
If you have a PhD in physics or other STEM field, there is a pathway available to become a clinical medical physicist. This pathway consists of the following steps:
- CAMPEP-Accredited Medical Physics Certificate Program
Medical physics certificate programs offer the didactic coursework required to enter a medical physics residency. They are affiliated with schools of higher education and are accredited in North America by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP). Certificate programs are typically one year in duration (ie, one school year of instruction) and students apply for a residency position while in the program. - CAMPEP-Accredited Medical Physics Residency
Medical physics residency programs provide hands-on clinical training in imaging, nuclear, or therapeutic medical physics. Residency training is required to become board eligible and to work as a Qualified Medical Physicist (QMP) in the clinic. Most (but not all) residency programs participate in the Medical Physics Match, an annual event that matches residency candidates with programs in an optimal and efficient way. Residency training is usually 2 years in duration, though in some cases residents may elect to spend an additional year on research work if that option is offered by their program. - Board Certification
Clinical medical physicists typically seek board certification in their specialty. Board certification is overseen by organizations such as the American Board of Radiology (ABR), the American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP), the Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM), or the American Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (ABSNM). The ABR provides board certification for diagnostic, nuclear, and therapeutic medical physics, with the last specialty being the most common. Obtaining board certification requires passing three exams: the part 1 (written) exam, taken after completing a certificate program, and the part 2 (written) and part 3 (oral) exams, taken after completing residency. A certificate of graduation from a CAMPEP-accredited residency program is required to take the part 2 exam.
References
- SDAMPP Student Guide to a Medical Physics Career
The Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Programs (SDAMPP), 2016 - Academic Program Recommendations for Graduate Degrees in Medical Physics
AAPM Report #197, 2009 - Essentials and Guidelines for Clinical Medical Physics Residency Training Programs
AAPM Report #249, 2013 - The Essential Medical Physics Didactic Elements for Physicists Entering the Profession Through an Alternative Pathway
AAPM Report #197S, 2011 - Alternative Clinical Medical Physics Training Pathways for Medical Physicists
AAPM Report#133, 2008