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Radiation Oncology – School of Medical Dosimetry

The Profession

Medical dosimetrists work closely with medical physicists and radiation oncologists to generate radiation dose distributions and calculations for radiation therapy treatments. Dosimetrists must be knowledgeable of the physical and geometric characteristics of the equipment and radioactive sources in order to precisely and accurately compute patient dose distributions.

The Program

CTRC offers a one-year training certificate program in Medical Dosimetry. This program is structured to include clinical as well as didactic training in all aspects of medical dosimetry. Our program is one of the few in the nation accredited schools in Medical Dosimetry by the Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT).

Admissions Criteria

Admission requirements:

  1. Individuals who hold a bachelor degree in Radiation Therapy
  2. Individuals who hold a bachelor degree in a physical science
  3. Individuals who hold an associate degree in Radiation Therapy
  4. All applicants are required to have taken college algebra and one year of college physics. Advanced mathematical courses such as calculus are encouraged.

It is the policy of the school and its sponsor to admit students without regard to race, sex, religion, national origin or handicap, unless the handicap would prevent the student from fulfilling clinical requirements.

Application Process

Applications and all supporting documentation must be submitted by March 1. The application form may be downloaded here. A personal telephone interview from admissions committee will be conducted.

Student Selection

During March, the admissions committee will review all completed applications. The committee may select some candidates for a personal telephone interview based on academic achievements, GPA, prior training, and personal references. A strong math background is highly recommended. If you are asked to come to the facility for an interview, out-of-town applicants are responsible for their transportation and all costs associated with the interview.

Professional Certification

Graduates of the program are eligible to apply to the Medical Dosimetrist Certification Board (MDCB) for the certification examination once they fulfill the MDCB requirements. This examination is designed to improve the practice of medical dosimetry by voluntary testing of the candidate's competency. For more information, please visit http://www.mdcb.org.

Costs

  1. $12,500 fee for the one-year certificate program (subject to change without notification). Of this, $500 is paid as a non-refundable deposit upon acceptance into the program. Remaining balance is divided into two equal payments due September 1st and February 1st.
  2. A non-refundable $50 application fee
  3. Please make check or money order payable to: “UTHSCSA Radiation Oncology”

CTRC does not provide health insurance for students. Students assume the cost of books, meals, housing, transportation and supplies (i.e., lab coats).

Housing

No on-site residential accommodations are available. CTRC is located in the San Antonio Medical Center, very closely situated to many apartment complexes. Homes are also available for rent or purchase.

Facility

CTRC is an outpatient facility located in the San Antonio Medical Center area. The radiation therapy department treats over one hundred patients per day.

Imaging modalities

  1. 2 GE LightSpeed™ CT scanners
  2. 1 GE CT/PET scanner

Linear accelerators

  1. 2 Varian 600C®
  2. 2 Varian 2100C/D® (80 and 120 Leaf MLC)
  3. 2 Varian 23EX® (80 Leaf MLC)
  4. TomoTherapy® Hi-Art™
  5. NovalisTx™ Stereotactic unit with robotic capabilities

Record and verify system

  1. Impac® Mosaic™ Multi-Access Software

External Beam Treatment Planning

  1. Virtual simulation using AcQ3™
  2. 3-D external beam treatment planning using Philips® Pinnacle3 treatment planning system (TPS)
  3. Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and intensity modulated radiosurgery (IMRS) planning and delivery using the Nomos® Corvus™ planning station and MiMiC™ binary collimated delivery system
  4. Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) planning using the Pinnacle3 TPS
  5. TomoTherapy® Adaptive radiotherapy™
  6. Eclipse™ 3D, IMRT, and RapidArc™ planning
  7. iPlan™ from BrainLab® for SRS and SBRT planning

Brachytherapy Treatment Planning

  1. High dose rate brachytherapy using the Nucletron® Oncentra™ TPS
  2. CT guided brachytherapy
  3. Transrectal ultrasound prostate seed implants (TRUS) using the Prowess™ TPS
  4. Low dose rate brachytherapy using Pinnacle3 TPS

Special Procedures

  1. Total body photon irradiation (TBI)
  2. Total skin electron irradiation (TSE)
  3. Intravascular brachytherapy

Who To Contact

Please address inquiries and applications to:

Niko Papanikolaou, Ph.D.
Director of Medical Physics
Department of Radiation Oncology
Cancer Therapy and Research Center at
University of Texas Health Science Center
7979 Wurzbach Rd, MC 7889
San Antonio TX 78229-4427
Phone: (210) 450-5664
Fax: (210) 450-1076
papanikolaou@uthscsa.edu