Program Goals and Objectives
Broad areas of clinical training will include equipment calibration and quality assurance, radiation dosimetry, radiation shielding, facility design, special clinical procedures, treatment planning and imaging. The program length is 24 months.
The physics residency program is fully integrated into the daily clinical operations of the Radiation Oncology Department. The resident works closely with other members of the department: Staff Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists, Medical Dosimetrists, Medical Residents, Nurses and Radiation Therapy Technologists. There are ample opportunities to interact with other departments within Loyola University Medical Center, including Diagnostic Radiology, Interventional Radiology, Surgery and Neurosurgery.
Residents are expected to complete 12 clinical physics rotations that span a variety of topics in medical physics, such as, (1) Beam calibration and detectors, (2) Linear accelerator commissioning and quality assurance, (3) Daily physics duties, (4) Treatment planning procedures, (5) Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), (6) High- and Low- dose rate brachytherapy, (7) Image guided radiation therapy (IGRT), (8) Radiation safety and shielding design, (9) Special procedures (SRS, SBRT, TBI, and TSET), and (10) Joint imaging therapy rotation.
Each rotation is typically two to three months in length, and is under the direct supervision of a faculty physicist. In addition to meeting with their rotation specific mentor(s) on a weekly basis to discuss their progress, residents will also meet with the director of the residency program monthly. Residents are expected to keep a log documenting their clinical and didactic activities which is reviewed during their meeting with the residency director. Following the completion of a rotation, the resident is evaluated by their rotation specific mentor(s) and additional faculty members typically via an Oral examination.
In addition to the clinical training, the resident will receive didactic education in radiation therapy physics and related disciplines. However, these courses are offered mainly as a refresher and not intended to replace medical physics didactic training which the candidate should have already received. Residents will be expected to attend daily treatment planning conferences, weekly physics meetings, seminars/grand rounds and monthly physics journal clubs. Participation in research projects is encouraged with the aim of presentation at AAPM, ASTRO, or RSNA conferences and publications in affiliated journals.
The residency training program is conducted strictly in accordance with the guidelines from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Report 249 (Essentials and Guidelines for Clinical Medical Physics Residency Training Programs, AAPM 2013). After successful completion of the residency program, the candidate will have the required knowledge and training to take and successfully complete the American Board of Radiology (ABR) certification examination in Therapeutic Radiological Physics.
The main goals of the residency program are:
- Provide a comprehensive and in-depth practical training in all aspects of clinical medical physics
- Prepare the resident for certification in Therapeutic Radiology/Radiation Oncology physics.
