Overview
• 2-year clinical education program in therapy physics
• Minimum 4000 hours of clinical training
• 12 rotations, 1-4 months long
• CAMPEP accredited
• One-on-one mentorship
• 2 residents per year
Residency Goals
To deliver the necessary clinical experience, education and training in radiation oncology physics to ensure
• Broad knowledge of clinical medical physics
• Mastery of clinical skill set that allow our graduates to function competently, independently and safely
Residency Objectives
To deliver the necessary clinical experience in order to graduate residents who are
• Eligible and prepared to achieve ABR certification
• Knowledgeable in the ethics, legal responsibilities, published standards of practice
• Competent in clinical duties
• Confident in communicating, presenting, and teaching medical physics knowledge to peer colleagues, students, other clinical staff, administrators, patients and lay persons.
• Confident problem solvers, able to learn new skills, apply knowledge in new/innovative ways
Unique Features
• The only residency offering clinical experience with Photons, Electrons, Neutrons, and Protons
• Pediatric radiation oncology included; International Rotation to India
• Strong collaborations with Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Medical Bioinformatics Depts.
• Collaborative educational and research interactions with physicians and MD residents
• 19 Physics faculty mentors, 22 Physician faculty
• Support to attend annual conference; personal reference library; full health benefits
2-Year Rotation Schedule
Below is a sample 2-year rotation schedule that a resident may experience. Residents are one-on-one with a mentor in each rotation, so each resident has a different rotation schedule.
Other Clinical Duties
• TBI planning
• Patient-specific measurement QA
• Physicist of the Day: learning the clinical role of the on-call physicist
• Linac: taking responsibility for a linac unit under faculty supervision
Benchmarks
The six benchmarks below are required to successfully complete the residency training program.
• Successfully complete all rotations
• Routinely participate in department resident didactics, seminars, conferences
• Demonstrate teaching and training skills development
• Complete at least 1 clinical development project
• Successfully pass annual oral exam/performance review
Rotation Format
Every rotation includes
• Description, objectives, competencies
• Didactics, discussions, readings, written assignments, problem set assignments, clinical exercises, practicum, observations
• Daily logbook
• Related project
• End of rotation presentation
• Evaluation/self evaluation/mentor evaluation
Clinical Development and Research
Residents work with faculty on a major development project with the expectation that the work minimally is submitted as an abstract to a professional meeting and may be published.
• Work extends over two-year period of the residency
• Two months are dedicated, protected research time
• Residents are encouraged and supported to present research at regional and national professional meetings
Synopses of Physics Faculty Research
• Video by Stephen Bowen, PhD, DABR Associate Professor
• Video by Ning Cao, PhD, DABR Assistant Professor
• Video by Eric Ford, PhD, DABR, FAAPM Professor, Director, and Vice-Chair – Medical Physics
• Video by Kristi Hendrickson, PhD, DABR, FAAPM Associate Professor
• Video by Minsun Kim, PhD, DABR Associate Professor
• Video by Juergen Meyer, PhD Professor
• Video by Mark Phillips, PhD Professor
• Video by George Sandison, PhD, FCCPM, FAAPM Professor
Benefits
Special notes
The introductory videos mentioned housestaff and their union. Physics residents are not members of the housestaff union.
