ABSTRACT
The concept of 'effective dose' has been introduced mainly for planning purposes in radiation protection, to serve as a guideline in the establishment of regulations. A comprehensive review is outside the scope of this contribution. In an ideal setting patient and doctor meet as partners discussing jointly the best approach to solve the medical problem. Effective dose has it merits in operational radiation protection but it was never intended to be used to estimate individual radiation risks as for example in radiodiagnostics. The International Commission of Radiological Protection (ICRP) defined the essence of radiation protection in three simple sentences which are worth reiterating: These lines may be condensed into three catchwords: justification, optimization, limitation. The ICRP distinguishes here three levels of justification. The ICRP published a report 'Radiological protection education and training for healthcare staff and students' outlining a possible curriculum and giving useful advice on how to implement it.
