The Medical Physics Residency Program in the Radiology Department is a clinical training program at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The training program is based on the Standards for Accreditation of Residency Educational Programs in Medical Physics as published by Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Program (CAMPEP). The program is designed to provide two years of progressive supervised clinical training. The goal of the residency program is to train medical physicists to be competent to practice independently in clinical diagnostic imaging physics. The program provides clinical training to prepare graduates for the certification examination of the American Board of Radiology (ABR) and a professional career in diagnostic radiological physics. Ultimately, the program and faculty are committed to preparing learners in patient care and to producing fully competent and qualified medical physicists. In the course of the program, the residents achieve the following objectives:

• Demonstrate knowledge of all aspects of diagnostic imaging physics practice including imaging equipment specification, acceptance testing, quality assurance and quality control, patient radiation dose measurements and estimation, dose monitoring and dose optimization, image artifact identification and correction, radiation shielding design for imaging modalities, implementation and assessment of new imaging techniques;
  
  
• Engage learners in educational activities for radiologists, technologists and other users of diagnostic imaging equipment;
  
  
• Prepare learners who will be capable of establishing and maintaining a comprehensive quality control program that ensures compliance with federal and state regulations and accreditation requirements such as those of the American College of Radiology (ACR) and The Joint Commission (TJC).

The Medical Physics Residency Program is accredited by CAMPEP.

Section of Medical Physics - Department of Radiology

The Section of Medical Physics in the Department of Radiology includes 4 PhD clinical physicists, 2 residents, 1 radiation physics coordinator and other administrative supporting staff. Physicists and residents are employees of Medical College of Wisconsin. Clinical activities performed by the Medical Physics Section include ACR and The Joint Commission (TJC) QA programs as well as development, implementation, and support for specific procedures in radiography, fluoroscopy, interventional radiology, special procure/cardiac cath labs, digital mammography, ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine.

The Imaging Physics Residency Program began on July 1, 2017. Program statistics are shown below:

 

	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Applicants	5	42	40	23	30
Positions Offered	1	1	1	1	1
Residents enrolled	1	2	2	2	2
Residents graduated	NA	NA	1	1	1
Graduates certified by ABR	NA	NA	NA	NA	2
Placement info of Graduates	NA	NA	Academic	Academic	Academic

 

The Medical College of Wisconsin Medical Physics Residency Program is a two-year program. Throughout the training program, the resident is expected to participate in routine clinical imaging physics activities. The resident works closely with faculty physicists, clinical engineers, and technologists to observe and participate in the following:

• X-ray and fluoroscopy imaging equipment testing/QA
• Interventional radiology/Cardiac Cath Lab and special procedure lab equipment testing/QA
• CT ACR physics testing /QA/protocol
• MRI ACR physics testing /QA/support
• Digital mammography/tomosynthesis ACR/MQSA physics testing/QA and support
• Diagnostic imaging equipment shielding design
• Fetus dose calculation
• Diagnostic imaging display monitor testing and QA
• Miscellaneous other physical and technical tasks

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 Program Director/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 clinical rotations, the resident is encouraged to participate in research, and present the research result for presentation and publication on a national level.

The resident follows a clinical rotation schedule. The rotation mentor should have close contact with the resident to ensure that there is good progression with the rotation objectives. The following is the standard training schedule for the 2-year residency program:

Rotations 

Total of 104 weeks:

• Orientation/Safety
• Rotations through all areas

Residents are expected to contribute to the routine clinical support activities throughout their residency training. Here, “routine clinical support activities” refers to those activities that, in the absence of a resident, would be performed by a clinical medical physicist. Such routine activities are combined with the education of the clinical training and the time involved is appropriate so that it can serve as an enhancement of the educational experience of the resident instead of a distraction from the education. Additionally, residents also assist in the teaching of the practicum laboratories to radiology resident and radiology technologist school physics courses.

Detailed training are included for the following rotations:

• General Radiography
• Fluoroscopy
• Interventional Radiology/Cardiac Cath Imaging
• Digital Mammography
• Computed Tomography
• MRI
• Ultrasound
• Imaging Informatics

The equipment listed below is available at Froedtert Hospital/MCW or at one of the satellite sites. All equipment is available for physics faculty and staff in patient care and the instruction of medical physics residents. The current imaging equipment inventory that the Radiology Department provides medical physics services includes the following:

• General Radiography
• Fluoroscopy
• Interventional Radiology and Cardiovascular Imaging
• Mammography (including digital breast tomosynthesis)
• Computed Tomography
• Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
• Ultrasound
• Nuclear Medicine
• Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
• Diagnostic Imaging Display Monitors

Colin Paulbeck, PhD
07/2019-6/2021

Yonggang Lu, PhD, DABR
Assistant Professpr; Section of Medical Physics, Division of Imaging Science

Dustin Ragan, PhD, DABR
Assistant Professor of Radiology; Section of Medical Physics, Division of Imaging Sciences

MCW Imaging Physics Residency Program seeks candidates with an excellent foundation in medical physics and a strong desire to thrive in a clinical environment. Preferred candidates should have a PhD degree in medical physics from a CAMPEP-accredited graduate program or have a CAMPEP-accredited certificate in medical physics.

MCW Imaging Physics Residency Program is registered with Medical Physics Match and accept applications through AAPM Medical Physics Residency Application Program (MP-RAP). The two-year residency commences on July 1. The application must include a comprehensive curriculum vitae, statement of personal interests and goals, three letters of reference, and official transcripts of all undergraduate and graduate studies.

If you have any other questions, please contact Alan Pierce at apierce@mcw.edu.

Medical Physics Information

For more information about the field of medical physicist, please use the links to information provided by the American Association for Physics in Medicine (AAPM):

• Scope of Practice of Clinical Medical Physics
  
• What is a Qualified Medical Physicist?
  
• What do Medical Physicists do?
• Report No. 42, The Role of the Clinical Medical Physicist in Diagnostic Radiology (PDF)
• Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc.

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The cost of living in the Milwaukee is lower than most areas in the US. Resident salary follows NIH guidelines updated every year. Residents are considered employees of Medical College of Wisconsin, and given the benefits package including 15-days of paid leave, dental, health, vision and life/disability insurance options.

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