Position Overview

Location and Schedule

Key Responsibilities

• Provide professional medical physics support for radiation oncology services, including the design, optimization, technical evaluation, and quality review of radiation treatment plans.
• Help ensure the precise, safe, and accurate delivery of prescribed radiation doses to patients.
• Provide consultation to Radiation Oncologists and technical guidance to medical dosimetrists, radiation therapists, and other physics support staff during treatment planning and delivery.
• Be present for complex simulations, treatment setups, and specialized procedures, including patient setup for stereotactic body radiation therapy, stereotactic radiosurgery, and image-guided radiation therapy, as required.
• Maintain on-site presence throughout high-dose-rate brachytherapy procedures, when applicable.
• Establish, monitor, and independently review monitor-unit calculations, treatment times, and related treatment-delivery calculations.
• Conduct weekly and systematic chart reviews for patients undergoing radiation treatment and perform final chart reviews at the completion of treatment courses.
• Support treatment-planning system modeling, beam-data input, output testing, validation, software updates, bug-fix testing, and periodic comparison of treatment-planning calculations with direct radiation-beam measurements.
• Perform or coordinate monthly and annual quality-assurance activities for two linear accelerators and one CT simulator.
• Coordinate annual optically stimulated luminescence dosimeter measurements and submit results for third-party calibration analysis.
• Perform and document calibration, periodic testing, intercomparisons, output checks, and performance evaluations for radiation-treatment equipment, CT simulation equipment, dosimetry systems, and associated applications.
• Support radiation therapy modalities and techniques including 2D/3D conformal therapy, IMRT, VMAT, IGRT, SRS, SBRT, brachytherapy, CT simulation, and 4D imaging.
• Provide technical consultation and troubleshooting related to linear accelerators, CT simulation equipment, network connectivity, record-and-verify systems, treatment-planning systems, and related hardware and software.
• Monitor departmental network responsiveness, computer-system functionality, patient-data backups, configurations, updates, and communication among imaging, planning, and treatment-delivery systems.
• Develop, maintain, and support a Quality Management Program for dosimetry systems, radiation therapy equipment, and associated clinical applications.
• Prepare required written reports regarding equipment performance, quality management, radiation safety, calibration results, and compliance with applicable radiation oncology standards.
• Participate in peer-review activities, Radiation Oncology quality-management efforts, and quality-improvement reporting.
• Promptly report patient-safety incidents, adverse events, near misses, good catches, radiation-related incidents, and privacy/security concerns in accordance with VA and applicable regulatory requirements.
• Maintain complete, accurate, and timely clinical and technical documentation in required VA electronic health record and other systems.
• Protect Veteran privacy and comply with HIPAA, the Privacy Act, VA medical-record requirements, information-security rules, and confidentiality standards.
• Attend required service meetings, clinical meetings, mandatory training, and VA orientation activities.

Required Qualifications

• Master’s degree or doctoral degree in Medical Physics or a related qualifying discipline.
• Current board certification in Medical Physics or Therapeutic Medical Physics from the American Board of Radiology, or board-eligible status meeting American Board of Radiology eligibility requirements.
• Current state medical-physics licensure when required by the applicable state or jurisdiction.
• For board-certified candidates: at least two years of continuous, recent clinical medical-physics experience within the last three years.
• For board-eligible candidates: at least two years of Therapeutic Medical Physics residency experience, as documented through the applicable training program.
• At least one year of clinical physics experience in an accredited radiation oncology service.
• Hands-on experience with modern radiation-delivery systems.
• At least one year of experience with image-guided radiation therapy, including cone-beam CT and optical surface imaging systems.
• At least one year of experience with 3D treatment-planning systems and radiotherapy record-and-verify systems.
• Experience supporting 2D/3D conformal radiation therapy, IMRT, VMAT, IGRT, SRS, SBRT, brachytherapy, CT simulation, and 4D imaging.
• Experience with quality-assurance devices used for advanced radiation therapy procedures, including SRS, SBRT, and IMRT.
• Ability to speak, read, understand, and write English fluently.
• Ability to meet VA credentialing and privileging requirements, including verification of education, training, experience, licensure, board certification, competency, and professional references.
• Ability to meet VA suitability, background-investigation, facility-access, cybersecurity, privacy, and information-security requirements.

Preferred Qualifications

• Board certification in Therapeutic Medical Physics from the American Board of Radiology.
• Experience in a Veterans Health Administration, Department of Defense, academic medical center, or large hospital radiation oncology environment.
• Prior experience supporting an accredited radiation oncology program.
• Experience with VA Computerized Patient Record System documentation or willingness and ability to complete required CPRS training.
• Familiarity with National Radiation Oncology Program requirements and VA radiation-safety practices.
• Experience with quality-management, peer review, equipment commissioning, treatment-planning system validation, incident reporting, and continuous quality improvement.

Credentialing and Compliance

• Current board certification or board-eligibility documentation.
• Current professional license, registration, and/or certification verification.
• Continuing education documentation needed to maintain credentials.
• BLS/CPR and any other required clinical certifications.
• National Provider Identifier, if required for billable VA healthcare services.
• VA medical-staff credentialing and privileging requirements.
• Background investigation, suitability review, and personal-identity-verification requirements.
• VA cybersecurity, privacy, HIPAA, Rules of Behavior, and mandatory training requirements.
• Required health screening and immunization documentation, including TB testing, Tdap, influenza vaccination or approved accommodation, hepatitis B requirements, MMR immunity, and varicella immunity.
• OIG exclusion screening and other applicable federal healthcare-program eligibility checks.
• Professional liability coverage and other contractor-required insurance requirements.