What does a medical physicist do?
A Medical Physicist develops and tests new systems to help investigate patients' conditions. They work for hospitals, diagnostic or medical instrumentation manufactures, or universities.
Medical physicist responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real medical physicist resumes:
- Manage patient charts in MOSAIQ record and verify system.
- Involve in the quality control of radiation therapy, nuclear medicine and diagnostic radiology equipment.
- Develop daily, monthly, and annual QA protocols for IGRT involving MRI according to AAPM
- Implement policies, procedures, and QA for SBRT and VMAT.
- Develop 3D, IMRT, and VMAT external beam treatment plans using Eclipse/Aria version 11.0.
- Train with the latest technology in the battle against cancer using Teletherapy, CBCT, SRS, and Brachytherapy.
- Assist with SRS and TBI.
- Perform QA on the linac and PET/CT scanner.
- Train others in proton planning.
- Perform SBRT treatment planning and QA.
- Develop patient plans including3D-CRT and IMRT.
- Plan preoperative LDR seed implants using Variseed.
- Eclipse RapidArc treatment planning, Varian VS2000 HDR ,
- Assist with clinical implementation of IMRT and IGRT.
- Perform HDR, SRS and prostate implant treatment planning.
Medical physicist skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Medical Physicists are proficient in Patients, Oncology, and Radiology. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Communication skills, and Critical-thinking skills.
We break down the percentage of Medical Physicists that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 16%
Dose verification of radiotherapy patients with P-type silicon diodes.
- Oncology, 9%
Provided departmental medical physics support for the Radiation Oncology Department and performed routine physics duties.
- Radiology, 7%
Assisted RSO with Diagnostic Radiology surveys, and with hospital radiation safety.
- Dosimetry, 6%
Participated in linear accelerator, information management software, network hardware, computer hardware, and dosimetry system purchasing.
- Radiation Therapy, 6%
Continued as member of ACR Radiation Therapy Accreditation Committee and site surveyor.
- Radiation Safety, 6%
Attended hospital's radiation safety committee meetings and participated in its annual continuous education program.
"patients," "oncology," and "radiology" are among the most common skills that medical physicists use at work. You can find even more medical physicist responsibilities below, including:
Communication skills. Many medical physicist duties rely on communication skills. "physicists and astronomers present their research at conferences, to the public, and to others," so a medical physicist will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways medical physicist responsibilities rely on communication skills: "helped the therapists where needed accomplishments i improved my communication skills between not only the patients but also with other therapists. "
Critical-thinking skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of medical physicists is critical-thinking skills. This skill is critical to many everyday medical physicist duties, as "physicists and astronomers need to think logically in carrying out scientific experiments and studies." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "delivered prescribed dose of radiation therapy by applying problem-solving/critical-thinking skills in the administration of treatment protocols, tumor localization and dosimetry. "
Math skills. A big part of what medical physicists do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to medical physicist responsibilities because "physicists and astronomers do calculations involving calculus, geometry, algebra, and other areas of math." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical medical physicist tasks: "measure and read x-ray films, and apply mathematical calculations. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for medical physicist responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of medical physicists all the time, as "physicists and astronomers use scientific observation and analysis, as well as creative thinking, to solve problems." An excerpt from a real medical physicist resume shows how this skill is central to what a medical physicist does: "utilized brief solution focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectal behavioral therapy. "
The three companies that hire the most medical physicists are:
- Varian Medical Systems36 medical physicists jobs
- US Oncology Holdings Inc14 medical physicists jobs
- PIH Health11 medical physicists jobs
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Compare different medical physicists
Medical physicist vs. Nuclear scientist
A radiation therapist is a medical professional who works in hospitals or cancer treatment centers and treats cancer and other diseases in patients by giving radiation treatments. Radiation therapists are required to explain the treatment plans to patients as well as conduct x-ray tests on patients to determine the exact location of the area that requires treatment. They must examine radiation machines to ensure that they are safe and working properly. Radiation therapists must also follow safety procedures to protect patients and themselves from overexposure.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, medical physicist responsibilities require skills like "patients," "oncology," "radiology," and "dosimetry." Meanwhile a typical nuclear scientist has skills in areas such as "data acquisition," "nuclear power," "emergency procedures," and "ans." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, nuclear scientists reach lower levels of education than medical physicists. Nuclear scientists are 23.7% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 6.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Medical physicist vs. Optical instrument specialist
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, medical physicist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "oncology," "radiology," and "dosimetry." Meanwhile, an optical instrument specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "fiber optic," "customer service," "schedule appointments," and "insurance benefits." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Optical instrument specialists earn lower levels of education than medical physicists in general. They're 40.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 6.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical physicist vs. Radiation therapist
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from medical physicist resumes include skills like "oncology," "radiology," "radiation therapy," and "radiation safety," whereas a radiation therapist is more likely to list skills in "patient care," "radiation oncologist," "patient treatment," and "treatment planning. "
Radiation therapists typically earn lower educational levels compared to medical physicists. Specifically, they're 37.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 14.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Medical physicist vs. Optical scientist
Types of medical physicist
Updated January 8, 2025
