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.
Comment 1:
Hey all older career changer here. Would you consider 38 too old to apply to DMP programs? Is this a career one could work into their 70’s since it’s not overly physically demanding? Any advice or info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Comment 2:
Does anyone know which PhD programs have the highest number of grads matching into residency?
Response 1:
I don't know of a master list out there but all CAMPEP programs are required to post their graduation and match statistics. You could go through and make an excel sheet to record the last several years of programs you are interested in or all PhD programs out there. CAMPEP will have a list of all accredited programs and the match site will have all programs participating in the match to help you narrow it down.
Comment 3:
I was just accepted to Georgia Tech's Distance Learning Medical Physics Program. Besides getting good grades, studying for and passing part one, and continuing my current job as a medical physics assistant, what can/should I do to help secure a residency when I'm done? I feel at a disadvantage since I will not be in the clinic on campus.
Response 1:
I don't think you'll be at a disadvantage since you are already getting way more clinical experience than the campus students assuming you are a full-time employee. Just try your best to make the most out of your work experience. For instance, don't just follow directions blindly and try to understand the processes that you're working with. I think that will be very beneficial for residency apps later. Participating in research, if possible, will also help.
Comment 4:
Is there a lot of theoretical work being done in medical physics, and if so, is it the traditional physics PhDs or the medical physicists doing this work?
Comment 5:
I have joined bsc biotechnology program with biotechnology and physics as my majors from NZ. Can I become a medical physicist? If yes then can you outline a path for me preferably NZ or Australia based?
Thank you so much.
Comment 6:
Does Thomas Jefferson University still have an MS program?? Their website is not very informative and there’s only data from 2020 and this year
Response 1:
That's because their program started in 2020 I believe.
Comment 7:
At what age would you consider a cutoff for going to school for medical physics?
Response 1:
Depends on how far along you are in terms of prerequisites and whether you’d do MS or PhD. Also depends on what you mean by “cutoff.” To me that would mean it makes financial sense, but that’s obviously not the end all.
Late 30s is probably where entering the pipeline would require some unusual circumstances to be viable; late 40s is probably where it isn’t justifiable on a strict debits and credits basis.
I suspect you’d have difficulty finding a residency in your 40s, however. Which is an entirely different cutoff.
Response 2:
Why would you have trouble finding a residency in your 40’s?
Response 3:
Like 60, older if u have a phd already
Comment 8:
What is the difference between DMP and MS + residency programs?
Response 1:
When you enroll in a DMP program you enroll in a 4-year program. The first 2 years are essentially your MS degree, and the second 2 years are your residency. With a DMP, once you get admitted, you've guaranteed yourself a residency position.
Getting a residency is the most competitive part of the career.
However, with a DMP, you pay tuition for all 4 years. You're basically paying the institution to do a residency.
Contrast this with an MS + residency: MS is 2 years that you pay for (although there are a handful of programs that you can earn a stipend or get your tuition covered). If you match to a residency, then you are paid around $55k per year. The downside is it's not guaranteed to match, and some people don't match.
After you finish your residency or your DMP, the pathway to get board certified is identical. At that point, it doesn't matter how you got through a residency, just that you graduated one.
Response 2:
All the numbers in your comment added up to 69. Congrats!
4 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 55 + = 69.0
Response 3:
Nice. Good bot.
Response 4:
Nice.
Response 5:
Nice.
Original URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/ql1p4j/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/
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