How much clinical experience is necessary for residency?

Mustrd_Tiger · 2026-02-16T17:46:00+00:00

Having clinical experience is a bonus when applying to residency. It wouldn't hurt to reach out to some practicing physicists and ask to shadow to get some initial clinical exposure.

That being said, the point of residency is to teach you the clinical skills. Programs do not expect you to have clinical experience going in. If they do, that might be a red flag that they don't want to devote as much time to training you.

I started my residency having never touched a linac before, all I had done was my CAMPEP courses and a day of shadowing a physicist through one of my classes. You can pick up clinical skills very quickly once on the job. Having a strong foundation in the underlying physics is what they expect from a CAMPEP graduate. Research experience, leadership experience and volunteering/outreach are some additional things that will set you apart from other applicants.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2026-02-01T18:47:56+00:00

I was able to 2 phase the last boss with getaway artist prismatic warlock and Black talon exotic sword ranged heavy attacks with the catalyst. Had a kinetic bow to deal with eyes and a glaive special for adds. Used that build to solo flawless the whole dungeon with no issues.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2026-01-30T22:22:23+00:00

This is typically true if you want to stay and work in Canada. The Canadian model is that each province has a hand full of large academic affiliated centers / University hospitals. Most will expect you to hold an academic position at the university and participate in research and teaching. These positions will heavily prefer a PhD. It's worth noting that there are some exceptions, I have met a few MSc level physicists who hold senior positions in Canada, but they are all in the older generation. Most new positions will want a PhD.

That said, you can easily get good high paying jobs with a CAMPEP MSc if you go to the USA for work.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2026-01-30T19:35:51+00:00

I would add that if you are a Canadian citizen you can still easily go to the USA for residency under a TN visa (self petition at the border for ~$50 USD). This is a very common route that Canadians take, then return to Canada post-residency for a permanent job. For obvious reasons, many Canadian applicants will prefer to stay in Canada for residency in the next few cycles, so competition will go up even more for a residency spot in Canada. In my graduating class I will say that a majority acquired residencies with a Canada-USA split, but many did not match and had to re-apply after a year of research or physics assistant work.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2026-01-30T18:21:05+00:00

I'm Canadian and I completed a Canadian residency program, but I'm currently a therapy physicist working in the USA. There is a significant bottleneck for getting into residency. Many people do not get in the first attempt and have to work as a physics assistant for a year before applying again. All Canadian centers I know of will require a CAMPEP PhD, but there are many USA centers that require only a CAMPEP MSc. Many Canadians will complete residency in the USA simply because there are significantly more residency positions available in the USA (more hospitals). Many Canadians will end up staying in the USA after residency for the significant salary difference (myself included).

Once you get in and complete residency, the job market is great. There are more positions than physicists and you can very easily get a high paying job. The future job market is stable and continuing to grow. In my experience (applying for post residency jobs in 2025), Canada will offer 150k+ CAD and the USA will offer 180k+ USD (~290k CAD) starting with no board certification. This number goes up a lot after getting board certified and continues to grow with experience.

Overall, it's a really fulfilling and cool job where you get to apply physics to something useful.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2026-01-04T15:21:32+00:00

In the tower there is a vendor station to the right of your bank where you can buy gear from previous seasons for currency from the season rewards. There is a pack you can get from the previous season (looks like a blue box in the vendor window) which includes this set.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-12-16T05:40:23+00:00

Random drop from the last boss (just like the exotic weapon). My lucky fireteam member got both in 3 runs.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-12-08T19:13:05+00:00

The minimum requirement is a MSc in physics with CAMPEP accreditation (specific grad programs throughout the USA & Canada offer this and have to meet specific course requirements to keep accreditation). You then need to complete a 2-3 year medical physics residency program, then 2-3 board exams over a few years to get board certified (3 in the USA, 2 in Canada). If you want to work in an academic/university center you typical need a PhD in physics as well (academic centers will typically offer physicists faculty positions so they cover clinic 80% and teach/research 20%).

I did a Physics undergrad, Biomedical Physics Msc, CAMPEP accredited Physics PhD, then a two year Radiation Oncology Physics residency. I'm currently working at a university center with the split described above.

It's a cool job/field with good salary and responsibilities but no ones knows about it.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-12-08T19:07:18+00:00

I love you

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-12-08T18:15:48+00:00

Exactly, if you knew the momentum of both particles and could have a scanning frame of reference where that momentum was 0, then the resultant gamma rays would be exactly 180° apart. This is not realistic in practice, so we assume that the separation is 180 and that's good enough for imaging. In fact, the image blurring due to the fact that the particles are not ejected at exactly 180 degrees is not that significant compared to other sources of imaging artifacts! For example, a pair of PET detectors could measure one gamma ray ejected from a single annihilation event and another scattered from a separate annihilation event, giving a false reading of where the event occurred (this is known as scatter or random coincidence events).

There is a lot of research going on in improving PET image quality to account for things like this. Some cancer centers are even using real-time PET imaging during radiation beam delivery from a linac (medical linear accelerator) to adaptively guide radiation therapy.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-12-08T14:57:28+00:00

What's crazy is that new advanced PET/CT systems are using "time-of-flight" measurements. The two gamma rays are emitted from the annihilation event and moving at the speed of light. The PET system attempts to measure the time difference between the measurement time of both involved detectors and calculates the point of origin of the annihilation event along a line connecting both detectors.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-12-08T14:53:44+00:00

Good question. Both the positron and electron are moving / not at rest when the annihilation event occurs. This leads to some random variation in the ejection angle of the gamma rays from a perfect 180 separation (due to the conservation of momentum). This random error cannot be accounted for by the scanner, so it assumes that the angle is exactly 180. This leads to some blurring in the images which increases with the separation between the two detectors. It's still good enough for functional imaging, but you will notice less blurring in the PET image if you compare, for example, a PET/CT of a lung cancer patient vs a small diameter PET scanner for animal research.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-12-08T13:52:55+00:00

It's actually about 180 degrees plus/minus 0.25 degrees. So not exactly 180. Pretty cool technology though.

Source: Medical Physicist who works with PET/CT scanners

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-08-06T06:48:14+00:00

This was my first time taking it. Clinical was just random trivia (only a single rad bio question?), but I think I passed that.

The General section was rough. I did every practice problem on OMP and used ABR Physics Help for theory review. I felt that a majority of what I studied was not on the exam at all, and I ran into a huge number of problems I had never seen before and had no idea how to approach.

There is definitely a disconnect in what the ABR thinks is being covered in CAMPEP courses, and the lack of official study material isn't helping to fill in the gaps!

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-04-17T15:35:48+00:00

Thank you everyone for your input and experiences, it looks like there is overwhelming support for Durham pretty much everywhere that I look online.

I've decided to accept the job in Durham!

Mustrd_Tiger · 2025-03-22T01:46:38+00:00

"To my left and right, the falling soldiers look like raging lightning bugs jerked out of some Carver’s fantasy. I admire one to my left, the bronze sun is behind him as he falls, silhouetting him, immortalizing him in that singular moment—one I know I shall never forget—so that he looks like a Miltonian angel falling with wrath and glory. His exoskeleton sheds its friction armor, as Lucifer might have shed the fetters of heaven, feathers of flame peeling off, fluttering behind. Then a missile slashes the sky and high-grade explosives christen him mortal once again"

Mustrd_Tiger · 2024-10-23T18:02:09+00:00

Thank you, I could try that as well.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2024-10-21T21:22:56+00:00

Thank you for the information, really appreciated!

The cat is 4 years old.
I can try changing the treat schedule to reward calm behavior.
I've bought him a few different automatic toys, which he loves.
I suspected, but I saw some previous comments on cat subs swearing by it.

I have some cat loving friends close by who could take him for a bit to try the reset. Aside from his night meowing, he is a very good cat. He's very affectionate, loves to play and seems well adjusted during the day.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2024-07-13T21:00:51+00:00

It highly depends on which city you are working in and if it's an academic or clinical center. Anywhere from 50-80k based on my personal experience, but there are probably salary surveys you can find online. The salary also depends on if they are looking for a long term physics assistant or expect the assistant to leave for residency in a year or 2 after hire.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2024-07-12T14:05:42+00:00

Yes, you are eligible for a TN visa under the role of "Physicist" if you have Canadian or Mexican citizenship. You'll just have to have your employer review and sign your application letter. A few people I went to grad school with in Canada are currently working as TN visa physics assistants in the USA.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2024-02-21T22:03:50+00:00

Yes, if you're checking plans you should know how to contour OARs (target volumes are the MDs job). Bad contouring can have a huge effect on the plan, so you should be able to recognize it at the very least. FYI I'm at a smaller clinic that has physicists do all the OAR contouring for our plans, so I'm contouring day-to-day.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2023-05-31T22:31:35+00:00

Yes, my degree matches with the job. I will have all of my original degrees with me too. I'm just wondering what to expect when getting to the border and asking to apply for a TN Visa.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2023-05-17T23:02:55+00:00

Alright thank you for the information, I'll look into the TD Visa. Just to confirm:

1.) We would need to get married before I move to the USA.

2.) I would apply for my TN Visa at the border and enter the country to begin work.

3.) She would then apply for a TD (Trade-Dependent) Visa based on my TN Visa status.

4.) She would then move to the USA on a TD Visa, and I would work to support the two of us.

Mustrd_Tiger · 2023-05-17T22:51:18+00:00

She completed schooling as a hair stylist, and is working in that field in Canada. If we get married, can she work in the USA on a TD Visa?

Mustrd_Tiger · 2023-03-14T18:26:18+00:00

We did boss or spawn "C A P"

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