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Connecting with Medical Physicists: Tips for Shadowing and Networking
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[QUOTE="Choppy, post: 5503202, member: 127425"] Hi Tenel, You could try a more academic route. Are there any [URL='http://www.campep.org/campeplstgrad.asp']graduate programs in medical physics [/URL]near where you are? They might be a little more open to having a student come in and check out their program, and have contacts with clinical physicists in the area. Another option is to become a [URL='http://www.aapm.org/memb/prospect/Student_Application.asp']student member of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine[/URL], and you would have access to their directory. I'm not sure if it's searchable by location, although I suppose you could download the PDF and search the text for cities accessible to you. You could also just try calling the hospitals and ask if there's a medical physics department or a [URL='https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/become-medical-physicist-3653-easy-steps/']medical physicist[/URL]. In smaller places, the [URL='https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/become-medical-physicist-3653-easy-steps/']medical physicist[/URL]s are often under the umbrella of radiation oncology. (Note that it's not radiology. While there are [URL='https://www.physicsforums.com/insights/become-medical-physicist-3653-easy-steps/']medical physicist[/URL]s in diagnostic imaging, they are fewer and further between and most radiology departments will not have one on staff.) If you shadow a clinical physicist in radiation oncology, it's difficult to say exactly what you would see. They would likely show you a linear accelerator, and the various devices that are used for the quality control measurements that are performed on it (ion chambers, diode arrays, imaging phantoms, etc.). If there's one currently being repaired you might get to see the insides. They would probably take you through the CT simulator as well. In a larger department you might also see a PET scanner or an MRI. You could see a treatment plan being developed or assessed. Some physicists take part in brachytherapy or inter-operative radiation therapy procedures. I think it would be unlikely that a student would be allowed to see a surgical procedure like that, but not completely out of the question. They might show you other devices for measuring dose like TLDs or OSLDs or diodes, which can be placed on a patient's skin. The might go through some of the software used by the department too. You would most likely get an earful of whatever clinical projects are currently being worked on. Note that in some places, non-employees are not allowed to see patients or patient information to protect privacy, so you might not get to see too much unless you arrange something after clinical hours. [/QUOTE]
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