Entity/Organization:  MUHA (Medical University Hospital Authority/Medical Center)

Hours per week: 40 

Scheduled Work Hours/Shift: Day

Fair Labor Standards Act Status: Hourly

Job Summary/Purpose: 

The Medical Physicist Assistant provides various support to the Medical Physicist in all clinical responsibilities pertaining to Radiation Oncology. These include treatment planning, patient setup and immobilization processes, as well as machine and patient-specific quality assurance (QA), and radiation protection and safety practices in close collaboration with therapists, dosimetrists, and physicians. The MP Assistant will perform all assignments while under the direct supervision of the Medical Physicist.

The MPA will also provide the following support as needed:

• Assist in morning QA equipment calibrations for Linacs as assigned by Medical Physicist to support the therapists in morning warmups and QAs
• Under the supervision of a Medical Physicist, work with a vendor engineer in routine Linac preventive maintenance services or perform a Linac beam QA after repairs
• Assist in treatment-related workflow throughout the patient treatment process in making blocks and immobilization devices as needed
• Utilizes radiation measuring equipment, treatment planning, computers as well as record and verify systems
• Assist in the shipping and receiving and the record maintenance of calibration equipment such as ion chambers and electrometers
• Assist in the commission of new treatment planning systems or new versions of existing treatment planning systems through beam data measurements, data entries, and data analysis as directed by Medical Physicist
• Assist in the acceptance, commissioning, and implementation of any new software to be integrated into the clinical workflow
• Perform patient-specific QA of treatment plans
• Support machine QA (daily, monthly, and annual)
• Patient-related measurements using OSLDs, or any other detector as directed by staff Medical Physicist
• Assists with the Radiation Safety related tasks required by local and federal agencies
• Participates in research and development projects as assigned

Minimum Training and Education: Graduation from an accredited Radiation Therapy program and registry eligible with the ARRT.

Required Licensure, Certifications, Registrations: Once ARRT is obtained, licensure from the South Carolina Radiation Quality Standards Association is required. Current Basic Life Support (BLS) required, either a certification from an American Heart Association (AHA) BLS for Healthcare Providers (or AHA recognized equivalent) or an American Red Cross CPR/AED for Professional Rescuer and Healthcare Provider.

Additional Duties and Responsibilities:

Physical Requirements: Ability to perform job functions while standing. (Continuous) Ability to perform job functions while sitting. (Continuous) Ability to perform job functions while walking. (Continuous) Ability to climb stairs. (Infrequent) Ability to work indoors. (Continuous) Ability to work outside in temperature extremes. (Infrequent) Ability to work from elevated areas. (Frequent) Ability to work in confined/cramped spaces. (Frequent) Ability to perform job functions from kneeling positions. (Infrequent) Ability to bend at the waist. (Continuous) Ability to twist at the waist. (Frequent) Ability to squat and perform job functions. (Frequent) Ability to perform "pinching" operations. (Frequent) Ability to perform gross motor activities with fingers and hands. (Continuous) Ability to perform firm grasping with fingers and hands. (Continuous) Ability to perform fine manipulation with fingers and hands. (Continuous) Ability to reach overhead. (Frequent) Ability to perform repetitive motions with hands/wrists/elbows and shoulders. (Continuous) Ability to fully use both legs. (Continuous) Ability to use lower extremities for balance and coordination. (Frequent) Ability to reach in all directions. (Continuous) Ability to lift and carry 50 lbs. unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to lift/lower objects 50 lbs. from/to floor from/to 36 inches unassisted. (Infrequent) Ability to lift from 36" to overhead 25 lbs. (Infrequent) Ability to exert up to 50 lbs. of force. (Frequent) Examples include: To transfer a 100 lb. patient that can not assist in the transfer requires 50 lbs. of force. For every 100 additional pounds, assistance will be required from another healthcare worker. 20 lbs. of force is needed to push a 400 lb. patient in a wheelchair on carpet. 25 lbs. of force is required to push a stretcher with a patient with one hand. Ability to maintain 20/40 vision, corrected, in one eye or with both eyes. (Continuous) Ability to see and recognize objects close at hand or at a distance. (Continuous) Ability to match or discriminate between colors. (Continuous) Ability to determine distance/relationship between objects; depth perception. (Continuous) Good peripheral vision capabilities. (Continuous) Ability to maintain hearing acuity, with correction. (Continuous) Ability to perform gross motor functions with frequent fine motor movements. (Continuous) Ability to deal effectively with stressful situations. (Continuous) Ability to work rotating shifts. (Frequent) Ability to work overtime as required. (Frequent) Ability to work in a latex safe environment. (Continuous) Ability to maintain tactile sensory functions. (Continuous) (Selected Positions) *Ability to maintain good olfactory sensory function. (Continuous) *(Selected Positions) *Ability to be qualified physically for respirator use, initially and as required. (Continuous) (Selected Positions)