Clinical Physicist - Radiation Oncology
Washington University In St. Louis School of Arts&Sciences
1 Barnes Jewish Hospital Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA
2/3/2024
Full Time
Scheduled Hours
40Position Summary
Radiation therapy as practiced at the Washington University’s Department of Radiation Oncology is personnel-intensive and can be highly customized and individualized for each patient, requiring extensive quality assurance (QA) and constant oversight to prevent catastrophic treatment delivery errors. It is subject to extensive and time consuming documentation imposed by current standards of practice and regulatory bodies such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The Clinical Staff Physicist provides the essential administrative, organizational and technical expertise that keeps the clinic functioning smoothly, safely, and at a state-of-the-art technical and clinical level in a technically complex environment.Job Description
This position is based in the Department of Radiation Oncology and is for
expansion and coverage of our St. Louis metro area satellite sites.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
- Basic calibration and quality assurance testing, equipment varies by location, but can include: 2 Varian Linear Accelerators equipped with OBI and ExacTrac for SRS/SRT, 1 Siemens CT Simulator, 1 microSelectron HDR Afterloader, and 1 Varian Linear Accelerator equipped with OBI and 1 Siemens CT Simulator)
- Determination of the radiation dosimetry parameters for the treatment units, simulators and brachytherapy radiation sources.
- Calculation of radiation dose distribution of patients undergoing treatment.
- Monitoring or measuring of the dose delivered to selected patients.
- Maintaining dosimetry standards pertaining to radiation dosimetry systems.
- Space planning and radiation shielding design for new facilities, modalities, and equipment.
- Radiation safety surveys for facilities and personnel.
- Clinical oversight of technical personnel (dosimetrist).
- Consultation to radiation oncologists regarding special clinical physics considerations for individual patients.
- Development, maintenance and implementation of calibration and quality assurance programs for all external beam treatment machines, simulators, treatment planning systems and brachytherapy equipment/sources.
- Development, maintenance and implementation of quality control procedures.
- Development, maintenance and implementation of physics and dosimetry protocols.
- Responsibility for the release of treatment machines into clinical services after maintenance, and for documenting that any alterations caused by the maintenance and repair schedule do not affect the treatment unit or standards promulgated in the AAPM code of practice.
- Serving as liaison to equipment manufactures for installation, acceptance testing and verification testing, and making recommendations concerning new equipment acquisitions and upgrades of hardware and software.
- Interpreting of test results and advising clinical staff on optimal equipment use.
- Overseeing compliance with U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, licensing and other regulatory requirements governing personnel and general public safety and other issues; and attending Radiation Safety Committee meetings.
- On-site contouring or normal anatomy and processing of multimodality imaging, including image registration, deformations, processing of respiratory motion correlated images.
- On-site treatment planning, with equipment varying by location.
Working Conditions
This position works in a radiation therapy environment and may work with sick people.
Preferred Qualifications
- PhD.
- Able to demonstrate analytical reasoning.
- Able to perform mathematical computations.
- Effective verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills.
Required Qualifications
- M.S degree in Physics or related science.
- Certified or eligible for certification by the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Medical Physics.
Grade
S00Accommodation
If you are unable to use our online application system and would like an accommodation, please email CandidateQuestions@wustl.edu or call the dedicated accommodation inquiry number at 314-935-1149 and leave a voicemail with the nature of your request.