Therapeutic Medical Physicist; Advanced Level

Summary

This position is eligible for the Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP) – a student loan payment reimbursement program. You must meet specific eligibility requirements per VHA policy and submit your EDRP application within four months of appointment. Program Approval – award amount (up to $200,000) and eligibility period (one to five years) are determined by the VHA Education Loan Repayment Services program office after review of the EDRP application.

Former EDRP participants are ineligible to apply.

Applicants pending the completion of educational or certification/licensure requirements may be referred and tentatively selected but may not be hired until all requirements are met.

• United States Citizenship:
  Citizen of the United States
• (Non‑citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3 – section A – paragraph 3g – this part.) English Language Proficiency: TMPs must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) – and 7407(d)
• Education:
  
  Master’s degree or higher in a physics, science, or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics, health physics, radiological science, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology
• or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services
• Board Certification:
  Persons hired or reassigned to TMP positions in the VHA must be board certified in the field of therapeutic medical physics by an approved certifying body
• The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education
• Approved Certifying Bodies:
  • The American Board of Radiology (A ) in any of the following field titles:
    Therapeutic Medical Physics;
    Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics;
    Radiologic Physics or Radiological Physics
  • The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics
  • The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics
• Loss of Board Certification
  • Once board certified – TMPs must maintain a full – valid and unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment
  • Loss of board certification may result in termination of employment
• Grade Determinations: GS‑14 Therapeutic Medicalicist (Advanced Level)
• In addition to the basic requirements – completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade
• This experience may include but is not limited to: plans – delivers – verifies – and monitors quality assurance of radiotherapy at all levels of complexity
• Specific tasks include:
  • Recommending an optimal modality and treatment technique for the patient
  • Evaluating the quality – safety – and accuracy of radiation treatments planned and delivered to patients – thus ensuring that radiation dose is carried out correctly and completely
  • Safely operating all radiation planning and delivery devices
• The TMP implements radiation therapy of outstanding technical difficulty and responsibility – providing knowledge‑based solutions to resolving issues where no rule‑based solutions exist
• The employee plans and directs a specialized program encompassing all physics and clinical aspects of external beam and brachytherapy treatment procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery
• The TMP provides technical oversight for the work of entry‑level TMPs, medical dosimetrists, and radiation therapists
• The incumbent oversees radiation therapy treatment planning, designs and approves treatment plans, monitors the accuracy of treatment data recorded in the patient's medical records, provides consultation to the radiation oncologist regarding difficult treatment cases, performs patient‑specific treatment validation measurements, and develops medical physics policies and procedures for the delivery and quality assessment of advanced treatment modalities such as intensity‑modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation…