Physics Residency Program Information

Welcome to the Medical Physics
Residency Program at UCSF.

As part of a major academic institution, our department considers residents training one of its most important functions.  We have a long history of training residents and postdoctoral fellows in radiation physics. The physics residency training program was established in September 1993 with the specific goal of training clinical medical physicists.

Our program is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Medical Physics Education Programs (CAMPEP – https://www.campep.org), and provides structured clinical training in an academically rich environment. Residents gain competencies in all areas of radiation oncology physics and are well prepared to achieve certification by the American board of Radiology in Therapeutic Radiology Physics (ABR – https://www.theabr.org).  The program is governed in part by the UCSF Office for Graduate Medical Education (OGME) office, which offers full benefits and privileges to all the residents. The duration of the clinical training is 2 years, with the availability for an optional year dedicated to research.  UCSF promotes an inclusive atmosphere that provides mentorship and support for trainees from diverse environment, and foster multi-disciplinary collaboration.

Physics residents become an integral part of the Department, performing clinical duties while interacting closely with the entire faculty and staff in a collegial manner. The UCSF Department of Radiation Oncology is comprised of three campuses located within the city of San Francisco (Parnassus, Mount Zion and Mission Bay) where we offer one of the largest varieties of treatment techniques in the country. The broad technologic portfolio includes six gantry-based linacs (Siemens Artiste, Elekta Versa, 3 TrueBeam and 1 TrueBeam STx with Exactrac), Tomotherapy, CyberKnife, Gamma Knife Icon, Intraoperative radiotherapy (Mobetron and Intrabeam), HDR and LDR brachytherapy, hyperthermia and a proton beam line dedicated to ocular treatments.

The diverse treatment delivery environment is matched by a variety of treatment planning platforms including RayStation, Pinnacle, Precision, GammaPlan, Oncentra with IPSA and MIM Software. Motion management solutions include 4DCT and 4D CBCT capability, breath-hold treatments with SDX and real-time tumor motion tracking on the CyberKnife. Residents at USCF gain hands-on experience on each of these platforms. With expert teams of clinicians, scientists and technical staff, UCSF prides itself on continually pushing the potential of the technology to offer the highest quality therapy.

The objective of the residency program is to provide training in radiation oncology physics in a structured clinical environment for individuals wishing to practice professional radiation oncology physics. Residents are exposed to a variety of didactic activities such as chart rounds, case-based teaching rounds, physics lecture series, task group presentations and journal club.  The Medical Physics Residency Steering Committee (MPRSC) oversees the operation and the evaluation of the Physics Residency training program.

Residents participate in the clinical rotations under the direct supervision of physics faculty and board-certified medical physicists.

Faculty at UCSF are leading many exciting and novel research projects to deliver superior, personalized cancer therapy. Faculty mentors are committed to complement clinical training with research experience for residents interested in a career in academic medical physics.