Medical Physics Residency | Radiation Oncology | UC Davis Health

The first year consists of:

• Three Treatment Planning Rotations (Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced)
• One Clinical Physics Rotation (Basic) and specific quality assurance (QA) assignments (Basic, Intermediate)

Each rotation consists of (a) assigned tasks (observe/do/check/ repeat until sign-off) that are closely supervised; (b) assigned readings; and (c) feed back/evaluation.  The QA assignments are done with an assigned physicist and training is geared toward becoming fully credentialed in all QA procedures on the dosimetry instrumentation, treatment machines, CT-simulator, and planning systems by the end of the first year.

The second year consists of:

• Five Clinical Physics Rotations (Elekta Linac, Tomo Brachy LDR/HDR, Gamma Knife and SBRT, Special; Areas)
• Specific quality assurance (QA) assignments (Advanced)
• An assigned special project

The successful physics resident is given more responsibility (but always under the direct supervision of a faculty/staff physicist). The second year resident is asked to be more at the front line interfacing directly with physicians, therapists, dosimetrists, clinical engineers, IS staff and working with the attending physicists. This helps the physics resident develop confidence and continue development of the necessary skills and experience to be prepared for independent clinical physics practice by the end of the residency program.

It should also be understood that every effort is made to include the resident into acceptance testing and commissioning of any new simulation, treatment planning, treatment delivery, and localization systems implemented in the UC Davis radiation therapy clinic.

Physics residents participate in all department conferences in which the physics faculty is expected to attend.  These include:

• New Patient Simulation Conference
• Chart Rounds QA Review Conference
• Residents Physics Seminars
• Treatment Planning Conference
• Physics and Physician Journal Clubs

For the Residents Physics Seminars, the physics resident is assigned topics for two seminar presentations each year. The physics resident, working closely with an assigned physicist/dosimetrist advisory team, is expected to prepare a detailed PowerPoint handout on the assigned topic with a well researched bibliography that contains both "classic" papers and "state-of-the-art" references.

During the two-year period, the physics resident will receive didactic instruction in the following areas:

• Basic Radiological Physics
• Radiation Physics Instrumentation
• Mathematics pertaining to Use and Measurement of Radioactivity
• Imaging for Planning and Localization
• External Beam Radiation Oncology Physics
• Advanced Special Procedures (e.g. TBI, TSET, IMRT, SBRT, SRS)
• Brachytherapy Physics          
• Radiation Safety/Protection      
• Radiation Biology
• Clinical Radiation Oncology
• Statistics

The formal Physics Course lectures are given twice a week, utilizing the textbook by Faiz Khan, "Radiation Therapy Physics", 4th Edition, published by Williams and Wilkins. It is supplemented by handouts provided by the lecturer. Homework is assigned and reviewed at assigned sessions; mid-term and final exams (RAPHEX) are given. 

The formal Radiation Biology Course is based on the 2015 ASTRO syllabus and utilizes the textbook by Eric Hall, "Radiation Biology for the Radiologist", 4th Edition, published by J.P. Lippincott. It is supplemented by handouts provided by the lecturer. Physics residents must pass a final exam for this course to complete their residency training program.

The Clinical Didactic Lecture series is conducted twice a week to cover material from the textbook by Perez and Brady, "Principles and Practice of Radiation Oncology", 5th edition, published by J.P. Lippincott. 

The physics resident is exposed to instruction in anatomy and physiology while attending the weekly clinic conferences. These conferences provide the resident exposure to a considerable number of patient related case management discussions involving the use of simulation images, portal images (KV and MV), CT scans, MR scans, and PET scans in which anatomical and physiological issues are discussed. In addition, we are a fully image based CT-simulation/planning clinic having no conventional simulator. The image-based virtual simulation procedure provides the physics resident with a rich experience in radiologic anatomy. In addition, the physics resident prepares at least six detailed reports for selected disease sites that review pertinent anatomy (critical organs at risk, target volumes including nodal regions), oncology aspects, and related technical treatment considerations (immobilization/reposition, modality/beam arrangements, doses, tolerance doses). Each report is reviewed by the Physics Residency Director and if necessary updated by the resident until final approval is obtained.

New physics residents are provided a two-day orientation lecture series followed by a two-week rotation in the CT-simulator and treatment planning areas at the beginning of their training. 

This is followed by an intense two-week instruction on fundamentals of treatment planning and current UC Davis Policy & Procedures (P&Ps) for treatment planning by the medical dosimetrists. 

In addition, the Program Director, Associate Director and Chief Dosimetrist meet with each new resident once a week to ensure the incoming resident clearly understands the program's requirements, resident administrative procedures, conference and didactic lecture schedules, and any other pertinent information. At this meeting, the resident is made aware of program resources, including treatment machines, treatment planning facilities, dosimetry laboratories, and libraries.

Program leadership includes the Program Director, Associate Director, and Chief Dosimetrist which meets monthly with each resident to review training assignments, assess progress, and adjust rotations as needed. Residents submit a written monthly report summarizing clinical activities, procedures performed, educational participation, and plans for the upcoming month. Progress in credentialing, presentations, projects, and scholarly work is also reviewed during these meetings.

By the end of the first year, residents are expected to function as junior physicists under supervision, performing routine machine calibration and quality assurance, treatment planning, brachytherapy procedures, patient‑specific QA, chart reviews, and radiation safety tasks.

By the completion of the second year, residents are expected to independently perform the full scope of clinical radiation oncology physics responsibilities, including advanced treatment planning, machine calibration, plan review, chart checks, clinical consultations, and patient‑related dosimetry.Near the end of each training year, residents complete an oral examination modeled after board certification exams. Residents who do not pass are placed on probation with targeted remediation and re‑examined. Failure to pass the second examination may result in dismissal in accordance with UC Davis policies.