According to the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), medical physicists “assure the safe and effective delivery of radiation” in the diagnosis or treatment of a patient, as prescribed by a physician or other practitioner.
Medical physicists protect the patient from over-exposure to radioactive materials, make sure that the equipment is running properly and is being utilized correctly, and help with the positioning of the patient for the best result.
Mr. Schreuder provided some additional insight into the role of Medical Physicists:
What Is a Typical Work Week For a Medical Physicist? What Are Some of the Basic Job Responsibilities?
Radiation Oncology Physicists' duties are generally divided in three groups:
- Beam measurements and quality assurance: Beam measurement and QA includes calibrating the radiation therapy equipment and ensuring the equipment functions correctly and safely. This ensures that the correct doses are delivered to the patients, and the equipment can be operated safely by the personnel. This group also deals with developing new treatment modalities and equipment.
The base qualification is a Master's Degree that should include, or be supplemented by, a lot of specific courses in medical physics, anatomy and biology. After the masters degree, you need to qualify for the three American Board of Radiology (ABR) exams:
- Part I: everybody with a master's degree,and the required course work will qualify.
- Part II: This exam requires at least two years of experiential training beyond obtaining the Masters Degree. After 2012 you have to have completed a 2 year CAMPEP (Commission for the Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs) approved residency program to qualify for the Part II exam.
- Part III: This is an oral exam that you can take the year after you passed Part II. Part III exams are offered in June each year, while the written part I and II is offered in Aug/Sept each year.
What Basic Skills Are Required to Be a Medical Physicist?
Obviously, a good understanding of radiation physics is needed, including the principles of all kinds of radiation used in the medical arena.
Good interpersonal skills are also very important, as medical physicists need to interact with a large team of radiation oncologists, therapists, nurses and dosimetrists, in addition to interacting with patients.
What Do You Like Most About Being a Medical Physicist?
The fact that you can help somebody to receive a cure for his or her cancer, hence creating hope.
The tougher things about this role include the fact that you . . .work with very sick people that often may not have good prognoses or any significant life expectancy. The other challenge is that a single mistake by a medical physicist can certainly impact many patients' lives, so it’s an emotionally tough job.
Salaries range between $140,000 and $250,000 for board certified medical physicists, depending on the number of years of experience beyond board certification.
