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:
Wtf do I do? This is my fifth year since my initial part 1 application, and there's no exam in August. I've been passed over for residencies and PhD's multiple times. Do I try again this year for a PhD position (only way I think I'll ever get a residency), just retake a bunch of MS level classes or whatever the abr requires, or start digging ditches for a living? I have terrible anxiety so I suck at interviews and tests.
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Response 1:
I don't really have an answer for you, but the GRE is offered online now and isn't bad. You have time if you start reviewing and stuff now, I got my scores 2 weeks after taking it, and I suggest giving time to retake if needed. There are lots of good resources for studying for it, probably the best are the practice tests and any useful tips and stuff you can find in books. The Princeton Review GRE book is pretty good.
Otherwise if you really want to avoid taking it, email the graduate admissions department for MD Anderson and ask. Doing really well on the GRE is a great way to get your foot in a competitive program though.
Comment 2:
I am a fourth year physics student and have recently started applications for med phys masters programs. I've noticed some schools have a residency at the same location while others don't, and was wondering if, in general, you are more likely to be matched to a residency at the same location as your grad school program.
To phrase it another way, would I have a better chance of getting matched to a residency if I only applied to schools that have a residency at the same location? I'm aware of the current residency bottleneck (and the fact that my only getting a masters weakens my chance) so I want to give myself that best chance of getting matched later on. I'm having a hard time finding data on this. Thanks in advance!
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Response 2:
This entirely depends on the institution. Last I heard, LSU pretty much guarantees you residency at their locations if you don't match elsewhere. Also Kentucky seems to follow the same policy, not sure though. Penn has many times taken on graduates from their program, but there's only 4 residency positions, and their class size is fairly large (>12 students every year usually), and some years takes on very few, if any.
Be sure to ask about this during interviews and such, as it can be a huge leg up on your career, but also don't rely on it, you never know what might change. Always aim for being a strong match candidate.
Comment 3:
I'm considering applying for the fall semester to a medical dosimetry program.
Can anyone here tell me what it's like during the day to day of the job? Do you enjoy it?
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Response 3:
Thanks for the write up!
I'm 9 years in as a radiographer (6 in CT) and honestly I really want a change of pace. I've worked out/in patient and have worked at a cancer hospital before. I have zero desire to pivot into an administrative/leadership role. WFH would be pretty amazing considering it's not an option currently.
How'd you find the didactic work? I have a BS/MS in unrelated fields so I'm not stranger to course work.
Comment 4:
Currently, I'm a third-year applied physics student at Carleton University. I find Medical Physics interesting. Can someone suggest some related stuff that needs to be learned in beside the courses that have already been learned before applying to this?!
For example: knowing programs like C++ or other related materials.
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Response 4:
Some programming is always good, C++, MATLAB, python its all good. Be prepared to work with a LOT of spreadsheets and tables. Take maybe some anatomy and physiology course too.
Comment 5:
Do I have good odds of getting a residency if I have an atomic physics (for fundamental physics test) experimental PhD from Stanford and then do a certificate CAMPEP program? I definitely won’t have as much medical physics research as other people
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Response 5:
I think if you make good grades in the Certificate program, and do some work in the clinic, you should set yourself up to get interviews from a lot of places. How well you do in your interviews may depend on your research/knowledge of the clinical duties.
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Response 6:
At some institutions, yes. I had some post-docs in my cohort who were full-time researchers at the same university of the program (some clinical, some translational) while completing the certificate part-time. One had already been working there for a while, though two others I'm unsure if they started the job or the certificate first.
I'd definitely contact the program of interest directly to confirm.
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Comment 6:
Background: Fourth year mechanical engineering undergraduate student soon to matriculate into masters of Medical Physics.
How prevalent are medical physicist performing both clinical work and academic research? I have been conducting research for MedPhys lab on my campus for almost two semesters, and although I always envisioned myself in a strictly clinical setting, I enjoy the innovative process that comes along with research.
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Response 7:
I just finished a master’s degree and of the dozen or so PhD/tenured faculty, all except maybe one have substantial clinical duties. Some of our newly graduated residents are going into faculty assistant professorships that are maybe only officially 10-20% research time. I don’t know if that’s the norm.
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Original URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/vc0wci/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/
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