Therapeutic Medical Physicist (Advanced Level)

Full Job Description

Medical Physics is a branch of physics that is associated with the practice of medicine.

The practice of Medical Physics means the use of principles and accepted protocols of physics to assure the correct quality, quantity, and placement of radiation during the performance of a radiological procedure.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

Master's degree or higher in a physics, science, or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics, health physics, radiological science, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology; or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.

Board Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to TMP positions in the VHA must be board certified in the field of therapeutic medical physics by an approved certifying body.

The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education.

Approved Certifying Bodies (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles:1. Therapeutic Medical Physics2. Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics3.

Radiologic Physics or Radiological Physics(b) The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics.(c) The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics.

May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria).

Grade Determinations:GS-14 Therapeutic Medical Physicist (Advanced Level) Preferred Experience: Experience with developing and QA'ing SRS/SBRT program including brain, spine, lung, prostate and others.

Experience in preparing for accreditations such as ASTRO APEX and ACR. Experience.

In addition to the basic requirements, completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.

In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1.

Advanced expertise and experience in the safe and efficient use of all radiotherapy devices for external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy. 2.

Highly developed expertise with commissioning linear accelerators and treatment planning systems for complex clinical use, to include project management, performance testing, data acquisition, beam modeling, and validation testing.

3.

Advanced knowledge (treatment simulation, planning, dosimetry, and treatment methods) of the scientific, clinical, and technical applications of one or more specialized procedures including, but not limited to, high dose rate brachytherapy, low dose rate brachytherapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, stereotactic radiation therapy, intensity modulated radiation therapy, volumetric modulated arc therapy, total body irradiation, advanced image-guided therapy, and adaptive therapy.

4.

Advanced expertise in acceptance testing, clinical commissioning, and (when applicable) calibration procedures for a variety of ancillary radiation oncology delivery, imaging, dosimetry, metrology, and computational systems.

Assignments.

For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.

Employees at this level who are not supervisors are able to carry out assigned tasks independently in all areas of radiation therapy requiring TMP competencies which substantially exceed the full performance level and require advanced knowledge in all areas of radiation therapy.

Regardless of the nature of the specific assignment, the work must be of sufficient scope and complexity to meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform at this grade level.

Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.

Physical Requirements: Work is sedentary but also demands standing, walking, bending, twisting, and carrying light to medium heavy items and QA equipment such as Map Check/ Arc Check , Water Phantoms, Solid Water, Electron cones.

These devices range from 10-40 lbs. and sometimes need to be lifted overhead and into the treatment machine. Major Duties:

Therapeutic Medical Physicists (TMPs) work in Radiation Oncology and have responsibilities that include: Protection of the patient and others from potentially harmful or excessive radiation; establishment of adequate protocols to ensure accurate patient dosimetry; the measurement and characterization of radiation used for radiotherapy; the performance and supervision of treatment planning; the determination of delivered dose; advancement of procedures necessary to ensure delivered dose integrity; the assessment and monitoring of image quality; development and direction of quality assurance programs; assistance to other health care professionals in optimizing the balance between the beneficial and deleterious effects of radiation; and compliance with applicable federal and state regulations.

The advanced performance level TMP can expertly perform the most complex of these tasks, and has the experience to commission and clinically implement novel technologies.

Duties include: Manages the development and implementation of advanced techniques and special initiatives in radiotherapy, collaborates with radiation oncologists in the development of new clinical protocols, and directs special projects involving clinical applications, clinical research, or quality assurance.

Serves as the subject matter expert on certain aspects of therapeutic medical psychics in which the incumbent has achieved national recognition through research and peer-reviewed publications.

Plans, delivers, verifies, and monitors quality assurance of radiotherapy at all levels of complexity.

Recommends an optimal modality and treatment technique for the patient; evaluating the quality, safety, and accuracy of radiation treatments planned and delivered to patients, thus ensuring that radiation does is carried out correctly and completely; and safely operating all radiation planning and delivery devices.

Implements radiation therapy of outstanding technical difficulty and responsibility, as exemplified by their role in providing knowledge-based solutions to resolving issues where no rule based solutions exist.

Plans and directs a specialized program encompassing all physics and clinical aspects of external beam and brachytherapy procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery.

Provides technical oversight for the work of developmental TMPs, medical dosimetrists and radiation therapists.

Oversees radiation therapy treatment planning; designs and approves treatment plans; monitors the accuracy of treatment data recorded in the patient's medial records; provides consultation to the radiation oncologist regarding difficult treatment cases; performs patient specific treatment validation measurements; and develops medical physics policies and procedures for the delivery and quality assessment of advanced treatment modalities such as intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy and brachytherapy.

Develops, operates and fully documents the medical physics quality assurance program and ensures regulatory compliance within the Radiation Safety Officer's radiation safety program.

Safely utilizes and properly operates all radiation oncology equipment, and is therefore qualified and responsible for educating radiation oncology team members including radiation oncologists, radiation therapists and dosimetrists in safety issues that relate to radiotherapy planning and delivery.

Knowledgeable user and subject matter expert in the use of Varian Eclipse treatment planning system, Varian TrueBeam delivery system, and QA equipment and software in Sun Nuclear and PTW.

The advanced performance level TMP will also be an expert in the following special procedures: Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for prostate, brain, spine, lung and other parts of the body.

Work Schedule: 8AM-4:30PM Monday - Friday Compressed/Flexible: Not Available Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position.

Functional Statement #:13725F Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Not Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized