The Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Sciences launched our Medical Physics residency program in 2024. Our objective is to prepare the next generation of qualified medical physicists with high-quality, hands-on clinical training and full integration into clinical physics functions. We are a tight-knit and supportive group, and take pride in a human-centered approach to both clinical care and post graduate training. Our commitment to education spans this program, our Radiation Oncology Residency, and the Dartmouth Medical Physics Education Program.
Accreditation
Our program is proud to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP).
Program structure
Our program is three years in length, consisting of a dedicated period of research and clinical project work for the first year, followed by two years of clinical training in medical physics. See our curriculum for more details.
About our department
The Department of Radiation Oncology and Applied Sciences encompasses a top-caliber faculty who employ state-of-the-art technologies to treat more than 1,000 patients annually, both at our primary site on the Lebanon campus and satellite facilities in St. Johnsbury, Vermont and Manchester, New Hampshire. Our department prides itself on setting the pace for cancer care in northern New England.
We offer a full spectrum of world-class therapies, including:
- Linac-based stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS)
- Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT)
- Magnetic Resonance-guided Radiation Therapy (MRgRT)
- Surface guided radiation therapy (SGRT) across all sites
- Real-time target monitoring
- Gynecologic HDR brachytherapy
- GammaTile LDR intracranial brachytherapy
- Cutting-edge image-guided radiation therapy technologies, such as cone beam CT treatment imaging and automated marker detection
- 4D-simulation scanning
- Adaptive radiation treatment planning
In 2020 the section started treating patients on northern New England’s first MRI-guided, linear accelerator-based radiation therapy unit, a landmark innovation re-defining image-guided radiation oncology for the 21st century.
We advance technological innovation in radiation oncology and were the first center in the world to image Cherenkov emission from patients during treatment. More recently, we were the first center in the world to demonstrate ultra-high dose rate delivery from a modified clinical linear accelerator at normal treatment geometry to investigate the FLASH normal tissue sparing effect.
Beyond these technological resources, the department boasts outstanding people and relationships, both in terms of its core faculty and in terms of its strong affiliations across the Dartmouth campus. Research projects and partnerships extend across the basic sciences at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth College, into Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering and Tuck School of Business, and as far as the Dartmouth Institute, the university’s health care policy think-tank.
View Medical Physics Residency in Radiation Oncology program statistics (PDF)
Scheduled activities
Residents’ daily work integrates hands-on experience, one-on-one teaching, and core curriculum conferences. Weekly physics meetings are instructive as residents are exposed to the ongoing projects and processes underlying the technical delivery of therapy services. Additionally, weekly physics seminars include lectures from faculty, didactic presentations from residents, journal clubs, and vendor presentations.
Residents are encouraged to attend multidisciplinary tumor boards at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, most of which are held weekly. These include faculty representing (for example) General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Urology, Thoracic Surgery, ENT, Gynecology, Pediatric Surgery, Hematology/Oncology, Neuro oncology, Pathology, Diagnostic Radiology, Gastroenterology, Pulmonary Medicine, Maternal/Fetal Medicine, Pediatrics, Nutrition, and Social Services.
Also, within our department, residents present periodically at Resident Teaching Conferences, Quality and Safety Rounds, and Workflow improvement meetings. Valuing the advancement of medical knowledge, science, and education, the department participates in the Department of Medicine’s Grand Rounds and Morbidity and Mortality Conferences.
The Dartmouth Cancer Care Pavilion Lebanon holds weekly Grand Rounds, in which the department participates, with residents occasionally presenting. As part of the Grand Rounds, a visiting professor program brings diverse ideas to residents and provides them with international leaders as role models.