What is Medical physicist: Definition and 28 Discussions

A medical physicist is a professional who applies the principles and methods of both physics and medicine. They focus on the areas of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, as well as ensuring quality services and prevention of risks to the patients, and members of the public in general. A medical physicist plays a fundamental role in applying physics to medicine, but particularly in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The scientific and technological progress in medical physics has led to a variety of skills that must be integrated into the role of a medical physicist in order for them to perform their job. The "medical services" provided to patients undergoing diagnostic and therapeutic treatments must, therefore, be the result of different but complementary skills.

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  1. cemtu

    Other Would you recommend Khan's Treatment Planning book? (Radiation Oncology)

    I know that everybody is using the "Physics of Radiotherapy" book of Khan but would you recommend his treatment book also? The book's full name is "Khan’s Treatment Planning in Radiation Oncology" What are your thoughts?
  2. JordanBolds

    Physics From biomedical engineering to bio-physics to medical physicist

    Hi everyone! I am also very new to this PhysicsForm site, hopefully I am not interrupting any conversation with this question. I have been thinking about switching from biomedical engineering to bio-physics as an undergrad degree with aspirations of eventually becoming a medical physicist. I do...
  3. M

    Programs I'm a medical physicist, how can I get into astronomy/astrophysics?

    Hi, I'm a recently graduated medical physicist (currently also working as a medical physicist) and I still have a thirst for physics, especially astronomy and astrophysics which are my hobbies. The problem is that we were only taught pure physics and mathematics during the first 2 years of our...
  4. Volatile_Miniworld

    Job Skills Astronomer to Med Physicist or Dosimetrist - UK or US

    Well, I have a bit of a complicated situation and I'd love some advice. I'm a US/UK citizen living and working in London, UK at the moment. My husband and I are currently looking at moving back to the US in 2-3 years. My background is in physics/astrophysics - B.S. Physics (Maths minor) from a...
  5. K

    Programs Radiation Therapist to Medical Dosimetrist or Physicist

    Hello! I’m currently in the process of earning my bachelors of science in radiation therapy. I plan to get my masters in dosimetry, but I was wondering if anyone know if it was possible for a medical dosimetrist to advance their career by earning their PhD in medical physics. Essentially, I’m...
  6. BigPapaSmurf123

    Physics How to become a Certified Medical Physicist in the UK?

    Hello there! I am currently studying Astrophysics (3rd year) in Scotland and would like to shift my premature career path into medical physics. Now, I have few questions that I cannot answer online so I though it would be better to do it here. Here we go.. My question is how to actually...
  7. W

    Can a dosimetrist with an M.S. become a medical physicist PhD?

    Hi, I am new here and I am pursuing a BS in radiation therapy and I am planning on becoming a Dosimetrist hopefully sometime in the future and I am wondering if a dosimetrist can become a medical physicist? has it been done before and how would the process look like? hard/easy? any alternative...
  8. T

    Physics Medical physicist thinking of moving to US

    Hi all, I'm just home from a trip around the US and I've fallen in love with some of the beach towns just south of LA. I'm currently working as a medical physicist in Ireland. Two years ago I completed the UK medical physics training scheme and have UK state registration. Having done a search...
  9. H

    Medical Physics Education Advice

    Hi Everyone, I am currently going through the interview process for several medical physics M.S. programs. I have a very hard time getting a read on how various programs compare. I was hoping that any of you with academic or professional experience in the field could give some advice. As of...
  10. T

    Physics Connecting with Medical Physicists: Tips for Shadowing and Networking

    Hi, I've recently graduated with a BS degree in applied physics and I'm interested in pursing medical physics. I'm currently looking for medical physicists to shadow and I haven't been able to find any. I know that hospitals that have radiology oncology departments are likely to employ...
  11. M

    Exploring a Career as a Medical Physicist: Requirements & Benefits

    i am looking for more information on the career of a medical physicist.. is the best route to go getting an undergrad in physics & then going on for a ph.d in medical physics or is there a better way to go? What all can you do with the ph.d? Also, around how long does it take before you start...
  12. K

    Physics Working as a Medical Physicist in Australia

    Hallo everyone, I am a new member at Physics Forums. I am considering immigrating with my family to Australia and work as a Medical Physicist. My bachelor degree is in Physics and I have MSc and PhD in Medical Physics. I am currently working in Greece as a medical physicist (for the last 14...
  13. C

    Physics How to Become a Medical Physicist in 3653 Easy Steps - Comments

    Choppy submitted a new PF Insights post How to Become a Medical Physicist in 3653 Easy Steps Continue reading the Original PF Insights Post.
  14. D

    Physics Medical Physicist jobs, with UK certification.

    Hi, I have dual citizenship, UK and US, and I have done my degree (Bsc and Msc) at UK universities. As well as 3 years of working as a radiotherapy physicist at a UK hospital. I am looking at moving back to the US so long as I can get a job in my field. Does anybody know what...
  15. H

    Physics What Is the Job Outlook for Medical Physicists in Hawaii?

    Hello! I got my BS in Physics last May and recently decided I would like to pursue medical physics. I've looked up a ton of information on it already (grad programs, CAMPEP certification, residencies, etc.) I know there is varying opinion on job outlook also. My real concern is I am planning on...
  16. N

    Physics Medical Physicist resident from Australia

    Medical Physicist "resident" from Australia Hi everybody, I'm looking for advice with regards to moving to North America, particularly Canada, and becoming a medical physicist. I am Canadian, born and raised. I earned my B.Sc. in Canada (McMaster's non-CAMPEP radiation physics program), but...
  17. G

    Physics Medical physicist from Canada to US

    I'm brand new to the forum, but have read all medphys treads I could find before signing up. I'm Canadian, with an MSc in medical physics from a CAMPEP accredited program, also residency and CCMP certification, plus more than five years experience in a large university hospital. I'm ready to...
  18. I

    Physics Working as a medical physicist in the U.S

    I am currently studying in India . I am almost done with my Master in medical physics. After i finish i want to work in the U.S as a medical physicist. But i think it is not possible , because , first of all , my university is not CAMPEP accredited. But can anyone tell me , if I want to work...
  19. R

    If you were a medical physicist?

    My prof gave this kind of situation: "Radioiodine therapy has been frequently used to help treat malignancies in the thyroid gland. Assume that a patient was administered 9GBq of I-131, and 27 hours later the patient suffered a cardiac arrest and died. If you were the medical physicist of the...
  20. J

    Medical Physicist vs Medical image processing?

    Hey guys, Im 2nd year undergrad majoring in Medical Physics and Imaging Tech. This week we got a presentation from the graduates of my course and was told that the chance of getting into the field is very very small, specifically the hospital physicst and actually advised us to think of other...
  21. L

    Physics Medical physicist career advice

    I am pursuing a career in Medical physics. I have heard that starting 2012, people who earn MS or Phd in medical physics are required to go through 2 year medical residency for board certification. I was wondering how much can we expect to get paid during medical residency? With masters degree...
  22. R

    Engineering Medical Physicist or Biomedical engineer

    My daughter is 15 years old and soon to be 10th grader. She's considering what career field to go into. So far she's been looking at Pharmacist, Medical Physicist and Biomedical Engineer. She doesn't care for the memorization in Biology, thought that Honors Chem was okay, will be doing AP...
  23. D

    Physics Standard Medical Physicist Interview Q&A's

    Thoughts on this?
  24. O

    Physics Medical Physicist Job Outlook (USA)

    I'm new to this forum. I have a M.S. degree in Physics, 5 years clinical experience and seem to have great difficulty finding a job in the field. My impression is that the field is oversaturated with applicants. I don't think I could recommend this occupation to anyone. I have other thoughts...
  25. P

    Physics Medical Dosimetrist vs. Medical Physicist?

    Hi all, I am a senior undergrad who is interested in going into either dosimetry or medical physics, but cannot decide which. I would like to get some input from both dosimetrists and medical physicists to help me out! What do you like and don't like about your job? If you were to "do it all...
  26. Raioneru

    Medical Physicist or Oncologist

    Hello, my name is Lio and I'm new on the forum. I writing because I currently pursuing a Bachelors degree in Physics. and I initially wanted to get a Masters degree in Medical Physics. but i got intrigued by one profession: oncology I looked into it but so far I can't really see the...
  27. S

    Medical Physicists in Healthcare Settings: Pros/Cons

    Are there any medical physicists here? I am trying to decide between a career as a medical physicist or as a nuclear medicine physician (I just finished my undergrad in chemistry, so I think I can still go either way). I think I'm more interested in the physics side of things than the medicine...
  28. R

    Getting started as a medical physicist questions

    Hi all, I just discovered this forum in my quest to find answers to some questions I have about getting started in the field of medical physics. I am going to finish my MS in Physics in about a year. I've become interested in medical physics recently after realizing, over the course of a...
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