Medical Dosimetrist - (East Region)

Purpose:

We are seeking a clinically excellent Medical Dosimetrist to join our team in the East Region of the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Network. The dosimetrist in this position will provide planning services for two departments: the UPMC Hillman Cancer Centers in Greensburg, PA, and Altoona, PA, and can be based out of either department as the primary location. This role offers a hybrid work arrangement with on-site duties at the primary location as well as the option to work from home.

This position joins a team of four other dosimetrists dedicated to these departments and a larger team of 30+ dosimetrists across the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Network. Collaboration and remote support across the group are 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 MR-guided HDR brachytherapy.

Responsibilities:

• Participates in educational activities such as providing instruction and training to new staff members, physician residents, physicist residents, RTT trainees, and medical dosimetrist trainees.
• 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.
• Participates in clinical research for the development and implementation of new techniques in radiation therapy.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Assists with high dose rate (HDR) and low dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy procedures including patient set up, simulation, and treatment planning.
• Performs routine chart checks per departmental policy.
• Contours and delineates clearly discernable normal critical structures and expanded planning structures using different imaging modalities.
• Utilizes critical thinking skills when performing radiation treatment planning, plan evaluation, recognizing and resolving equipment problems and treatment discrepancies.
• 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 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.
• Adheres to high ethical standards in relation to patients, students, trainees, and colleagues.
• 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.
• Maintains an atmosphere of caring, concern, and support for patients, visitors, medical staff, and colleagues.
• Participates in quality management in accordance with departmental policies, national guidelines, and accreditation standards.
• 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.
• Participates in charge capture and generates documentation for billing in accordance with departmental policies.
• Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as directed by supervising medical physicists.
• Maintains a commitment to a high degree of accuracy, attention to detail, and safety.
• Performs rigid and deformable image registration for multi-modality image sets.
• Assists with quality assurance procedures as directed by a qualified medical physicist.
• 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.

• Board certification by the Medical Dosimetrist Certification Board (MDCB).
  • Board-eligible candidates must become board certified within two attempts in the first two consecutive years of employment.
• Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Bachelor's degree preferred
• Basic Life Support (BLS)
• Board-eligible candidates must become board certified within two attempts in the first two consecutive years of employment.

Licensure, Certifications, and Clearances:
Certified Medical Dosimetrist (CMD) or board eligibility is required. Must maintain adequate CE credits to retain certification. CPR is required based on AHA standards that include both a didactic and skills demonstration component within 30 days of hire

• Basic Life Support (BLS) OR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
• Act 34

UPMC is an Equal Opportunity Employer/Disability/Veteran