Professional Review of Occupational Radiation Dose Monitoring Practices for Radiographers in Teaching Hospitals in South East Nigeria

Occupational radiation dose monitoring provides the primary mechanism for verifying that radiographers' professional exposures remain below regulatory dose limits and that practice modification is triggered when dose trends indicate optimisation opportunities. In teaching hospitals across South East Nigeria, the comprehensiveness and analytical quality of occupational dose monitoring programmes requires professional review. This study professionally reviews occupational radiation dose monitoring practices for radiographers at teaching hospitals in Enugu, Imo, Anambra, Abia, and Ebonyi States. A professional dosimetry programme audit is applied across ten teaching hospitals, evaluating personal dosimeter issue rates, dosimeter wear compliance, dose record documentation completeness, dose investigation thresholds and response procedures, and radiographer access to individual dose reports. Analysis of five years of occupational dose records where available provides trend data. Descriptive statistics and compliance analysis are performed in SPSS. Available occupational radiography dosimetry literature from South East Nigeria identifies fewer than 50 percent of radiographers having continuous personal dosimeter access as a common finding, alongside inconsistent dose record documentation and absence of dose investigation procedures. The IAEA Safety Guide RS-G-1.3 Monitoring of Radioactive Exposures and the NNRA occupational dose monitoring requirements provide the professional standards. Findings are expected to reveal significant gaps in dosimeter provision and dose record management completeness. Recommendations address a NNRA-supported regional dosimetry service for South East teaching hospitals, mandatory individual dose record reporting to radiographers, and standardised dose investigation procedures for all South East radiology departments. Keywords: occupational radiation dose, monitoring, radiographers, teaching hospitals, South East Nigeria.