This is the place to ask questions about graduate school, training programs, or general basic career topics. If you are just learning about the field and want to know if it is something you should explore, this thread is probably the correct place for those first few questions on your mind.
If the user were to do a residency overseas (so no CAMPEP accreditation), how hard will it be to find a job in the US/Canada? The user is thinking of doing a residency program in their home country and working for a few years as a medical physicist but wants to be open to immigration since their partner wishes to do post-grad in the future.
It is impossible for the user to get a board certified job with their current credentials.
- So the user can apply for a job in the states as long as they pass the abr? Are the exams for this certification in person or online so they can take it halfway around the world? Also, do other countries like Canada or Australia and New Zealand have similar certifications?
Some industry jobs don't require ABR certification. On the therapy side, think linac, TPS, and QA software vendors. But to work in the clinic, board certification is pretty much always required.
- The user can't board the abr unless they've taken a CAMPEP accredited graduate program (PhD, post-phd certificate usually for one year, or masters degree) which is fairly easy to get into but time consuming. Then they have to get into (very hard) and complete (2-3 years) a residency program.
How hard is it to get into a residency program nowadays?
How open is the field to older candidates? The user is looking into a career change from control systems in the oil and gas industry. Realistically, they'll be about 40 at the earliest that they could complete a program. Is Medical Physics an option worth exploring or is this a young person's game?
The user went to school with people in their 30s/40s. If they can get into a quality program with good residency match rates, they will be fine. Just be aware they will need the equivalent of a minor in physics to get into a program.
- Yeah, the user's BS is in math with a couple physics courses, but not a minor. Picking up a few more would be a good brush up on the math for them.
When it comes to undergraduate degree, is a BA seen as unfavorable compared to a BS in physics? The user has switched their major pretty late and it would take them about 2 years to complete the BS and 3 more years to finally be in a program (if they get in). A BA degree will only cost them one more year and then they will be able to enroll for the following year (if they get in). Thanks!
As a medical physicist with a BA in Physics, the user does not feel as though it put them at any sort of a competitive disadvantage. They went to grad school of choice, matched with their first choice of residency, etc. They advise the user to do their due diligence and they should be fine.
- It shouldn't matter. What matters is which classes the user takes. In the US, to enter a CAMPEP-accredited graduate program, they need to have taken a number of prerequisites, including quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism, among others. Typically coursework equivalent to a minor in physics is appropriate for admission.
- Shouldn't matter.
- What? The user's Uni has a BA and a BS in physics. What's the difference?
The BA requires only 20-24 credits of core physics classes. The BS requires either 28 or 32 credits of physics courses. The user thinks the difference is just that BS is more helpful for someone seeking to pursue a PhD or masters in just Physics but they're not totally sure. They're very torn because they think the BS would make them a more competitive applicant but it would also take another year of their life.
- It definitely wouldn't be worth a whole another year of tuition the user thinks (unless they have a full ride scholarship). Anything that they need for prerequisites that is outside of the BA they can just take on its own. They'll be fine with a BA (the user was).
Original URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/p61ht9/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/