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.
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Comment 1:
For dosimetry board certification, the user wants to go to an accredited program that lasts at least 12 months. The ones the user knows of are 12 or 18 months, but there might be others. Here's a list: https://www.jrcert.org/find-a-program/ Before that though, the user would recommend finding a clinic near the user and seeing if the user can shadow a dosimetrist for a day or two. Good luck!
Comment 2:
Which DMP program is the best between Wayne State, UT San Antonio, and University of Nevada (Therapy Track)?
Response 1:
Ask each of the residency directors about the number of graduates and their job placements. The user is not sure about the other institutions, but the user is only aware of 1 DMP graduating from Wayne State University. The DMP as a whole isn't exactly a common educational pathway.
Comment 3:
Not sure if this is worthy of a full post or not, but here it goes. What (if any) countries would the user be able to work in as a medical physicist after passing ABR part 3. The user knows this accreditation is centered around the United States, but leaving the country might be an enticing option once the user is done with schooling, residency, and such. Does anyone know if other countries (like Germany for example) have the same sort of requirements? If so, would the user be able to apply for accreditation in other countries, using the ABR certification to count for something?
Response 1:
Check out the certifying body of the country the user wants to work in and see what qualifies as a similar certification. There are alternate pathways for international Medical Physicists to become ABR certified in the US, maybe the same exists in Europe and elsewhere.
Comment 4:
Any advice for someone who deals with anxiety/imposter syndrome? The user is a strong student and loves physics, but even still the user sometimes feels like a fraud and that the user is not smart enough. The user is only an undergrad still and wants to learn how to deal with this before starting graduate school.
Response 1:
The user was about to type up a full response, but DavidBits said it better than the user could have. Just remember, whether or not it appears to be the case, many of the user's peers are probably in the same boat as the user. It's hard to admit that the user doesn't feel like the user knows something, but as the user dives deeper into physics the user learns that the user still doesn't know a lot of things. It is just the nature of physics. The user is sure the user is very smart and capable, but the user shouldn't be afraid to admit the user doesn't know something. Many other people probably don't know it either.
Response 2:
What helped the user was realizing (and later discussing with the user's peers as well) that *most* of the user's peers feel the exact same way. The user is literally surrounded by some of the brightest minds society has to offer, the user being there because the user is also one. It's easy to be surrounded by that and feel... common. It's especially easy when the user is literally there to push the userself and see firsthand that, no matter how much the user thinks the user knows, there's an ocean of knowledge out there to explore. One lifetime isn't enough to explore it all, and that's fine.
Cases of nepotism aside, yes, having the opportunity to be there involves a lot of luck (never forget that, the user is blessed to be there and be able to perform well, many aren't), for most it still requires a lot of work and dedication to be there and be a strong student, especially in a field such as ours.
In the user's time in undergrad, in grad school, and in the user's time as a research associate, many many people felt the same way. Some of the smartest people the user knows routinely called themselves dumb just because they weren't knowledgeable in some particular skill or area, which is ridiculous. Everybody explores different parts of that ocean. Explore what the user wants and forget the rest.
Also, the user loves physics as well and understands a lot of it fairly well, but a lot of times physics is just plain hard haha.
Comment 5:
For myself and others who are starting residency soon:
Any tips or recommendations for residency? Resources to read, useful things to have, general strategies to go through it successfully, etc.?
Response 1:
Residency, unlike grad school, is a job with specific professional expectations. Be on time. Go to all meetings. Remember to be present and ask questions, but also most people in your department are there to do a job, so don't be a nuisance. Work hard and have fun!
Response 2:
My advice hasn't changed much: You are there to learn and are not expected to know everything going in. Make an effort to be present in whatever you are doing and ask questions often. Let your current rotation guide your reading. I would review material and reports from previous rotations often to keep things fresh.
Get to know everyone in the department well. Not just physics/dosi and doctors. Nurses, MA, IT, cleaning staff etc. They will all be helpful to you many times and it's good to build those relationships.
Enjoy your time and good luck!
Comment 6:
What's the fastest way to get through the education process? The user plans on summer classes. Anything else?
Response 1:
The user is not aware of any accelerated programs or self-paced programs. Maybe someone else might?
Most graduate programs begin in the fall semester and run two years. That time usually has specific classes, labs, and/or rotations that only run at specific times during that two-year cycle. Then the user would need a two-year residency assuming board certification is the user's end goal. Add extra time for a PhD if the user goes that route.
Things to help speed up or make the process easier:
- Take pre-reqs in undergrad or at a community college. Just make sure they transfer.
- Complete ABR Part 1 between years 1 and 2 of school. It's something nice to have completed on the user's application for residency but not required. The user will need to register for this test early in year 1 so get on the website to check deadlines early!
Response 2:
Thank you!
Comment 7:
Any tips for applying to residency, such as how the user's CV should be formatted?
Response 1:
Check out an online CV creator and find some of their templates to see which one the user likes best. It should look professional (not whacky) but a fresh look will beat the bland ones we see all the time. At the end of the day though it's about the content of the résumé not the format, so make sure the user includes all the relevant information in it.
Response 2:
There are lots of LaTeX templates that look good too if that's the user's cup of jam.
Response 3:
I think I just copied a template online or from Google docs for mine. As for the content, I took advice from my advisor and program director. For better or worse, I added every single tool or experience I was familiar with from school. I also tried to be clear about what I observed versus what I was an active participant in. "Performed IMRT QA with MapCheck, Portal Dosimetry" and "Observed Eclipse SBRT planning". My theory was they would see what equipment I was exposed to and could pick up quickly and that my graduate program prepared me in a wide range of regular clinical experiences. It probably ended up being longer than it needed to be but it ended up working out for me.
I did include a single-page resume as well so they could get a summary at a glance. Try to keep your resume and CV updated every few months during residency and even throughout your career. You never know when you'll want to send out an application.
Response 4:
I think formatting is pretty open, people in my class had a variety of different looks. The sections are also a little arbitrary, obviously need education and clinical experience sections. Publications and/or conference posters/presentations should also be in there, maybe some work experience if it helped you in developing pertinent skills. Be creative to help yourself stand out!
Original URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/vhao4w/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/