[Training Tuesday] - Weekly thread for questions about grad school, residency, and general career topics 10/25/2022

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.

Examples:

Comments:

  1. Comment 1: A graduate medical physics student is wondering if they can apply for residency (through the match) and industry jobs at the same time. They are aware that getting a residency is a binding contract, but if they don't get a residency, they would like to start looking for an industry job. They also want to know if they can drop out of the match if they find a perfect fit in an industry job.

    Response 1: According to match rules, you can drop out before the match closes. However, it is not advisable to openly mention that you're also pursuing industry positions, as some may interpret it as a lack of interest in the clinical side of things. Additionally, industry positions will have leverage over you when negotiating compensation, as they know you have until match day to accept and that a match is not guaranteed.

    Response 2: There is nothing wrong with looking for industry jobs while applying in the match. You can drop out of the match as long as it is before the match day.

  2. Comment 2: An individual who is finishing up their BS in Health Science expresses their goal of applying for a graduate program in Medical Dosimetry. They have a background in healthcare (surgery) but not radiation. They seek advice on the great traits of a medical dosimetrist.

    Response 1: In addition to the previous comments, time management and collaboration are important traits for a medical dosimetrist. Managing time effectively and seeking help when needed, especially in busy clinics, is crucial. Collaboration and helping each other out contribute to providing the best care for patients.

    Response 2: Meticulousness in process and creativity in problem-solving are traits of excellent dosimetrists. Their work can be repetitive, leading to complacency errors, so being able to think creatively and find solutions to challenging cases is valuable. Effective communication skills are also important for bridging gaps between physicians, physicists, and therapists.

    Response 3: Soft skills like the ones mentioned can be beneficial in many fields, not just dosimetry. They are especially valuable in a human-centric field like healthcare.

    Response 4: This is a section for medical physics, not dosimetry. It would be more beneficial for the individual to seek answers in a dosimetry thread. However, some therapy physicists might be able to help with the question.

    Response 5: The medical dosimetry Reddit only allows "trusted members" to post. Historically, some medical dosimetry posts have been seen here as well. The individual asks if the commenter works with medical dosimetry and shares their experience.

Original URL: https://www.reddit.com/r/MedicalPhysics/comments/yd1yax/training_tuesday_weekly_thread_for_questions/