training infrastructure, structured internship capacity, and geographic decentralization is required to align educational output with sustainable national workforce needs.