Medical College of Wisconsin Physics Residency Training Program
The Medical College of Wisconsin Physics Residency Program is a three-year program integrating both the clinical and research aspects of medical physics. Throughout the training program, the resident is expected to attend special training sessions and conferences, and to participate in routine clinical physics activities including machine QA, treatment planning, IMRT QA, and special procedures. The resident works closely with the faculty and staff physicists, clinical engineers, and dosimetrists to observe and participate in the following:
- Treatment machine daily, monthly and yearly quality assurance procedures
- Machine calibrations
- Patient and phantom dose measurements
- IMRT QA
- Conventional and IMRT treatment planning
- Image acquisition, fusion, and registration
- Dose calculations
- Design and fabrication of patient treatment aids such as Cerrobend blocks
- Multileaf collimation
- Aperture settings and special bolus
- Brachytherapy procedures
- Special treatment procedures such as IGRT, SBRT, SRS, TBI
- Miscellaneous other physical and technical tasks performed in the clinic
If needed during the three-year period, the physics resident will receive didactic instruction in the following areas:
- Basic radiological physics
- External beam radiation oncology physics
- IMRT and IGRT
- Advanced special procedures (e.g. TBI, IMRT, SRS, SBRT)
- Imaging for planning and localization (CT, MRI, PET)
- Brachytherapy physics
- Radiation safety
- Radiation biology
- Clinical radiation oncology
- Statistics
- Cross sectional anatomy
- Physiology
Clinical rotations are the core elements of residency training. Each rotation contains particular training essentials that include independent-study materials. The training essentials may or may not include a check-off list of mastered tasks, depending on the rotation. Specific comprehension essentials were developed for each rotation to ensure that the resident understands the background and details involving the rotation. The resident will meet monthly with the Associate Program Director to assess rotation progress. Mandatory readings are assigned for each rotation along with additional suggested readings to prepare residents for the comprehensions and training essentials.
In addition to four semesters of clinical rotations, the resident is expected to complete two semesters of research. The resident is expected to present the research on the departmental level as well as submit the research for presentation and publication on a national level.