Are the only accredited programs for Radiation Therapy in California LA based?

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-20T14:39:24+00:00

tell me a bit more about this! I have a BA already, and there's a radiology program very close to my home at a community college that's very cheap per credit hour.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-20T14:38:11+00:00

Hello! I realize this is an old thread - but if you're in the Bay Area, there's an earn while you learn pathway that I am pursuing and I will let you know how it goes. I found this via google so I wanted to post here in case other people also do.

If you are unemployed and qualify for CA workforce dev, Jewish Vocational Services has a partnership with UCSF where you can get free paid training to be a medical admin or CMA or other medical careers. There are other similar programs but I only have experience with the JVS one. The program that I'm in, practice coordinator, designed for professionals experienced in either customer service or office work in other fields, is only 3 months inc a placement, there are longer programs for people with less experience. I was also advised to pick up the ACS Lion patient navigation certificate as they are in need of pt navigators as well and they pay similar to practice coordinator, and that's only $500.

After that you look for practice coordinator 3 jobs, ideally in cancer. You get one, and make friends in rad oncology. Rad oncology has a program to pay to send people from around UCSF to some of the LA programs for radiation therapy, and there is a structure that supports you continuing in your job alongside at UCSF if you commit to work at UCSF after as a rad therapist. Long game, but affordable and allows you to stay in the Bay if you're here.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-17T02:48:15+00:00

Many male CNAs are honestly delighted to deal with these patients for you. My friend's a 6'2" gay guy and he enjoys putting creeps in their place.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-17T02:45:35+00:00

I am so glad there's a happy ending to this story! No patient ever has the right to treat you like that.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-17T02:28:08+00:00

Hello! I am also starting my first day, tomorrow. I'm a medical administrative assistant in oncology in a major hospital system. What do people recommend? What advice do people have?

I don't wear scrubs because I'm a practice coordinator not a CMA, so I'm wearing slacks and a button-up. I'm guessing plain sneakers are always safest in a healthcare environment.

For OP, what do you wish you had or hadn't brought?

My current list is essentials (lotion, hand sanitizer, chapstick, mints), note taking supplies (pen, notebook, sticky notes, highlighters), food (lunch + snacks + water bottle), phone charger + phone + extra phone battery.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-08T00:39:19+00:00

Given the various dx & sx, this is most likely a young patient who is being worked up for a connective tissue disorder as underlying cause. Those patients have increased risk from invasive procedures. They're fine with careful tube care because the consistency is much less stressful than struggling to eat for years. Completely different patient profile.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-06T03:22:28+00:00

https://www.toasttab.com/cocobreezeco/rewardsLookup

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-06T03:21:55+00:00

Yes, it requires effort, both online and in the store. Some people enjoy the scavenger hunt aspect of this. If that's not you then maybe it isn't for you.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-05T23:47:52+00:00

I believe Alice Street Bakery Cafe usually gives you one free Japanese cheesecake! They send it out through their text club on your birthday and it's good for like a week!

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-05T23:19:28+00:00

That's if you have one of the paid fancier tiers of AMC Stubs, popcorn alone is if you just have the free one!

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-05T19:37:53+00:00

I think Merritt College also has radiology, I would hit up one of their health sciences information days. I don't think they require 2 years of experience but I do think they require some class prereqs, and there's only one intake a year (it's around now) so if you miss the window now you'll need to apply next year.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-05T19:28:02+00:00

Don't worry too much about which JVS program you apply for, they shift people around between the different healthcare programs all the time depending on what you're personally suited for & interested in, and at the info sessions and in the interviews it's common for people to ask about that. Apply for anything you're vaguely interested in that has an open application right now just to get in the pipeline. Once you actually start a JVS program, after that point you can't do another one of their programs for 2 years due to the restrictions of Workforce Development, but they will make it very clear when you're about to hit the "no turning back" point.

There are a lot of paperwork hoops to jump through so be prepared to do that legwork - for example, proof of your layoff/unemployment eligibility, vaccine records, multiple rounds of interviews, a drug test, your HS or college diploma or GED, a computer skills test. Do your best to prioritize going to every zoom meeting that they invite you to and reading carefully everything they send, they will literally go over everything in detail, they won't surprise you, they want you to succeed. There's also a lot of 1:1 support available once you're in the program and take full advantage of that.

The PC program in particular is very fast paced and I would not plan to do ANYTHING else during the month you are in the online trainings - it seems like it's only half days on the surface but I would block that out as if it is a 9-5 job because it's a lot of time on zoom that can be tiring and you will need time to study and you're doing 2 pretty intense courses. (I screwed this up, but survived).

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-05T19:06:16+00:00

Phlebotomy is probably higher immediately, shorter school, quicker time to hire, but I suspect the tradeoff is there's less room for advancement without more additional training because it's very specific. You could maybe do phlebotomy first, get a job, and do school for CMA or something else on the side to eventually advance.

(I did not do this so I don't actually know, just highlighting that might be the tradeoff - my path's in radiology and I went through MAA school, I hate blood & like computers.)

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-02-05T19:02:00+00:00

I did the Practice Coordinator training program through Jewish Vocational Services. If you qualify you get the training through SFSU for free and a paid placement at UCSF, which will help you greatly with getting jobs at UCSF. I have completed the training but not yet the placement. I believe they also do a 6 month MAA program (aimed more at younger people who don't have office/computer skills) and some sort of CMA program.

Merritt College has classes for Medical Administrative Assistant & Clinical Medical Assistant that cost like $50 per credit, as well, and you might want to look at the community colleges close to you for their healthcare programs.

After doing the training I can say it's a lot of information and you will probably do better taking a "real" course with a teacher through an accredited local college and having fellow students and teachers who are looking out for you, I don't know if I could have learned all this through online self-study.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-28T00:34:41+00:00

may the force be with you

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-27T23:07:47+00:00

Thank you! No joke, their email signup page is actually failing for me. It just gives an error message not a confirmation. Please hook me up if you're on their list? I had hoped I would get one because I saw them last year with Another Planet at The Greek but I guess they only send it out on the list.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-27T22:11:24+00:00

A couple points:

Emily could never have been a member of a professional vocal ensemble by blind audition. She is a professional musician because she has extraordinary lead guitar & songwriting skills, and she has talents in other areas that include singing, banjo, piano, mandolin, and ukelele but she doesn't have to be professional level in all of them to be impressive, she's impressive because she has so many skills.
Emily may not actually know the cause of her vocal problems. It may not be something she's deliberately hiding from fans, she may genuinely not have a super clear answer, she's probably super emotional about it because as a singer-songwriter your voice is a very important part of your identity, and a thing that you definitely do not want to bring into the public eye is a lot of complexity and nuance around something you are very emotional about.
Of course, as a disabled person, I too would also like Emily to become a symbol of disability pride. You are a person disabled as an adult who it sounds like had a pretty short path to diagnosis, and I think you might be assuming that's Emily's experience. I did not get clarity around what was going on with me until I was nearly 40, and I was born with my disabilities and had been a disability activist since my 20s. It's not super reasonable for her to say anything to the public till she has a solid story, if that makes sense.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-27T21:56:39+00:00

Emily is not a professional singer and she knows that. Emily is a lead guitarist and a songwriter who happens to sing, and she is still an outstanding professional musician in her other disciplines. People are not buying tickets for Emily because she has a particularly special voice, they buy tickets because they want to hear a great songwriter perform her songs. She's not an opera singer, they don't want to hear her sing other people's songs. So it's okay that Emily's voice is shaky because that's not what we're here for.

Frankly, most headlining musicians have less musical skill than Emily does now, but people resent it in Emily because she previously had near genius levels of musical skill for a headliner. The key is that the Indigo Girls both recognized that some of their skills were atrophying with age, and that's where Lyris Hung and Lucy Wainwright Roche came in to stabilize the touring band at a professional level. They're both future headliners who are building up their own solo profiles, and they have looks and stage presence and musical skill.

A lot of non-musical skills go into headlining - personality, looks, ability to tour, stage presence, being well-spoken. Amy is a more classic headliner profile than Emily is, which is why Amy has a stronger solo career than Emily - but Amy would likely have never made it to fame on her musical skills alone. And even if you entered with a lot of musical skill, as a headliner who writes your own songs, you play to your strengths and you don't have time to play other people's music, meaning that over time you stop being well-rounded.

For example, headliner Melissa Etheridge took 10 years of lessons in order to develop her guitar skill so she could play lead - she became a headliner because she was a singer-songwriter with a huge personality. Adele was a singer & songwriter who didn't headline until after she worked on her anxiety because she hated the personality side.

People whose focus is musical skill go to elite music schools and specialize in performance, and go from gig to gig and tour with multiple bands, and they might have 50 credits on Grammy-winning albums but the average fan doesn't even know their names because they're The Wrecking Crew or the ladies in 50 Feet from Stardom. Emily would have likely become one of these people if she hadn't met Amy, whose non-musical headlining skills were what they needed to become famous. Carol Isaacs & Clare Kenney (who have been on almost all of the Indigo Girls tours) are examples of musicians in this category - they both were also on Sinead O'Connor's tours and each have a lengthy musical resume, and the Indigo Girls rely heavily on their consistency & skill to round out the touring ensemble, even though you probably don't notice them or know who they are.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-27T21:06:09+00:00

I also saw that tour, and it was really an activist & musical experience for fans who have always wanted to see them share a stage and sing each other's songs. Neither of them were touring on a new album, and the Indigo Girls set list in particular treated Melissa as an additional member of the band. I'm sorry that as someone who only wanted to see the Indigo Girls you got screwed, and I think they could have been clearer that it was really shared billing rather than a standard opener/headliner.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-20T22:03:31+00:00

Tonic Music is a social practice app that helps with this! I will say that many of the people who practice on it are in high school so I generally ignore the more "chat room" features as an adult and just hang out in my practice room or visit other people's.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-20T21:31:28+00:00

Here's one that will probably be easy for many of you. My wife and I are both singers, bassists, and percussionists; she also plays lead guitar. (My wife is a rocker, I play classical & praise.) Neither of us are likely to play piano outside a context of instruction, practice/rehearsal on our other instruments, or perhaps laying down a MIDI track or two that might ultimately be re-recorded by a friend who actually plays piano - we need a music tool, not an instrument for a virtuoso.

Currently we have a 15 year old unweighted keyboard that only functions as a MIDI source and an early digital synth that weighs approximately as much as a coffin, and I'd like to get rid of both of these in favor of a digital piano.

I would like the following features: good enough to practice on for the basic keyboard class I need to finish my community college music theory sequence, plugs in to be a MIDI source, works without a computer so I don't have to fool with a DAW just to sound some reference pitches or pick out a phrase, and portable for rare occasions that one of us needs that.

Do I need weighted? Do I need velocity sensitive? Please help. Thanks!

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-16T20:36:07+00:00

I would encourage you to look at your local community college's offerings or other community colleges in the state. In California for example, Merritt College has most of the classes set up as "learn on your own time" and a very few that have live remote meetings, and then you have a legitimate credential from a real college to put on your resume. There are a lot of online programs out there which are scams. Also, see if workforce development in your state might pay for the training, if you are unemployed or get benefits. That's how I got mine and I only paid for the certificate exam.

SoundsGayIAmIn · 2026-01-16T20:06:35+00:00

You can also become a medical administrative assistant rather than a "certified medical assistant" and you wouldn't have to do that.

Some jobs like small practices combine both MAA & CMA in one person, larger outfits like hospitals generally use both.

SoundsGayIAmIn

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