NOSM’s Medical Physics Residency Program Achieves Full Accreditation

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) is pleased to announce that the recently established Medical Physics Residency Education Program (MPREP) has, for the first time, received full accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP) through to December 31, 2021.

Medical physicists are health-care professionals with specialized training in the medical applications of physics. Their work involves the use of x-rays, ultrasound, magnetic and electric fields, infrared and ultraviolet light, heat and lasers in diagnosis and therapy. Most medical physicists work in cancer treatment facilities, hospital diagnostic imaging departments, or hospital-based research establishments. Through collaborations with the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) in Thunder Bay and Health Sciences North (HSN) in Sudbury, faculty members with the Northern Ontario School of Medicine are educating medical physicists in the North, for the North.

“After much effort, we are delighted to have received this internationally recognized full accreditation for the Medical Physics Residency Education Program at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine,” says Dr. Peter McGhee, Program Director of NOSM’s Medical Physics Residency Education Program.

During the course of the program, residents (one in Thunder Bay and one in Sudbury) are formal full-time employees of the academic health sciences centres. Through their learning experience, they will gradually develop the practical skills that will allow them to fully and independently participate within the clinical environment. With successful completion of the residency, the graduates are eligible to apply for certification as qualified clinical Medical Physicists.

The program will be recruiting for two new residents with terms starting in October 2019. Successful applicants will enrol in a two-year program addressing all aspects of the clinical subspecialty of Radiation Oncology Physics. The major sections of the training curriculum include evaluation of radiation treatment equipment performance, equipment calibration, radiation treatment planning and delivery, radiation safety, and radiation oncology informatics. In addition, residents are expected to participate in clinically oriented research and be actively involved in teaching. The minimum entry requirement for a residency position is a Master of Science in Medical Physics with preference given to candidates with a PhD in Physics, or a related subject. Graduate course credits are also expected to be CAMPEP accredited. For a copy of the posting, please visit nosm.ca/mprep.