Accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP) in 2012
The Clinical Medical Physics Residency Program in the department of Radiation Oncology of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center is geared towards the training of individuals to be able to achieve the American Board of Radiology certification and therefore, practice independently as a certified therapeutic radiologic physicist in the Department of Radiation Oncology.
The residency program is 24 months in length. It includes 8 clinical rotations, attendance to the department chart rounds and journal club seminars, didactic courses, recommended readings, written report assignments, research and oral examinations.
The training takes place under the close supervisions of experienced therapeutic radiologic physicists. The program emphasizes all areas of clinical training and experience that are required from a therapeutic radiologic physicist to be able to practice in a state-of-the-art treatment facility, and to manage at least a single accelerator community-based free-standing facility.
The Medical Physics residents receive clinical training through their participation in:
- Shadowing the physics staff during their clinical work
- Monthly and annual quality assurance on the linear accelerators, brachytherapy machines and gamma knife
- Patient-specific quality assurance measurements
- Electron cut out measurements
- High Dose Rate (HDR) brachytherapy planning, quality assurance
- Special procedures that include: Total Body Irradiation (TBI), Image Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT), Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) with Gamma Knife and linac-based systems, and Proton therapy
Evaluation
Clinical competency is assessed regularly through rotation evaluations, with residents receiving a satisfactory or unsatisfactory grade at the end of each rotation. In addition, an oral examination is administered at the conclusion of every rotation to further evaluate progress. Successful completion of all rotations and oral examinations is required in order to receive a certificate of completion issued by the Department of Radiation Oncology.
Facilities and Technology
The Department of Radiation Oncology is equipped with cutting-edge technology and highly skilled staff to deliver advanced radiation therapy. In 2011, the department moved into a 210,000-square-foot cancer center featuring state-of-the-art treatment delivery systems: one Varian edge machine, one TrueBeam, one Radixact helical imaging and treatment and one Ethos Adaptive. Edge and TrueBeam machines are equipped with surface guidance and Varian respiratory gating and megavoltage cone-beam CT. Additional resources include a compact single-room proton therapy system (Mevion), a 3T GE MRI scanner, a GE PET/CT scanner with gating capabilities, and a GE LightSpeed CT Wide Board Simulator. The department also maintains an active brachytherapy program utilizing HDR Elekta/Nucletron with Oncentra planning. Specialized capabilities include IMRT/VMAT, SBRT, 4D imaging and treatment planning, frame-based and frameless stereotactic radiosurgery using Gamma Knife Esprit. Treatment planning software for external beam includes Varian Eclipse, RayStation for proton therapy and precision planning system for Radixact.
We also have two regional facilities at Norman and McAlester. Norman facility is equipped with one Varian Truebeam with surface guidance and RGS system. One Xstrahl superficial therapy unit along with Siemens Somatom dual energy CT. McAlester facility has Truebeam with the Siemens Somatom dual energy CT.
Number of Residents in Program
The Clinical Medical Physics Residency in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center sustains four residents in the program. There is a shortage of trained medical physicists nationwide; therefore, a graduate from our program will likely find employment opportunities soon after their training.
Faculty
The faculty involved in the Medical Physics Residency program includes PhD and MS level medical physicists, who collectively have a wealth of experience in every aspect of clinical radiation oncology medical physics. Faculty members also take lead roles in physics and clinical research and professional activities as demonstrated through peer reviewed publications, leadership in national organizations of Medical Physics (ACMP and AAPM among others).