The Radiation Oncology Physics Residency Program at the Karmanos Cancer Center is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs. The program is based within the Gershenson Radiation Oncology Center and affiliated with the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Our Radiation Oncology department has a long history of medical physics education and training, a medical physics graduate program and medical residency program housed within the same department, along with a wide variety of equipment and special procedures available to the residents.
The program is two years in length and provides graduates with the clinical skills for independent practice in radiation oncology physics. All residents are required to complete their didactic medical physics education prior to entry into the residency program.
The resident will:
- Participate in all aspects of clinical radiation oncology physics,
- Demonstrate competency in a broad range of topics through clinical performance, as well as periodic oral examination,
- Be well prepared to pass the certification examination of the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Medical Physics,
- Have the opportunity to participate in special clinical projects during the program, consisting of novel research or projects involving clinical implementation and/or development of new technology or procedures.
The wide variety of clinical resources, equipment, and special procedures performed here assure that the resident receives a well-rounded clinical training experience. State-of-the-art radiotherapy equipment includes Varian iX, TrueBeam, and Ethos accelerators, Gamma Knife, Flexitron HDR, GammaBeam 500 TBI unit, two CT-simulators with 4DCT capabilities, and numerous computerized treatment planning systems including Eclipse, GammaPlan, Oncentra, and an in-house Monte Carlo system. Special procedures include IMRT, VMAT, Real-time Adaptive Radiotherapy, IGRT, TBI, HDR and LDR brachytherapy, SRS, and SBRT. In addition, all resources of our educational programs along with all graduate student and medical resident activities and conferences are available to the medical physics residents. This educational environment is a key strength of our physics residency program. Karmanos Cancer Center is widely recognized as a leader in cancer treatment and research and is designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Care Center by the National Cancer Institute.
The KCI cancer treatment facility at McLaren Flint in Flint, Michigan and the Windsor Regional Cancer Center in Windsor, Ontario, Canada each operate a residency program that is affiliated with and accredited as a part of the Karmanos Cancer Center program. These programs also offer state-of-the-art equipment and training and utilize the same training infrastructure as the Karmanos Cancer Center residency program operated within the Gershenson Radiation Oncology Center. Residents at each site receive training on all equipment and special procedures offered at all sites and receive training, mentoring, and examination from Karmanos Cancer Center program faculty. Residents at all facilities receive salaried support and a benefit package commensurate with other salaried hospital employees.
Our program was developed with support from an ASTRO/AAPM Training Grant and has been accredited by CAMPEP since 2010. Since this time, over 25 residents have matriculated into our program and its affiliates. All of these trainees have successfully secured clinical radiation oncology physics positions immediately following graduation, and our first-time pass rate for the American Board of Radiology oral board certification examination is greater than 90 percent.
Please click here for program statistics.
Apply
Applicants must have a graduate degree in Medical Physics or an M.S. or Ph.D. in a closely related field along with all training prerequisites specified by AAPM Report #365. Preference will be given to graduates of CAMPEP-accredited graduate education programs. For additional information on our program, please click here. For application instructions and deadlines, please contact Paige Davis, Program Coordinator, at pgdavis@med.wayne.edu.