Radiation Physics Residency

The radiation oncology medical physics residency program is a two-year clinical training program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for medical physicists who intend to work in Radiation Oncology Physics and are in need of experience to qualify for examination by the American Board of Radiology (ABR). The program is accredited by the Commission of Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc. (CAMPEP). 

• Residency program disclosure statement

Program Objectives

The objective of the residency program is to provide structured clinical radiation oncology physics training and experience to individuals wishing to practice professional radiation oncology physics. Residents, under the supervision of board certified medical physicists, will participate in the breadth of routine clinical duties of a radiation oncology physicist. The resident will gain experience with the full range of state-of- the-art radiation oncology procedures, techniques and equipment. At the conclusion of the program the resident will demonstrate competency in:

• Evaluation of treatment equipment performance
• Planning for purchase of equipment and site preparation
• Acceptance and commissioning of new equipment
• Performance of regularly scheduled quality assurance on treatment and simulation equipment
• Designing and monitoring a quality assurance program for equipment
• External beam treatment planning, treatment delivery and quality assurance
• Brachytherapy treatment planning, treatment delivery and quality assurance
• Operating a radioactive source radiation safety program
• Commissioning and quality assurance of treatment planning and simulation workstations
• Special dosimetry techniques, procedures and equipment
• Special treatment procedures, techniques and equipment
• Technical aspects of equipment purchase
• Providing in-service instruction on radiation oncology physics procedures, techniques and equipment
• Performing clinical investigation in radiation oncology physics

First Year Training

In parallel with didactic course work offered through The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS), the following broad areas will be covered during the first year of residency.

• External beam (including proton) treatment equipment performance, acceptance testing, commissioning and quality assurance
• External beam (including proton) treatment planning, treatment delivery and quality assurance
• Brachytherapy treatment equipment performance, acceptance testing, commissioning and quality assurance
• Brachytherapy treatment planning, treatment delivery and quality assurance
• Development and monitoring of quality assurance programs
• In vivo patient dose measurement
• 3-D treatment planning and treatment
• IMRT treatment planning, treatment and quality assurance
• Patient positioning procedures, techniques and devices
• Ultrasound equipment performance evaluation

There will be additional experience, such as simulator, CT and ultrasound QA; protective barrier shielding calculations; machine and patient radiation protection surveys; design of QA and radiation safety programs; fetal dose and pacemaker dose calculations; and in-service presentations. Residents also participate in seminars, colloquia, clinical rounds and other educational opportunity

Second Year Training

During the second year of residency, the resident will be assigned duties to be carried out under the direction of medical physics faculty and staff. The resident will be involved in the same types of experiences as the first year, but will work more independently. In addition, the resident will learn special treatment procedures of stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic radiation therapy, ultrasound-guided prostate seed implants and IMRT commissioning and QA. Independent practice experience will be obtained at a nearby off-site facility.

Residents also have a rotation on treatment planning system (TPS) commissioning and other QAs, where they learn about the dose modeling in the TPS and learn QAs for IMRT, CT simulators, and orthovoltage machine (Core rotation).  Residents also can rotate to one of the satellites to understand the role of the medical physicist in a more typical radiation treatment facility environment and to the Proton Therapy Center to learn about the latest in proton therapy.  
 

Salary and Benefits

All residents are funded so that full-time effort can be devoted to successful completion of the program. The residents are supported by funds from the Office of the Chief Education and Training Officer (CETO). Current stipend levels for clinical residencies as defined by the institution are $61,880 and $64,325 for the first- and second-year residents, respectively, plus health insurance benefits, workers' compensation insurance, vacation (120 hrs/year) and sick leave (80 hrs/year).

In addition, the Department of Radiation Physics provides each physics resident a $3,500/year developmental fund that can be used for attendting national meetings, paying professional society memberships, certification and licensing fees, books and other educational aids. Additional $1000 are allocated for each incoming resident to purchase textbooks in medical physics and radiation oncology. The department also provides $1,000 for each second-year resident to participate in one site visit with physicists from the Imaging and Radiaiton Oncology Core (IROC) Houston.

Admissions

The ideal candidate will have an M.S. or Ph.D. in medical physics from a CAMPEP accredited graduate education program.  Candidates with a Ph.D. in physics, engineering, or related fields who have completed a CAMPEP accredited certificate program will also be considered.  Between three and four residents will be recruited each year.  The successful candidate must obtain a temporary license to practice professional medical physics from the state of Texas during their first 120 days of residency.

Application Submission Instructions: 

• Please send an email indicating your interest to Melvina Hackett, mkimball@mdanderson.org
• Please include the following:
  • Letter of Interest
  • A copy of your CV
  • Three reference letters
• Applications must be received by September 30, 2021 for a start date of September 1, 2022.

Our residency program will not participate in National Matching System this year. 

Please address your questions to:

Melvina Hackett
Administrative Manager, Education Programs 
mkimball@mdanderson.org
713-563-2514