There are different branches of medical physics, so what we do can vary considerably. And even within a branch there can be considerable diversity.
The majority of clinical
medical physicists work in radiation therapy. This work involves:
- treatment planning
- usually problem solving in the difficult plans,
- verification of plans,
- procedure development,
- algorithm commissioning and even development
- monitoring dose
- developing and implementing new techniques
- developing and maintaining quality assurance programs for radiation devices (such as linear accelerators, brachytherapy machines, radiosurgery units, CT-simulators, integrated imaging systems, etc.) as well as associated equipment
- commissioning of new equipment
- pre-purchase evaluation
- acceptance testing
- characterising and defining operational parameters
- calibration
- radiation protection and safety
- facility design
- dose monitoring
- teaching
- supervising adherence to relevant legislation
Academically speaking many
medical physicists are also involved in research, where the projects can be quite diverse (everything from clinical trials to solid state physics research)as well as teaching (medical physics students, physicians, radiation therapists, dosimetrists, nurses, etc.).