Summary

This position is located within the Oncology department at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center - in Pittsburgh - PA. The Therapeutic Medical Physicist(Advance Level) will cover the range of Radiation Oncology services - provided in a state-of-the-art civilian medical treatment facility and the standard of care shall be of a quality - meeting or exceeding currently recognized national standards as established by ACR Guidelines for Radiation Oncology.

Qualifications

Basic Requirements:

• United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy
• English Language Proficiency: TMPs must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d) - and 7407(d)
• Education: Master's degree or higher in a physics - science - or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics - health physics - radiological science - physics - engineering - chemistry - or biology
• or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services
• Board Certification: Persons hired or reassigned to TMP positions in the VHA must be board certified in the field of therapeutic medical physics by an approved certifying body
• The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education
• Approved Certifying Bodies (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles: Therapeutic Medical Physics Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics Radiologic Physics or Radiological Physics (b) The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics
• (c) The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics
• NOTE: For grade levels at or above the full performance level - the candidate must be board certified
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019
• May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria)
• Creditable Experience Knowledge of Current Medical Physicist Practices
• To be creditable - the experience must have required the use of knowledge - skills - and abilities (KSAs) associated with current professional TMP practice
• The experience must be post-master's degree or above
• Experience satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice - which is paid/non-paid employment as a professional TMP
• Quality of Experience
• Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's or doctoral degree in medical physics - physics - or another relevant physical science or engineering discipline from an accredited training program and includes work as a professional TMP directly related to the position to be filled
• Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to TMP experience at the next lower grade level
• For all assignments above the full performance level - the higher level duties must consist of significantly larger scope - administrative independence - complexity (difficulty) and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Part-Time Experience
• Part-time experience as a professional TMP is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek
• For example - a TMP employed 20 hours a week - or on a 1/2-time basis - would receive 1 full-time workweek of credit for each 2 weeks of service
• Clinical Training/Clinical Residency
• TMPs go through a post-graduate clinical training program in therapeutic medical physics before they are eligible to work as a TMP
• The post-graduate clinical training may be substituted for creditable experience on a yearfor-year basis
• Grade Determinations: Therapeutic Medical Physicist GS-14 Experience: In addition to the basic requirements - completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade
• Therapeutic Medical Physicist above the full performance level - the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope - complexity (difficulty) - and range of variety - and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time
• Employees at this level who are not supervisors are able to carry out assigned tasks independently in all areas of radiation therapy requiring TMP competencies which substantially exceed the full performance level and require advanced knowledge in all areas of radiation therapy
• Regardless of the nature of the specific assignment - the work must be of sufficient scope and complexity to meet the knowledge - skills - and abilities to perform at this grade level
• Demonstrated Knowledge - Skills - and Abilities
• In addition to the experience above - the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Advanced expertise and experience in the safe and efficient use of all radiotherapy devices for external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy
• Highly developed expertise with commissioning linear accelerators and treatment planning systems for complex clinical use - to include project management - performance testing - data acquisition - beam modeling - and validation testing
• Advanced knowledge (treatment simulation - planning - dosimetry - and treatment methods) of the scientific - clinical - and technical applications of one or more specialized procedures including - but not limited to - high dose rate brachytherapy - low dose rate brachytherapy - stereotactic body radiation therapy - stereotactic radiation therapy - intensity modulated radiation therapy - volumetric modulated arc therapy - total body irradiation - advanced image-guided therapy - and adaptive therapy
• Advanced expertise in acceptance testing - clinical commissioning - and (when applicable) calibration procedures for a variety of ancillary radiation oncology delivery - imaging - dosimetry - metrology - and computational systems
• Reference: For more information on this qualification standard - please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/
• The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14
• The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14
• Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019.

Duties

• Therapeutic Medical Physicist (Advanced Level) The TMP provides professional - scientific - and clinical practice of therapeutic medical physics for external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy treatment procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery
• Oversees the technical and programmatic development and implementation of new radiotherapy techniques and modalities
• Advanced knowledge of regulatory requirements - manufacturer's standards - and professional society guidelines for performing quality assurance of radiation therapy equipment to include accelerators - high dose rate/low dose rate brachytherapy delivery systems - record & verify information system - and treatment planning system The TMP will provide and ensure timely efficient coordination - troubleshooting including mechanical - technical and any corrective measures required to ensure continuous safe efficient operations of the Radiation Oncology Clinic
• Provide and ensure timely efficient coordination - troubleshooting including mechanical - technical and any corrective measures required to ensure continuous safe efficient operations of the Radiation Oncology Clinic
• Responsible for attaining the necessary training and education for providing support and oversight for radiation oncologists in delivery systems using National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines
• Develops and implements treatment processes in concert with the radiation oncologist and ensures the precision and accuracy of treatment delivery
• Develops - performs and documents the required operations of the medical physics quality assurance program
• The CTMP ensures regulatory compliance with the healthcare system's radiation safety program and works closely with the Radiation Safety Officer
• Collaborate with the staff of other departments and represent the radiation oncology service and therapeutic medical physicist profession both in and outside of Veterans Health Administration (VHA)
• Evaluate treatment and documenting treatment delivery and deviations with the radiation oncology leadership team
• Direct all administrative and technical functions essential for the American College of Radiology (ACR) accreditation - Radiological Physics Center (RPC) validation and management of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program
• Process information from multi-modality imaging datasets for treatment planning - treatment verification and radiotherapy response assessment
• Commissions linear accelerators and treatment planning systems for complex clinical use - to include project management - performance testing - data acquisition - beam modeling - and validation testing
• Directs the implementation of new equipment and processes through oversight of the following activities: assesses radiation therapy equipment needs - monitors 3 acceptance testing and commissioning of new radiation therapy equipment - evaluates the adequacy of room shielding and radiation surveys
• Have knowledge of - and be a proficient user and subject matter expert in the use of the treatment planning system - record and verify systems - treatment delivery systems - and multiple QA equipment and software programs and the Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
• Knowledgeable and responsible for data management of the National Radiation Oncology Program (NROP) policies and reporting utilizing the web-based Radiotherapy Incident Reporting and Analysis System (RIRAS)
• Display a cooperative attitude and will effectively work together to implement the organization's mission and goals
• The TMP is responsible for all other duties as assigned
• Work Schedule: Monday-Fridays - 7am-3:30pm Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position
• Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized