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2022-09-13_11-00-12_xd4grj_cg.html
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<html>
<head>
<title>[Training Tuesday] - Weekly thread for questions about grad school, residency, and general career topics 09/13/2022</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>[Training Tuesday] - Weekly thread for questions about grad school, residency, and general career topics 09/13/2022</h1>
<p>This is the place to ask questions about graduate school, training programs, or general basic career topics. If you are just learning about the field and want to know if it is something you should explore, this thread is probably the correct place for those first few questions on your mind.</p>
<h2>Examples:</h2>
<ul>
<li>"I majored in Surf Science and Technology in undergrad, is Medical Physics right for me?"</li>
<li>"I can't decide between Biomedical Engineering and Medical Physics..."</li>
<li>"Do Medical Physicists get free CT scans for life?"</li>
<li>"Masters vs. PhD"</li>
<li>"How do I prepare for Residency interviews?"</li>
</ul>
<h2>Comments:</h2>
<ol>
<li>
<p>I am currently in a MS Medical Physics program and I will graduating in December 2023; As an international student with my family here, I am concerned about having to wait till July 2024 before starting residency; Are there programs that start in January? If not, what roles can I apply for to fill the 6 months period of waiting to enter a residency program? Are there ways other international had dealt with getting a working visa if you don't get a program that helps with that?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are a few residencies that operate off-cycle and outside the match that might have different start dates. Vanderbilt, UKansas, and UPenn, for instance, are advertising on the AAPMs career board for their off-cycle positions right now (there might be more too, but I only looked at the first page). You could start making a list now so that you can prepare your applications for next year.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Thank you</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>Is anyone familiar with IBA's InViDos software for IVD? I will very much appreciate to ask some questions about it's operation.</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>I work in the UK as a registered Physicist, thinking of moving to work in Australia or NZ due to better salary and lifestyle prospects (UK Physicist salaries are too low for my plans to have another kid with my partner and various other life goals - NHS wages are stagnated to no end but that’s my opinion).</p>
<p>The issue is I hold a dual citizenship already. I can not say where it’s too specific to identify me since there is not many of us. I admit I do not understand the immigration laws well. Would this be a problem obtaining a visa to work in AUS or NZ?</p>
<p>Would doing a PhD there help my immigration prospects to achieve this too?</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>I am currently doing my MS in medical physics. My program gives me a lot of chances and responsibilities in the clinic to do QAs. However, I am wondering what exactly is viewed as valuable clinical experience that can set me apart when applying to residences later on. Is doing QAs all by myself (not just shadowing) viewed as a big a thing? Or is it better if I shadow more complex procedures (Brachy, GammaKnife, etc.) ?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think both are good; at this stage anything you learn about is valuable. However I think that if you were forced to choose maybe do the QA's by yourself; it speaks to you as a student that they trust you with handling the equipment vs just watching. I would definitely learn the "whys" behind the QA procedure. It may be good to read up on the relevant TG reports; not so you can parrot them back during a residency interview but to demonstrate that you've looked into the subject more deeply and are more invested in your education than an average Joe.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>I obviously do not work in the field (at least not at the moment haha) but can someone explain to me what exactly a “chart check” is? Everyone here is constantly saying it’s a huge part of the job but no one has explained what it actually is?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Every place (and even different people in the same place) do chart checks differently, but essentially it's checking that everything about an individual patient's plan is as the attending physician intended and that it's safe + possible to deliver. Some examples of things to check are the simulation CT quality, the setup of isocenter, contoured structures, target coverage and dose constraints, the prescription compared to the plan, the treatment machine parameters compared to the plan, etc. Also, at least in my experience "chart check" can refer to an initial plan check before the patient is treated or to weekly physics checks.</p>
<p>OR vs HDR might be specific to your site, but at my clinic, an OR case could be referring to an HDR implant which takes place in the OR, then we do the actual treatment in the HDR room.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>I’m 24 and starting my first year of college. Is it to late to pursue medical physics?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Not at all. Congrats on starting college! My S/O is a nontrad student as well.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Awesome! Thanks, I’m very excited!</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>I’m seeing people here use the terms “therapist” and “physicist” differently, when the physicist being talked about is clearly in radiation therapy. What am I missing? What is the “therapist” if not the therapy physicist?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Therapist" in this context refers to the radiation therapy technologist who operates the machine when a patient is being treated</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Ohhh okay thank you! So the radiation therapy physicist makes the plan and tests it against the phantom (?) to make sure it works as intended, and then the therapist operates it during the ACTUAL treatment?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A couple things: the dosimetrist makes the plan, and the physicist checks it. Certain plans (IMRT etc) have a phantom involved in the physicists' check but some don't. The therapist not only actually hits the buttons during treatment, but also set up the patient (immobilization, alignment, etc) before the treatment, which is extremely important.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I see. So dosimetrist makes plan, radiotherapy physicist checks it, and technologist (therapist) actually performs it… correct?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yes to the first point. I don't believe that radiation technologist is an equivalent term for radiation therapist. Technologist I have only heard to applied to the diagnostic techs (the people taking x-rays, MRIs, etc).</p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>Hi everyone, i plan on doing health physics as a master's and possibly PhD. My question is, would i be able to become a medical phycist with that background? If so, how does the path to become a medical phycist look like?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>One of your degrees must be a CAMPEP accredited degree. If your PhD isn't CAMPEP you'll have to get a certificate in order to become a board certified medical physicist.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>Which MS campep programs that offer more clinical experience instead of research?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I second what has been said of UKentucky and LSU as those students tend to have plenty of experience when applying for residency. I will also add UToledo has a clinical component built into their graduate program that gives their students experience doing QA and treatment planning.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Kentucky is very clinically oriented, max 8 students per year, introductory rotation first year, 3 clinical rotations and a treatment planning rotation second year. Research requirement is minimal but opportunities exist if people are interested in doing more</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A handful off the top of my head: UPenn (speaking from personal experience, by default you get ample experience in the clinic with plenty of opportunity to pursue even more), last I heard UKentucky is very clinically focused as well, LSU (though they also have a very big research component, which extends their MS to 3 years).</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>I’m currently in my senior year of undergrad and I’ll be receiving my BS in biomedical engineering in May 2023. I’ve spent the last 3-4 years working in a biology lab (not necessarily related to physics) and, for a long time, planned to pursue a PhD in BME. I didn’t really question this ‘goal’ until recently, when I’ve felt extremely burnt out. In short, I feel academia is a very toxic environment. I no longer feel that a PhD is a good fit for me for many reasons.</p>
<p>I have been considering other career routes. Medical physics seems like a good option in terms of still being involved with science while also doing clinical work (I hope this makes sense). I have heard a lot of different things about the field, though, such as the amount of MP graduates exceeding the amount of residencies. I'm also not sure if my background would make me a competitive applicant for MS programs and, eventually, residency programs. The other issue that I have is that my school has not allowed me to count prerequisite physics courses required by CAMPEP-accredited programs towards my degree, so I would have to take these courses as a non-degree seeking student after I graduate (which I wouldn't mind- but I would have to work a full-time job in tandem, and I would have to guarantee that my job is either close to a university or take classes online, which could raise questions about my competence in physics in later admissions processes).</p>
<p>Given this information, I have a few questions for those currently in the field:</p>
<ol>
<li>Do you think that this is a good field to get into right now? Why?</li>
<li>Despite my background in engineering and biology, could I still be a strong candidate in pursuing studies in medical physics?</li>
<li>What are the pros and cons of working in this field? Do you feel like as a medical physicist you have a good work/life balance and work culture?</li>
<li>Is there anything I should know? Do you have any general advice?</li>
</ol>
<p>I would also appreciate if anyone could tell me more about what they do on a daily basis as a medical physicist and what kinds of concepts you apply to your work regularly.</p>
<p>Thank you in advance! :)</p>
<blockquote>
<p>1) Yes, hot job market for graduating residents. It's just hard to get into residency.</p>
<p>2) I think you should be fine. I took a lot of bio/biochem stuff (used to be premed), now finishing up my last year in a campep masters.</p>
<p>3) Pros: salary, interesting work, feeling like you make an impact on healthcare, actually using physics knowledge for work unlike the physics majors that go into finance. Cons: hours can be longish depending on employer, also general healthcare issues which are universal (healthcare as a business etc). Work life balance and work culture are very local to your site, results may vary there.</p>
<p>4) This isn't an easy job to get into, and you can't coast once you're past residency either. Keep the patient in mind while working on your computer/the machines.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>What is more renowned/better ranked program for M.Sc in Medical Physics, Brown or Georgia Tech?</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It's really not much about the program, but what you do with it. There can be a hard working student in a "low-tier" program that is much better prepared for residency than a GA/brown student. Rankings alone won't get you a residency/job</p>
<p>Depends on what you're looking for. Ga Tech has been around and accredited longer. Brown is relatively new. Ga Tech puts out a bunch of students and probably knows more about getting their students residencies because of this. Brown has some very well-known and respected faculty amongst AAPM members so their knowledge will be beneficial. Ga Tech might have some too, I just may not know them. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with either. Good luck in your decision.</p>
</blockquote>
</li>
<li>
<p>Original URL: <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/xd4grj/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/">https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/xd4grj/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/</a></p>
</li>
</ol>
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