Clinical Opportunities
Clinical Practicum
Clinical Practicum, a required, semester-long course for master's students, provides supervised, immersive rotations in radiation therapy, diagnostic imaging, radiation safety, or nuclear medicine at Philadelphia-area clinics. Students learn about the clinical responsibilities of medical physicists, including instrumentation methodology, calibration, treatment planning, and quality assurance, and may experience patient interaction, clinical conference attendance, special procedures, and a review of new techniques in radiation oncology. Beginning in Summer 2024, selected students will have an opportunity to completed a funded clinical practicum experience in Ghana.
Clinical Orientation, Shadowing, and Jobs
Students have opportunities to get valuable clinical experiences throughout the program to prepare for careers in medical physics. Upon entering the program, students attend Clinical Orientation to learn about roles in the clinic and quality assurance, meet clinical staff, and experience hands-on clinical demonstrations. Students then shadow medical physics residents and physicists for the remainder of the first semester of study. After successful completion of competency exams, students have the opportunity for paid clinical work as a Patient Specific Quality Assurance (PSQA) Assistant in the clinic for several hours each week.
Clinical Projects
Clinical projects provide students with unique learning opportunities. Master's degree students may choose to fulfill an elective course requirement with a semester-long independent study clinical project. Projects are mentored by staff or faculty physicists and culminate in a final paper or presentation.
