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Medical Physics Residency in Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine

Vancouver Coastal Health Authority (VCH) has developed a two-year Medical Physics Residency Program in Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine.  This is a structured program supervised by qualified medical physicists (CCPM/ABR certification) and expert scientists.  This is a program led by VCH in partnership with collaborators from the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) and the University of British Columbia.

Goals and Objectives

Mission Statement
The goal of the VCH Medical Physics Residency Program in Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine is to ensure residents entering clinical physics in these disciplines are equipped with the skills required to be successful as a team player and subject matter expert in Medical Imaging and/or Nuclear Medicine to contribute to the overall health of patients and staff.

In alignment with the VCH Values, VCH Strategic Priorities and CAMPEP requirements, the program has the following objectives:

  1. Understand the role of a medical physicist specialized in either diagnostic or nuclear medicine specialty to provide clinical and technical service to improve health care outcomes of patients, while ensuring both staff and patient safety.
  2. Understand past, current and new technologies that enable diagnosis of illness and injury to improve health care outcomes,
  3. Equip residents with tools to evaluate and implement new technologies that will improve the health care outcomes in a safe and reliable manor,
  4. Understand the role of Medical Physicists to provide support to clinicians, nursing or technical staff to improve both patient and staff safety, as well as improve patient outcomes,
  5. Critically evaluate scientific literature and provide recommendations towards improving clinical practice through implementation,
  6. Equip residents with knowledge and communication and technical skills to ethically engage with other health care professionals to improve health care outcomes, or the purchase of new imaging equipment,
  7. Instilltechnical skills to evaluate and monitor new imaging technologies, including the ability to develop new quality assurance or quality control programs,

Instill the need for lifelong learning to develop new techniques that utilize new technology for the betterment of patient outcomes, the program has received accreditation (2021) by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP). This is a two-year program structured training program based on the guidelines from AAPM Report 90 and will provide the clinical experience necessary to write obtain certification by the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) and the American Board of Radiology (ABR) certification exams in either Diagnostic Medical Physics or Nuclear Medical Physics.

Qualifications

Acceptance to the VCH Medical Physics Residency Program is competitive.   Graduation from a CAMPEP accredited Graduate Medical Physics Degree or Certification is strongly suggested until VCH obtains CAMPEP accreditation.

To qualify for a residency position you must:

  • Hold a Master’s or PhD (preferred) degree in Medical Physics, Physics, Engineering (with upper year physics courses) or related sciences,
  • Preference will be given to candidates who have graduated from a CAMPEP Accredited Program,
  • Must be able to legally work in Canada,
  • Must be able to drive in BC and have access to a personal vehicle,
  • Must be able to lift 50 pounds.

Candidates are expected to adhere to the professional code of ethics developed by the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM).

What does the Residency Application process look like?

VCH will post vacancies on the Canadian Organization of Physicists in Medicine (COMP) career site.  It is the intention of VCH to participate in the AAPM residency matching program in future years.

  1. Residency position will be posted in April for an anticipated start date in July.
  2. Applicants must submit their CV with cover letter and copy of transcripts through careers.vch.ca (official transcripts are required upon successful application).
    a.  If more than 1 stream is offered (e.g. both Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine), the candidate must state which stream they are applying for. In this case multiple applications will be accepted as long as the cover letter and CV are directed to the position.
  3. The program steering committee reviews applications and shortlists candidates,
  4. Phone or Skype interviews will be scheduled with at least 2 members from the program steering committee,
  5. The successful new Resident will start in the first full week of July.

For more information or general inquiries, please contact the Vancouver Coastal Health HR team.  Please do not contact program staff directly.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Is this program CAMPEP Accredited?
A: Submission for CAMPEP Accreditation is anticipated in early 2020.

Q: How many Residents have graduated from this program?
A: Since 2010, 5 physicist’s  have obtained certification through this program.

Q: How long is the program?
A: The program is 2 years, the minimum requirement for certification.

Q: When is the start date?
A: Residency starts in the first full week of July.

Q: Can I start in a different month?
A: It may be possible; however the start date has been selected so residents can obtain sufficient experience to write the American Board Exams. 2 years of minimum clinical experience is required for this.

Q: What does the program cover?
A: The program outline is found in this PDF.

Program Graduates

The table below contains information related to program graduates, and where are they working now.

Name Graduate University1 Stream (DI/NM)2 Supervisor(s) Certification Year Current Employer
Dr. Yogesh Thakur The University of Western Ontario DI Dr. John Aldrich 2012 Vancouver Coastal Health
Dr. Thoranin Bjarnason3 The University of Calgary DI Dr. John Aldrich 2012 Interior Health
Dr. Robert Cropp The University of British Columbia DI Dr. Yogesh Thakur 2015 Vancouver Coastal Health
Petar Seslija The University of Western Ontario DI Dr. Yogesh Thakur 2015 Therapy Physics Inc.
Dr. Marjorie Gonzalez The University of British Columbia NM Dr. Yogesh Thakur / Dr. Stuart Jackson 2017 Vancouver Coastal Health
Dr. Christopher Abraham LakeHead  University DI Dr. Yogesh Thakur – Vancouver Coastal Health (resident)

1 – Institution prior to training.
2 – DI – Diagnostic Imaging, NM – Nuclear Medicine.
3 – Trained at Vancouver Coastal Health for 1 year under Dr. John Aldrich, and 1 year at Interior Health (remotely under Dr. Aldrich).

Salary & Benefits

VCH offers a competitive salary and benefit package.  Starting salary is in Range 8 of the VCH Excluded Salary Schedule ($76k/year).  Benefits can be found on the VCH career website.

 

Program Recruitment and Post Training Outcome

Training Year

# of Applicants1

# Offered Admissions2

# Enrolled in Program3

# of residents who have completed the program4

Graduate Destination (After Certification)5

 

 

 

 

 

Clinical

Other

2011 – Spring

32

1

2

0

0

0

2011 – Summer

24

1

3

0

0

0

2012

10

1

4

1

1

0

2013

N/A

N/A

3

0

0

0

2014

N/A

N/A

3

2

2

0

2015

N/A

N/A

1

1

1

0

2016

N/A

N/A

0

0

0

0

2017

N/A

N/A

0

0

0

0

2018

N/A

N/A

0

0

0

0

2019

11

1

1

0

0

0

2020

7

1

2

0

0

0

1 – The number of applicants for a job posting that was successfully filled.
2 – Refers to the number of positions offered to applicants.
3 – This is a running total of the number of residents enrolled in the program for the specified calendar year.
4 – This refers to the number of residents who have completed the training program in the stated calendar year.
5 – Post residency training employment industry.

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