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: I am applying to Duke, Columbia, and Georgia Tech programs now. What are the advantages of each program?
Response 1: For graduate school? The user did the open house and interviewed at Duke right before COVID shut everything down. The campus is nice, the city is nice, and there is basketball if the user likes that. The classrooms were only a short walk to the clinic. They have a lot of research options. It is mentioned that Duke's biggest strength is its alumni network. They also mention being partnered with Siemens, which has a site in Durham NC. Some non-Medical physics students have complained that it was hard for them to get time at the hospital due to COVID.
Comment 2: Does one day medical physics shadowing is worth it to be understanding the role of medical physics or does the user need at least one month? Thank you.
Response 1: The advice given is to shadow as often as possible. It is mentioned that a lot can be learned in a day, but to truly understand the role of the medical physicist, prolonged exposure is necessary. It is also mentioned that it is impossible to see everything a medical physicist's job entails in just one day, as it is a multifaceted profession with many responsibilities.
Response 2: Another user shares their experience of shadowing for a day and realizing throughout grad school that they had no idea what was going on during their shadow day. They mention that it was too much information to take in all at once.
Response 3: The user personally feels that shadowing is mostly beneficial for individuals to see and understand the field they are potentially interested in. They do not think it should give anyone an advantage in applications other than having a slightly higher chance of sticking with things because they already know what to expect.
Comment 3: When should we expect the residency interview invites?
Response 1: The user's program will do preliminary interviews in early-January and full interviews for the selected candidates in early-February.
Response 2: Another user mentions receiving an email from Texas Oncology stating that they will be notified in late January.
Comment 4: Do medical physicists get their own offices? I was just wondering if they get as much facilities as doctors and administrators.
Response 1: The user mentions having their own office but not being able to spend much time in it.
Comment 5: Is it worth going straight into a medical physics master's or is it worth working as an imaging tech and then going into a master's for medical physics? The user is wondering because they don't have any experience coming out of their bachelor's in physics.
Response 1: The user advises going straight into medical physics if the user knows they want to pursue it. They mention that most rad tech programs in the US are typically two years, so unless the user is still unsure about becoming a medical physicist, going that route would be a waste of time in their opinion.
Response 2: Another user shares their experience of going straight from a physics bachelor's to grad school for medical physics with almost no experience or knowledge of the field. They mention having no issues getting residency or a job.
Response 3: The user adds that it wouldn't hurt to have some related field experience, but they don't think it will really help either.
Comment 6: 2 brand new MS programs are Brown University and Washington University (St Louis). Is there anyone here that works with either of those programs that can speak on how much clinical experience they offer?
Response 1: The user advises doing graduate work in a CAMPEP program, as clinical work follows in residency. They provide a link to CAMPEP's website.
Response 2: Another user mentions that Sun Nuclear Corp hires IT support for their products that require no travel, as they usually send actual physicists out for training. They also mention reasonable travel rates if the user has a travel role.
Response 3: The user suggests considering jobs that involve some travel, as their current position stated "25% travel" but they only traveled one or two weeks out of the year. They mention that most jobs in the industry require some travel, even if it's just for one or two annual meetings.
Comment 7: The user is a 2nd-year MPhil Medical Physics student in Ghana and wants to find out more about Medical Physics residency programs in the US, Canada, or UK and if they would be eligible to apply from Ghana.
Response 1: The user provides a link to the AAPM website for more information. They mention that for the US and Canada, it is suggested to consider a PhD first in an accredited school. They recommend going through previous editions of Tuesday's posts for more details.
Original URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/rg5zse/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/