Radiation Physics Residency

Overview

The CAMPEP-accredited Physics Residency Program in Radiation Oncology at Cleveland Clinic is a two-year training program. It was established in July 2009 under the direction of Ping Xia, PhD, Head of Medical Physics in the Department of Radiation Oncology. 

• The two years are dedicated to hands-on clinical physics training for physicists having a graduate degree. Didactic lectures and seminars are part of the program in order to provide additional teaching of clinical radiation oncology.

The comprehensive program is equipped with the latest radiotherapy and radiosurgery technology related to: intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), Gamma Knife Radiosurgery, stereotactic body radiotherapy (lung, spine), permanent prostate seed brachytherapy, total body irradiation, high dose rate brachytherapy for gynecologic malignancies, radioimmunotherapy, and intraoperative radiation.

Residents, under the supervision of medical physicists and other healthcare professionals, will participate in the routine clinical duties of a radiation oncology physicist. At the conclusion of the program, residents will be able to demonstrate competency in all areas of radiation oncology physics and will be considered prepared/eligible to take the certification examination of the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Radiology Physics.

Organizational Structure

Cleveland Clinic's Department of Radiation Oncology is an established program within a NCI-designated Cancer Center. The Department currently has seven service sites: at main campus and at eight of the regional hospitals. Clinical training is currently provided at the main campus and at one regional hospital (Hillcrest).

All physics residents will report to the Physics Residency Program Director and to the Head of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology. The Physics Education Committee oversees the operation and the evaluation of the program. The physics residents are appointed by Cleveland Clinic Graduate Medical Education and receive an equivalent benefits package as the medical residents in clinical radiation oncology. In addition to regular teaching conferences, seminars, journal clubs and chart rounds, physics residents will have the opportunity to attend all of the courses offered by the department, including a year-round radiation physics course offered to medical residents. The physics resident can also take graduate courses offered by the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University, where Cleveland Clinic is partnered for a Masters Degree/Certificate program in Medical Physics.

Training

Program Completion Requirements

Cleveland Clinic residency training program follows the “Essentials and Guidelines for Hospital Based Medical Physics Residency Training Programs” as outlined in AAPM Report #90. Upon completion of the program, the residents are expected to demonstrate competency in practicing fundamental clinical radiation oncology physics procedures and to have a comprehensive understanding of all clinical topics in radiation oncology physics. The residents are expected to be prepared to pass the American Board of Radiology exams. For this, 24 months of clinical training and education is provided.

Clinical Rotations

The residents work closely with faculty physicists and clinical staff in the Radiation Oncology Department. Each resident participates in clinical procedures and QA measurements. The resident will follow a clinical rotation schedule, and each rotation consists of several clinical modules with defined goals and evaluation methods. Competency in every clinical module must be demonstrated, and each resident's performance will be evaluated by the teaching faculty at the completion of each year. Written reports, written exams, and oral exams are included in the evaluation.

Oral exams

Total of 8 oral exams:

• At the end of rotation "Introduction"
• At the end of rotation "Dosimetry-3D"
• At the end of rotation "Dosimetry-IMRT"
• At the end of rotation "SBRT"
• At the end of rotation "Brachy"
• At the end of rotation "Gamma Knife"
• At the end of 1-year (ABR-part 3 exam format)
• At the end of 2 year (ABR-part 3 exam format)

Didactic Education

Besides formal coursework, all residents will be encouraged to attend departmental and regional AAPM conferences. This is designed to help the residents to develop knowledge of routine clinical operations in radiation oncology physics. These conferences include weekly chart rounds, cancer center grand rounds, visiting professors lectures, radiation safety in-services, bi-weekly radiation oncology physics research meeting and journal club. At the discretion of the Physics Education Committee, residents will have the opportunity to attend refresher courses offered at the AAPM annual meetings, AAPM summer school, and ASTRO annual meetings, etc.

Other Education

Any resident accepted into the program must satisfactorily have completed, or will complete, the appropriate courses required by the American Board of Radiology. If courses are required, the program duration increases correspondingly.

Graduation

Upon completion of the program, a certificate will be awarded subject to the following requirements:

1. Satisfactory completion of clinical rotations as documented in the rotation evaluation form, with all checklists signed by the supervising physicist and Physics Residency Program Director.
2. Satisfactory completion of Cleveland Clinic’s mandated on-line medical education courses (COMET).
3. Preparation and presentation of at least two talks each year on clinical medical physics procedures.
4. Satisfactory attendance in all required clinical and medical physics courses, seminars and conferences including medical physics seminars, radiation safety in-services, chart rounds, and clinical morning conferences.
5. Successfully passing end-of-year examinations as outlined by the Physics Education Committee.

Benefits

Highlights:

• Vacation: 15 days (3 weeks) per year plus a variable number of meeting days and institutional holidays.
• Office space: Each resident has a personal desk space with a laptop and dual monitor computer which has access to patient information and the Internet.
• Pagers: Cleveland Clinic has a text paging system.
• Cleveland Clinic iPhone: Each resident receives a Cleveland Clinic issued iPhone from the start to end of your residency.
• Benefits: All benefits offered to residents and fellows are developed and implemented by Cleveland Clinic’s Graduate Medical Education Council (GMEC). Learn more.

Applying

We are seeking candidates with a PhD/MS in Medical Physics, Physics, or related fields for two medical physics resident positions. The physics residents will work with a team of physicists and dosimetrists to be trained in all aspects of clinical radiation therapy physics. This position is designed to include two years of clinical training with optional 1-year research.

Candidates must have a PhD/MS degree from CAMPEP accredited graduate programs in medical physics, or have a PhD degree in physics, biophysics, radiological sciences, engineering, or a related field and have completed a CAMPEP-accredited certificate diploma. Candidate applications will be reviewed by the Physics Education Committee. The selected applicants will be interviewed via telephone by the program director and/or designated committee members and then invited for a virtual interview. The physics faculty will rank the candidates interviewed who will be notified about the admission decision in a timely fashion.

It is the continuing policy of Cleveland Clinic that all terms and conditions of employment, including but not necessarily limited to, recruitment, appointment, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfers, training, education, and social and recreational programs will be administered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, national origin or ancestry, disability, or status as a disabled or Vietnam-era veteran.

Residents

Current Physics Residents

• Haiqa Arain, MS – July 2024 - June 2026 (2 years Clinical Training)
• Farhang Bayat, PhD – July 2024 - June 2026 (2 years Clinical Training)
• Andrew Hadfield, MS – July 2024 - June 2026 (2 years Clinical Training)
• Casey McGrath, MS – July 2025 - June 2027 (2 years Clinical Training)
• Alexander Niver, MS – July 2025 - June 2027 (2 years Clinical Training)

Medical Physics Resident Program Statistics

Previous Physics Residents

More Info

You may obtain additional information about the Radiation Physics Residency Program by contacting:

Aylin Correa
Program Coordinator
Radiation Oncology (CA-50)
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
9500 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44195
Phone: 216.445.4379
Email: correaa5@ccf.org