How to Become a Medical Physicist

Medical physicists work with cancer patients.

Medical physics is a specialized health care career that requires years of training. Many medical physicists earn well over $100,000 a year. A medical physicist is required by law to be present during the medical use of radioactive material for chemotherapy and other applications. They are responsible for the quality and accuracy of radiation treatment, and oversee the compliance of health care facilities with federal and state law regarding the use of radiation. Some medical physicists perform research regarding the use of radiation, and help to develop new treatments.

Instructions

1. Obtain an undergraduate university degree. Although there is no required undergraduate degree for a career in medical physics, a degree in physics with extra coursework in biology and anatomy will help prepare you for medical physics.

2. Get a master's degree. Many universities offer master's degree programs in medical physics. Alternatively, you could major in physics or radiation biology.

3. Take Part I of the certification exam offered by the American Board of Radiology. To sit for the exam, you will have to have completed a Master's degree or Ph.D. with the required coursework.

4. Enter a two-year clinical training program. You could enter a medical physics residency, or, if you have a Ph.D., you could enter a post-doctoral program at a hospital. After 2012, you will have to participate in a two-year residency program approved by the Commission for the Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs.

5. Take Part II of the American Board of Radiology certification exam. You must have completed a two-year clinical training program to sit for this exam.

6. Take Part III of the American Board of Radiology certification exam the June after you pass Part II. Part III is an oral exam. If you pass it, you will be certified by the American Board of Radiology.

7. Seek employment as a medical physicist at a clinic, hospital or medical school. You may work as a clinician, researcher, consultant or teacher.

Tips & Warnings

• Medical physics can be emotionally draining because you will work with many terminally ill patients.

References

• American Association of Physicists in Medicine: How Does Someone Become a Medical Physicist?
• Inner Body: How to Become a Medical Physicist
• American Board of Radiology: Initial Certification