Medical Dosimetrist – (Altoona)

Purpose:

We are seeking a clinically excellent Medical Dosimetrist to join our team at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Altoona, PA.   This role offers a hybrid work arrangement that blends on-site duties with work-from-home capabilities. 

The Dosimetrist in this position with join one other dosimetrist at Altoona, and a larger team of 30+ dosimetrists across the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Network.  Collaboration and remote support across the group is facilitated by our integrated ARIA/Eclipse and Citrix-based IT infrastructure, as well as standardized policies, procedures, and care pathways across UPMC.

Job Summary:

The Medical Dosimetrist is responsible for generating clinically optimal treatment plans for radiation therapy patients in collaboration with radiation oncologists, radiation therapy technologists, and medical physicists.  This includes participating in CT simulation, radiation treatment planning, quality management for radiation oncology patients, and communicating with the clinical team during treatment planning and treatment plan implementation.  Treatment techniques include 3DCRT, IMRT, VMAT, SRS, SBRT, motion management (e.g., respiratory gating and DIBH), and HDR brachytherapy. 

The incumbent will be placed into the appropriate level of our Dosimetry Career ladder based on education and experience.

Responsibilities:

• Participates in acquisition of patient data via computer generated data sets from medical imaging devices such as CT, PET, MR, etc., or manual methods such as physical measurements and wire contours, and incorporation of these data into radiation treatment plans, calculations, and treatment devices.
• Assists the RTT in the treatment simulation process including the use or necessity of ancillary treatment devices, patient immobilization techniques, and other patient positioning techniques as needed for simulation and treatment. Assists in fabrication of these ancillary treatment devices.
• Contours and delineates clearly discernable normal critical structures and expanded planning structures using different imaging modalities.
• Performs rigid and deformable image registration for multi-modality image sets.
• Applies the principles and concepts of radiation physics in radiation treatment planning, which includes, but is not limited to: 2D treatment planning, 3D conformal treatment planning, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning, 4D treatment planning, volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) planning, and brachytherapy treatment planning.
• Applies knowledge of radiobiology with respect to dose tolerances, time dose fractionation calculations, hypofractionation, BED and EQD2 calculations and other applications of radiobiology to the radiation therapy treatment process.
• Accurately performs radiation dose calculations, both manual and computer generated, for treatment delivery including the effects of beam modifying devices, irregular fields, gaps for adjacent fields, and off-axis calculations.
• Participates in special treatment procedures including, but not limited to, total body irradiation (TBI), total skin electron irradiation (TSEI), intra-operative radiation therapy (IORT).
• Assists with quality assurance procedures as directed by a qualified medical physicist.
• Performs or assists with patient-specific radiation measurement including, but not limited to diodes, optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLD), ion chambers, thermo-luminescent dosimeters (TLD), or film measurements as directed by the MP.
• Assists with high dose rate (HDR) and low dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy procedures including patient set up, simulation, and treatment planning.
• Participates in quality management in accordance with departmental policies, national guidelines, and accreditation standards.
• Performs routine chart checks per departmental policy.
• Participates in charge capture and generates documentation for billing in accordance with departmental policies.
• Participates in clinical research for the development and implementation of new techniques in radiation therapy.
• Participates in educational activities such as providing instruction and training to new staff members, physician residents, physicist residents, RTT trainees, and medical dosimetrist trainees.
• Maintains an atmosphere of caring, concern, and support for patients, visitors, medical staff, and colleagues.
• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as directed by supervising medical physicists.
• Adheres to high ethical standards in relation to patients, students, trainees, and colleagues.
• Ensures accurate data transfer of patient and treatment plan information to clinical systems including but not limited to record and verify systems, imaging guidance systems, surface guidance systems, treatment delivery systems, and electronic medical record systems.
• Utilizes critical thinking skills when performing radiation treatment planning, plan evaluation, recognizing and resolving equipment problems and treatment discrepancies.
• Maintains a commitment to a high degree of accuracy, attention to detail, and safety.
• Communicates with the radiation oncologist during the treatment planning process and participate in communicating the plan to the medical physicist and radiation therapy technologists for plan implementation.
• Generates clinically optimal treatment plans utilizing knowledge of anatomy and physiology, radiation biology and oncology, radiation safety and protection, mathematics, radiation therapy techniques, physics, and technology.