Hampton University Proton Cancer Institute (Hampton Proton) is seeking an ABR Medical Physicist to ensure optimal care in proton treatments delivered to the patients in the safest method while monitoring, training, and verifying proper operations of all machines, staff, and radiation sources in accordance with established guidelines and protocols.
Hampton Proton is the nation’s 8th proton therapy facility and the largest free-standing proton clinic in the world. The state-of-the-art treatment and research center has four gantry rooms and one fixed beam room. Hampton Proton has been treating prostate, brain, lung, pediatric, head and neck, breast, CNS and other cancers since August 2010. Hampton Proton uses IBA’s Proteus 235 proton therapy delivery system, VeriSuite for IGRT, MOSAIQ Oncology Information System (Elektra), Eclipse Proton Treatment Planning system (Varian) and a Philips 4D-PET/CT for simulations, and a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MR Ingenia 3T) by Philips.
Our Proteus 235 system is equipped with IBA’s universal nozzles. We are using Uniform Scanning, Double Scattering, and Pencil Beam Scanning treatment delivery techniques in our treatment rooms.
Medical Physicist
The Medical Physicist reports directly to the Chief Medical Physicist while providing leadership to other professionals and support staff. The Medical Physicist maintains a safe environment for patients, personnel, and visitors by facilitating regular Quality Assurance (QA) in radiation safety and regulatory requirements.
Duties and Responsibilities:
- Lead, organize, prioritize, and work alongside with other professional physicist while providing guidance in the comprehensive medical physics duties pertaining to safely operating a proton radiotherapy clinic.
- Help to establish and maintain protocols of processes and operations across all Medical Physics and Dosimetry activities in the departments.
- Provide transparent insight to the Chief Medical Physicist on all aspects of treatment planning and treatment delivery within the inter-departments of the Radiation Therapy, Dosimetry, and Physicians.
- Orient and train new employees or students. Maintain and encourage team building through a network of professionals in the Medical Physics field.
- Oversee and perform daily, monthly, and annual QA for the beam-delivery, ion chambers, water phantoms, and imaging systems.
- Monitor and conduct daily patient-specific QA within treatment rooms using ion chambers and IBA’s matrix.
- Perform measurements or other evaluations as necessary to ensure accurate dose delivery for proton radiotherapy treatments.
- Complete and maintain proper records of all required documentation relating to radiation treatment plans and equipment, QA, and calibration records.
- Create and sustain up-to-date standard operating procedures to ensure adherence to compliance and other policies/procedures.
- Instruct and perform with Eclipse | Varian computerized treatment plans and the flow of information or images between simulation, planning, and delivery.
- Assist Chief Medical Physicists with facilitating the maintenance of proton radiotherapy quality assurance programs and the commissioning of proton therapy equipment.
- Involvement in the center’s radiation protection activities in order to maintain the safety of Hampton Proton personnel and ensure compliance with local regulations.
- Coordinate, distribute, and report measurable outcomes and continuous process improvement efforts to maximize productivity of the department(s).
- Support and be involved in the physics research and development projects ongoing in the institution.
- Use independent judgment and apply learned methodologies according to established policy and procedures.
- Uphold, maintain, and establish adequate protocols to ensure accurate patient dosimetry.
- Effectively and in a timely manner communicate productivity challenges with upper management.
- Assure the efficient operation of workflow within the department by performing other duties as assigned by the Chief Medical Physicist.
Qualifications:
- Knowledge of Eclipse | Varian treatment planning system and MOSAIQ Oncology Information System is highly preferred.
- Experience in proton radiotherapy is highly preferred, but not required.
- Demonstrate the ability to read and interpret documents or outputs from the software computer programs.
- Successfully handles issues through conflict resolution, project management, and delegation.
- Demonstrate the ability to be pro-active and have a sense of urgency.
- Strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and high-quality results oriented with the ability to meet deadlines.
- Minor weightlifting (i.e., to handle aperture, compensator, QA devices, etc. 25 – 50 lb.) required.
Requirements:
- ABR Certified in Therapeutic Radiology.
- Exceptional communication skills and ability to work well within a team.
- Intermediate to expert computer skills including computational scripting, C#, or JAVA programs in addition to the use of Microsoft Office Suite.
- Flexibility to work shifts from 6:30am to 3:30pm or 12:30pm to 9:30pm.
- COVID-19 vaccination and booster or an approved medical/religious exemption required.
***Commensurate based on experience and AAPM salary survey standards.
How To Apply:
To apply for employment with the Hampton University Proton Cancer Institute, send your current curriculum vitae to: HR@HamptonProton.org.
