Medical Physicist, II

Description

JOB SUMMARY: This position is responsible for overseeing all Medical Physics duties at CARTI, including calibration, use, and quality management of radiation therapy treatment, simulation, and treatment planning equipment. The CARTI Medical Physicist aligns with corporate and departmental core values, demonstrating compassion for patients and staff, taking ownership of all tasks, and collaborating as an integral part of the clinical team. Work-from-home flexibility is available with prior approval from the Director of Medical Physics, provided clinical coverage is maintained safely, and a signed Work-From-Home agreement is in place. Unplanned in-person attendance may be required based on clinical needs.

A $15,000 sign-on bonus for eligible new hires and relocation allowance are available. There are two openings to support different locations (Central Arkansas and El Dorado, AR).

SPECIFIC JOB DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

1. Maintains basic competency and participation in radiation therapy physics, SBRT, SGRT, SRS and other radiation therapy functions as described in the Medical Physics scope of practice defined by AAPM. Specifically:
   1. External beam radiation therapy includes Photon 3D, IMRT, VMAT, and Electrons.
   2. Treatment techniques are basic SRS, SRT, and SBRT that are appropriate to conventional linear accelerators, e.g., TrueBeam, 2100.
   3. CT imaging and QA for external beam radiotherapy.
2. Participates in all CARTI related didactic activities as directed by the Director of Physics.
3. Basic metrics for active participation must be maintained annually. Participation metrics will be considered maintained if the sum of your productivity for all pertinent procedures is within one standard deviation of the mean for the physics group. If this is not maintained, a three-month grace period is granted to bring the current participation rate to within one standard deviation of mean.
4. Provides Physics cross-coverage for modalities listed in this job description. Cross coverage includes chart checks for treatments of similar competent duties.
5. Maintains the Code of Ethics as defined by AAPM and abides by the CARTI Corporate Compliance policy.
6. Performs calibrations and quality management measurements on all treatment and planning equipment according to established guidelines, policies, and laws.
7. Records and analyzes results of measurements, takes corrective actions as needed and reports results to Director of physics. Questionable results or failures must be followed up, investigated, and corrected as soon as possible.
8. Gathers, analyzes, and periodically reviews data needed for planning and delivering patient treatments, processes data for use on computer, calibrations, or manually, upon approval by the Director of Physics.
9. Participates in developing calibration and quality management guidelines, policies, procedures, and schedules.
10. Assists in maintaining QA, calibration, data acquisition equipment and devices in good condition and current calibration.
11. Provides direct supervision and performs routine checks of patient charts for accuracy and proper documentation according to established guidelines; performs needed make-up treatment calculations.
12. Assists in the institutional radiation protection program and in maintaining compliance with regulatory agencies as requested by the Radiation Safety Officer, including performing routine surveys, calibrations, checks, tests and maintaining required records according to current license conditions.
13. Provides direct supervision and assists in the design and fabrication of patient treatment and treatment aids.
14. Maintains patient confidentiality and HIPAA compliance.
15. Maintains a positive work climate and the overall team effort of the department and CARTI.
16. Maintains working knowledge of state of the art practices and innovative approaches to their application at CARTI.
17. Performs related responsibilities as required or directed to transcend and improve CARTI on an ongoing basis.

LEVEL II SPECIFIC DUTIES:

1. Involved in all aspects of advanced special procedures defined as radiotherapy physics procedures performed by CARTI other than that performed by conventional linear accelerator treatments, e.g., Cyberknife.
2. Involved in all aspects of brachytherapy procedures performed by CARTI Medical Physics

OTHER JOB REQUIREMENTS: This position involves periodic travel between CARTI clinics to perform Medical Physics related duties as described in this document or otherwise assigned by the Director of Medical Physics.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY: N/A

EDUCATION, CERTIFICATION, LICENSURE, REGISTRATION:

1. Master's degree in medical or radiological physics or in physical sciences with an additional two years of post-graduate work in medical physics.
2. Eligible for certification or certified by the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Physics or equivalent body.

EXPERIENCE, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, and ABILITIES:

1. Successful completion of a CAMPEP residency program or a minimum of 2 years of similar work experience if a CAMPEP residency program was not completed.
2. Ability to use, operate, calibrate, collect, and analyze data from or with computers, clinical linear accelerators, CT, treatment planning computers, treatment device fabrication systems, dosimetry and calibration instrumentation and devices, radiation survey and measurement instrumentation and brachytherapy systems.
3. A working knowledge of basic physics, dosimetry and calibration instrumentation and devices, and radiation safety survey and measurement instrumentation.
4. Ability to acquire dosimetric data used to commission treatment planning systems; and the ability to generate treatment plans with both high and low energy photon and electron beams.
5. Educated in basic clinical medical physics, SRS, SBRT, and HDR and LDR special procedures and physics concepts. Able to participate in physics discussions about these topics.
6. A working knowledge of medical linear accelerators and auxiliary systems, such as record and verify systems.
7. A working knowledge of modern imaging systems (e.g., CT, MRI, and PET) that are directly tied to radiation oncology planning and practice.
8. Ability to independently develop and implement new procedures and train staff.
9. Ability to analyze available literature, task group reports etc. to develop these clinical procedures; and then effectively communicate them to clinical staff.
10. Ability to maintain a collegial and professional relationship with the rest of the physics staff; and carry that same relationship to other CARTI departments.

REASONING ABILITY:

1. Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists.
2. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, or schedule form.

INTERPERSONAL SKILLS:

1. Must interact and communicate both verbally and in written form.
2. Must interact and exchange information regarding patients with physicians and other departmental personnel, and outside agencies on a frequent basis while respecting the confidentiality of patient information.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.

1. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear.
2. The employee regularly is required to stand, walk, sit, use hand to finger, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls; and reach with hands and arms.
3. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT:
The work environment described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

This position involves potential exposure to infectious diseases. Team members are offered appropriate vaccinations and safety training.

This position is a Safety Sensitive Position. The essential functions, physical demands, and mental competencies of this job require the employee to maintain the ability to work in a constant state of alertness in a safe manner.

COMMENTS:
This description is intended to describe the essential job functions, the general supplemental functions, and the essential requirements for the performance of the job. It is not an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, and requirements of a person so classified. Other functions may be assigned, and management retains the right to add or change the duties at any time. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the job.