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: Any one know how good KUMC residency is, I have read in Reddit that it wasn’t very residency friendly back in 2019, is it still like that. It’s also how good its reputation for residency training ?
Comment 2: I applied to a couple MedPhys programs for a PhD and didn't get accepted to any. Now I'm scrambling to figure out where to go and what to do to get some more research experience and apply again next year. Any tips on 1 year companies/paths that may be good experience before applying to grad school again?
Response 1: Hi, sadly the user can't give any advice, as they are only an undergrad themselves, but they could ask what the user's resume looked like, and which programs they applied to? And did they only apply to PhD or to masters as well?
Comment 3: ABR 3 question....this may sound stupid but I can't get a good read on this: do the examiners actually ask you questions or do you read them yourself off the screen in this new Zoom version?
Response 1: The user reads them themselves, then the examiners can ask clarifying questions or additional questions, so pretty much the same as when it was in-person.
Response 2: The number of questions on the screen varies some but there will be at least a couple. The examiners do interject whenever/whatever they want, and some will interject more than others. It's their job to keep the user on track time-wise, so they do guide the conversation to some degree. When the user took it last year, one examiner did specifically tell them to read then answer one question at a time but the rest let them do what they wanted, which was to read all the questions out loud first then start answering.
Response 3: Thanks a bunch for the details. It might not matter too much but the user feels like it's helpful to know the true format going in. They never understood why that isn't just spelled out by the board themselves.
Comment 4: Does anyone have any input on the feasibility of a "hybrid" option for the certificate option for people who already have a PhD? As the ideal example, completing coursework remotely and only going to the campus as necessary for exams, training, etc? There is a program a few hours from where the user lives and they have been mulling the idea of working on those courses while they finish their PhD. That is in advance!
Comment 5: The user knows a lot of the members here are active in universities and offer research internships for MS students in NY.
Response 1: The user wanted to ask that, 1. Do they find it difficult to hire a research intern if they are an international student in the first year? How does the CPT situation work out?
Response 2: If the user would like to apply for some of the internships that they have or any other clinical position, how will they apply in their first year of MS given no Work Authorization Permit except CPT.
Response 3: The user has some offers currently. One of the programs (Georgetown) is very new (accredited a year back) but has promised loads of clinical experience. Another one (Hofstra) is great in terms of residency match rates. Probably the best, given it offers only MS, which one should they take?
Comment 6: The user is an international student in the US and they got into an accredited MS program (with very good residency stats and clinical experience). Is it harder for international students to match with residencies given that they need to be on OPT status? Or do most residencies accept OPT?
Response 1: The user should be fine! Their list of places that they can apply to will shrink a bit from places that don't take OPT, but pretty much all universities take it. When the user went through the process (imaging track) they could apply to 15 out of around 23 schools/companies that took MS students. Companies can provide H1B visas, and universities too. Most universities just have the user on OPT as H1B can cost a bit of money, but there were a couple of places that said they would sponsor just in case. With OPT just bear in mind the start date and make sure to apply early so they won't have an issue.
Comment 7: Hello, the user is a medical physicist from the Philippines. They had worked for a company for almost 3 years that provides quality control services for medical imaging equipment (nuclear medicine and x-ray equipment) as well as shielding consultation services. The company that they worked for was an ISO Accredited body. They are hoping that these experiences may be able to put them onto some leverage that they are competent in studying and working abroad. They are interested in taking up a Ph.D. and, eventually, working in Canada or European countries such as Ireland. Hoping that they may get work in diagnostic MP (preferably, nuclear medicine). In line with this goal, they have some questions:
Response 1: In Canada, as far as the user is aware, the only Nuc. Med. MP training is UAlberta. There is definitely a weight overall towards Therapy. The user knows McGill has graduated one Imaging physicist recently, but they are a direct replacement of another imaging physicist that is nearing retirement, not a constant thing. Anything in Canada runs through CAMPEP and its requirements for MSC/certificate and residencies.
Comment 8: Hello. So the user was recently accepted to Kentucky's and Wayne State's Medical Physics MS programs and would appreciate some input choosing one based on their current circumstances and long-term goals.
Response 1: Pass your boards then if industry still is more appealing jump over to that.
Response 2: More context: - The user is in the diagnostic side of MP. - Both offers are from well-known and respected institutions. - Both teams are great! - Offers are competitive - Industry position might be more interesting (taking R&D to consumer product) and covers two modalities - Clinical position is standard diagnostic MP work without research effort
Comment 9: Hi everyone - the user is really interested in doing a masters in medical physics and they really want to shadow a medical physicist! They have a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in Nuclear Physics and have been interested in pursuing a masters in medical physics, and before they go that route, they'd like to get some shadowing experience to help with their application. Where can they find shadowing opportunities in Oregon? Thank you in advance for any connections, advice, or opportunities you can offer.
Response 1: The user has met some nice physicists (virtually) at OHSU and they seem to be very dedicated to educating future physicists. They may want to try them!
Response 2: Northwest Medical Physics Center (Lynwood, WA) has done paid summer internships in the past. Recently, Covid has thrown a wrench in that but they might look into if that is an option for them this summer.
Comment 10: Anyone know the general timeline for when UNLV makes decisions for their DMP program?
Comment 11: Hey everyone, the user is just looking for some input on grad school decisions. As of right now, they've been accepted to a PhD at Kentucky and an MS at Penn. Both don’t provide guaranteed funding/tuition waiver and with the difference in length both would be about the same cost overall. The user is kind of leaning towards UPenn right now since even with a PhD they’d most likely go clinical and they have great placement rates. And with an MS they would be able to get a job and start repaying loans 4ish years earlier than a PhD. The user is a little nervous about having to work during grad school to afford rent, groceries, etc. but again they’d rather do that for 2 years than 6. The user is just looking for some people’s thoughts on the situation and their thought process. Also if anyone has experience with Penn they’d love to hear about it. It seems like a great program but it’s the one where they’ve heard the least from alumni/current students. Thanks!
Response 1: The MS at Penn is much better than the PhD at Kentucky. IMHO, the user should choose Penn.
Response 2: For what it is worth, at least when the user applied Kentucky seemed to prefer to matriculate their students into their residency like LSU.
Response 3: Why not ask to do the MS at UK if that’s a worry for you?
Response 4: Tbh the user has thought about that. They’re not too sure how warmly it will be received to reach out after being accepted as a PhD student and asked to get it changed to an MS. They also don’t think Kentucky’s MS is thesis-based which they like about UPenn. Plus for some personal reasons Philadelphia is a bit of an easier choice logistically if the end result is an MS for both.
Response 5: Congrats on your acceptances! Could the user actually ask what their application looked like? They’re still a bit out from applying to grad school, but they’d appreciate a general idea lol
Response 6: Even with PhD funding including stipend, if the user is purely looking at costs, the opportunity cost of missing 3-4 years of professional salary is much more than two years' cost of attendance at a 2-year master's program like Penn. Again, that's a narrow view because it kind of an apples-to-oranges comparison. The user is sure a PhD can be a great experience in itself and, of course, prepares them to be an independent research scientist. But if they already know they want to be clinical, then maybe stick to MS. The user was sure they did not want to be a research physicist and was also attracted to Penn's match rates. They can participate in research and clinical development projects. There is a research thesis requirement as well. Penn's PhD program is new (at least newly independent of the bioengineering department) and they are accepting direct applications, but the user believes they also accepted students with master's in MP, including current students. They're not sure if any current students did apply. Make sure to attend Penn's accepted student day this Saturday, in-person or virtually. Current students and recent alumni will be there, including time without faculty present. Feel free to direct message (not direct chat, they miss those for some reason).
Response 7: [deleted]
Response 8: I’m concerned about length with regards to cost. I’d rather self-fund for two than six. I’d prefer a PhD program but one that’s unfunded sounds insanely difficult to make ends meet.
Response 9: [deleted]
Original URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/temd8w/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/
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