The RFUMS Medical Radiation Physics
Clinical Education Program

The purpose of the RFUMS Medical Radiation Physics (MRP) clinical education program is two-fold:

• To support student learning in the didactic program by enabling the application of concepts in the actual medical physics clinical environment;
• To prepare students for current clinical practice and residency training in Medical Physics.

Following an introductory course which acquaints students with the typical radiation oncology clinical environment and equipment, the Clinical Practicum course, which spans 6 quarters, teaches students to actively participate in medical physics duties, to create procedures which outline tasks learned, and to practice teaching by organizing and giving presentations. In this course students are expected to actively participate in clinical work at least two full days per week during the school-year and at least four full days per week over the summer.  Students’ learning is structured by following a framework of detailed tasks, questions and references outlined in the MRP Department’s Clinical Skills Workbook (CSW).  

The MRP Department maintains affiliation agreements with multiple clinical facilities in order to provide our students with a wide variety of experiences.  Students are exposed to demanding practice settings which range from university centers to community hospitals.  The majority of these clinical sites are within easy driving distance of the University.

Equipment available through the current MRP clinical sites includes:

• Several linear accelerators and treatment delivery systems, many with image guidance and modulated arc therapy capabilities, and some with stereotactic capabilities (multiple vendors represented);

 

• Various CT simulators, some including image guidance and motion management capabilities, and a range of patient immobilization devices (multiple vendors represented);

 

• Many treatment planning workstations, including brachytherapy planning, and various contouring tools (multiple vendors represented);

 

• Various secondary-monitor-unit-check software packages and record-and-verify systems (multiple vendors represented);

 

• Various QA tools and beam data collection systems (multiple vendors represented);

 

• HDR and LDR brachytherapy delivery systems (multiple vendors represented);

 

• A large range of diagnostic equipment and corresponding QA tools, including radiographic stand-alone units, radiographic portable units, fluoroscopic stand-alone units, flouro/radiographic combined units, fluorscopic C-arm units, CT units, PET units, PET/CT units, digital mammography units, stereotactic mammography units, and MRI units (multiple vendors represented).