LCI Chief Proton Physicist

Overview

Job Summary

Interested applicants are invited to join Atrium Health’s physics practice working alongside a dynamic care team.  Atrium Health’s Levine Cancer Institute (LCI) provides patients with access to nationally renowned physicians and state-of-the-art treatments at 25 cancer care locations, including 9 radiation therapy centers in the Charlotte, NC area.

Atrium Health is recruiting a chief proton physicist to help establish a new therapy program housed in an under construction Advanced Radiation Therapy facility in uptown Charlotte. This facility will feature offerings of first-in-the-region proton therapy, GammaKnife radiotherapy and radiopharmaceutical administration. The facility is in close proximity to an existing radiation therapy clinic featuring conventional external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy.

The proton therapy delivery system will be a Mevion s250i with Hyperscan technology with an Imaging Ring CBCT system.  The system will also feature a Surface Image Guidance motion management system.  The treatment planning system will be the latest version of Raystation and ARIA is the oncology EMR. A dedicated GE CT scanner will support clinical simulations.

The physics/dosimetry team dedicated to supporting the Advanced Radiation Therapy facility when complete will consist of 3 physicists, 2 dosimetrists and a physics assistant in addition to the chief proton physicist.

The 9 other Charlotte-region LCI Radiation Therapy clinics are equipped with Varian treatment planning (Eclipse v16.1), EMR (ARIA 15.6/16.1) and Clinac/Truebeam treatment delivery systems.  One LCI clinic is equipped with RayStation (V7) TPS, Mosaiq EMR and an Elekta Infinity linear accelerator.  Each clinic is equipped with a CT Simulator (GE/Philips). HDR and LDR (prostate seed implants) are offered at select clinics along with radiopharmaceutical infusions. LCI clinics have active SBRT and SRS programs and employ Surface Image Guidance Technology in most facilities.  MIM Maestro image management software is also available. A full complement of QA tools and technologies are available.  Active clinical projects in knowledge-based planning techniques, AI contouring, EPID dosimetry and QA standardization using a cloud-based platform are available.

LCI Radiation Therapy clinics current host trainees in radiation therapy and medical dosimetry and has a CAMPEP (approval pending) medical physics residency program offering planned for 2023. Interested candidates will join a collaborative environment where physicists work across facilities on projects impacting patients network-wide.   

Proton Physicist Administrative Functions 

• In collaboration with the AVP of Physics, plan for the proper allocation of radiation oncology resources within the proton facility, including equipment usage, selection and replacement; recruitment; budget preparation; program operation and continuing review of policies and procedures.
• Supervise proton center dosimetrists and technical staff.
• Develop and administer a comprehensive Quality Assurance (QA) program for proton therapy equipment, localization procedures and computational equipment and programs sufficient to assure the accurate delivery of prescribed dose to patients.
• Collaborate with the Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) and AVP of Physics to develop and administer a comprehensive radiation safety program for proton therapy in compliance with NC Radioactive Materials Branch rules and regulations and licenses, including a personnel radiation monitoring program.
• Monitor on a regular basis the performance of the therapy staff and treatment areas and provide the necessary equipment and support to assure the accurate delivery of patient treatments.
• Assist in the development of and ensure staff adherence to all policies and procedures related to technical aspects of proton therapy.
• Assist in the development and implementation of a proton-specific training schedule for dosimetry, RTTs, and technical staff.
• Assist in the development of proton-specific policies and procedures and review/update those on a regular basis.

Other Related Functions

• With appropriate training and demonstrated competency, perform other duties as assigned or needed including assisting in all aspects of QA, weekly chart checks, morning warm-up procedures, special procedures, and coverage for non-proton modalities. Assist with Gamma Knife stereotactic radiotherapy and radiation protection tasks related to radiopharmaceutical administrations.
• Participate in mentoring and didactic teaching of medical physics residents and other trainees.
• Take a lead role in commissioning and acceptance of the proton therapy system.

Education, Experience and Certifications

Doctoral degree or Masters in Medical Physics or related physical science is required and board certification in Therapeutic Radiologic Physics by the Board of Radiology required. Minimum of five year’s clinical experience as a Therapeutic Medical Physicist required and previous experience as a Chief of Physics or in a leadership role preferred. Previous proton therapy experience is highly desired.