Therapeutic Medical Physicist

Therapeutic Medical Physicist

Department: Department of Veterans Affairs

Location(s): Minneapolis, Minnesota

Salary Range: $127943 - $197787 Per Year

Job Summary: Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized for highly qualified individual. The incumbent serves as an Therapeutic Medical Physicists (TMPs) in Radiation Oncology and have responsibilities that include: protection of the patient and others from potentially harmful or excessive radiation; establishment of adequate protocols to ensure accurate patient dosimetry.

Major Duties:

• Recruitment or Relocation Incentive may be authorized for highly qualified individual. Total Rewards of a Allied Health Professional Major Duties: Performs the clinical practice of therapeutic medical physics in its entirety with considerable discretion and independent judgment. Plans, delivers, verifies, and monitors quality assurance of radiotherapy at all levels of complexity. Recommends an optimal modality and treatment technique for the patient; evaluating the quality, safety, and accuracy of radiation treatments planned and delivered to patients, thus ensuring that radiation dose is carried out correctly and completely; and safely operating all radiation planning and delivery devices. Implements radiation therapy of outstanding technical difficulty and responsibility, as exemplified by their role in providing knowledge-based solutions to resolving issues where no rule-based solutions exist. Plans and directs a specialized program encompassing all physics and clinical aspects of external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy treatment procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery. Provides technical oversight for the work of developmental TMPs, medical dosimetrists and radiation therapists. Oversees radiation therapy treatment planning; designs and approves treatment plans; monitors the accuracy of treatment data recorded in the patient's medical records; provides consultation to the radiation oncologist regarding difficult treatment cases. Performs patient specific treatment validation measurements; and develops medical physics policies and procedures for the delivery and quality assessment of advanced treatment modalities such as intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy and brachytherapy. Develops, operates and fully documents the medical physics quality assurance program and ensures regulatory compliance within the Radiation Safety Officer's radiation safety program. Safely utilizes and properly operates all radiation oncology equipment, and is therefore qualified and responsible for educating radiation oncology team members including radiation oncologists, radiation therapists and dosimetrists in safety issues that relate to radiotherapy planning and delivery. Work Schedule: Monday - Friday, 07:30am - 4:00pm CST Telework: Not Available Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized

Qualifications: Basic Requirements: a. Citizenship. Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3g, this part.) b. 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. c. 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. Exception for Non-Board Certified, Entry Level Candidates: Non-board certified TMPs designated by the certifying agency (e.g., American Board of Radiology) as "board eligible", who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements, may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate TMP under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c)(2)(B). The appointing official may waive the requirement of certification for a period not to exceed 2 years. (1) Approved Certifying Bodies (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles: 1. Therapeutic Medical Physics 2. Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics 3. 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. d. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. e. English Language Proficiency. TMPs must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). GRADE DETERMINATIONS: Grade Determination GS-12 Therapeutic Medical Physicist (Entry Level) In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates. Experience, Education, and Board Certification. None beyond the basic requirements. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to meeting the basic requirements, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Knowledge of the scientific and technical principles and properties of radiotherapy devices for external beam radiotherapy. This includes specialized knowledge of the clinical applications of these devices. 2. Ability to exercise independent judgment in the calibration and commissioning of external beam photon and electron beam delivery devices for clinical use. This includes specialized knowledge of the acceptance testing and commissioning of radiation therapy treatment simulation equipment such as Computerized Tomography (CT) simulators. 3. Scientific and technical knowledge of electronic data handling techniques and software. 4. Ability to exercise independent judgment in the safe operation of radiotherapy equipment and quality assurance. This includes specialized knowledge of sources of uncertainty associated with treatment delivery and how to minimize the deviation between planned and delivered treatments; configuration of test equipment and associated software; and expected equipment performance for external beam radiotherapy treatment, brachytherapy, and simulation equipment. 5. Detailed scientific and technical knowledge of radiotherapy treatment planning principles, treatment planning algorithms, and treatment delivery. 6. Knowledge of scientific and technical aspects of brachytherapy delivery systems and radiation sources. 7. Ability to exercise independent judgment in radiation shielding techniques for external beam delivery systems. This includes specialized knowledge of detection and survey methods for external beam delivery systems. This also includes knowledge of regulatory requirements and guidelines for radiation shielding and protection. 8. Knowledge of multi-modality medical imaging to include a detailed scientific and technical understanding of megavoltage photon beam imaging, CT, radiographic imaging, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission computed tomography Grade Determination GS-13 Therapeutic Medical Physicist (Full Performance Level) Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-12. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Knowledge regarding the safe and efficient use of all radiotherapy devices for external beam radiotherapy. 2. The ability to evaluate and ensure correct and safe operation of radiotherapy equipment through complex problem diagnosis and scheduled quality assurance. 3. Knowledge of the scientific, clinical, and technical applications of high dose rate and low dose rate brachytherapy treatment simulation, planning, dosimetry, and treatment methods. 4. Expertise in the professional, scientific, and technical aspects of shielding methods for external beam radiation delivery systems, radiation survey methods, developing procedures, setting action levels, delivering radiation safety training, developing and documenting competencies, and reporting. This includes an in-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements and guidelines for radiation shielding and personnel protection. 5. Ability to exercise independent professional judgment in the performance and evaluation of calibration, acceptance testing, and clinical commissioning procedures for all types of external beam photon and electron beam delivery systems. Skilled in the evaluation of acceptance testing and commissioning results of CT simulators. 6. Technical skills in 3-D treatment planning, intensity modulated radiation therapy treatment planning, and stereotactic body radiation therapy planning. This includes specialized knowledge of clinical process steps and resource requirements for planning and delivery of radiation oncology treatments. 7. Ability to process information from multi-modality imaging datasets for treatment planning, treatment verification, and radiotherapy response assessment. Physical Requirements: You will be asked to participate in a pre-employment examination or evaluation as part of the pre-employment process for this position. Questions about physical demands or environmental factors may be addressed at the time of evaluation or examination. 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-13. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is in the range of GS-12 to GS-13.

How to Apply: All applicants are encouraged to apply online. To apply for this position, you must complete the full questionnaire and submit the documentation specified in the Required Documents section below. The complete application package must be submitted by 11:59 PM (ET) on 01/07/2026 to receive consideration. To preview the questionnaire click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12855832. To begin, click Apply Online to create a USAJOBS account or log in to your existing account. Follow the prompts to select your USA JOBS resume and/or other supporting documents and complete the occupational questionnaire. Click Submit My Answers to submit your application package. NOTE: It is your responsibility to ensure your responses and appropriate documentation is submitted prior to the closing date.

Application Deadline: 2026-01-07