Medical Physics Residency | Hackensack University Medical Center
Welcome Message from the Program Director
Thank you for your interest in the Medical Physics Residency program in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center. Our Medical Physics Residency is a two-year clinical training program, PGY 1-2. Fully integrated into the day-to-day operations of the department, our program is designed to provide broad, extensive training in the principles and the latest practice of radiation oncology physics. The objectives of our program are first to teach residents the ethical practice of comprehensive, high quality clinical radiation oncology physics and secondly to show how this is delivered in cooperation with radiation oncologists, dosimetrists, nurses, radiation therapists, and other health care professionals in a structured environment focused on providing the finest patient care. During the entire clinical training, residents are expected to, amongst other things, complete the professionalism and ethics training, complete a comprehensive curriculum in clinical radiation oncology physics and acquire wide practical experience in clinical services and some research activities. The goal is to train, mentor and qualify the resident for the independent practice of radiation oncology physics and the future assumption of leadership roles in the field.Please explore our website and visit again for updates. We welcome you to apply to our program and look forward to hearing from you. Do not hesitate to call us at 551-996-5900 or email us at JTCC-MPResidency@hmhn.org if you need additional information.
Dr. Roland Teboh Forbang
Program Overview
The Medical Physics Residency Program at the John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) at Hackensack University Medical Center opened its doors to its first resident in October 2021 after attaining CAMPEP accreditation. The Residency is run and overseen by highly experienced staff within the JTCC’s Department of Radiation Oncology that includes six ABR certified physicists, four ABR certified physicians and five board certified dosimetrists.
It is a two-year program that emphasizes clinical excellence and professional development in Radiation Oncology Physics, with the residents progressively picking up increasing responsibilities under the supervision of qualified medical physicists. The expected activities, objectives and assessments to be completed during the residency are well-defined and are presented to incoming residents on their arrival. The Residency includes faculty guided and self-directed learning, but most of the time is spent in “hands-on” clinical rotations. Residents are expected to become an integral part of the Department of Radiation Oncology performing clinical duties while interacting closely with the entire department personnel, including physicians, dosimetrists, and therapists, in a collegial manner. The successful resident will be able to demonstrate competency in all areas of clinical Radiation Oncology Physics and will be ready for board certification by the American Board of Radiology in Therapeutic Radiologic Physics once prerequisites of the Board are met. The benefits of the residency include professional career training, clinical research opportunities, a competitive salary and benefits package (health insurance, books, vacation, sick leave) and travel to one professional Medical Physics meeting. Upon graduating, residents are presented with a Certificate of Residency Completion and the expectation is that they will be ready for a career in clinical medical physics.
Opened at the current location in January 2011, the JTCC Radiation Oncology Department is a state-of-the-art vibrant center offering integrated clinical and research activities of the highest order. It is equipped with a Gamma Knife Icon unit, three Varian linear accelerators including a Varian 21EX and 2 STX Truebeams, one of which has a 6 DOF couch and advanced techniques including triggered imaging and respiratory gating, two helical Tomotherapy units (TomoEdge and Radixact), and most recently, a novel biology guided radiotherapy system, Reflexion SCINTIX installed in 2023. The Radixact is capable of real-time tumor tracking radiotherapy using the synchrony system. All TrueBeams and the Tomotherapy units are equipped with capabilities of image guided radiotherapy using OBI/Cone-beam CT. The Reflexion SCINTIX is the latest addition to the radiotherapy systems and combines a LINAC, kVCT and PET in one unit with capability of real-time tumor tracking delivery using biological signals from the tumor itself.
The center is also equipped with 2 big bore Philips CT simulators with 4DCT capabilities. Additional imaging equipment such as 3T and 1.5T MRI units, PET/CT unit, etc are available for use through a well-established collaboration between Radiation Oncology and HUMC’s department of Radiology. Treatment planning is performed using Varian Eclipse, Philips Pinnacle, Accuray Precision, GammaPlan and Elekta Oncentra (for HDR brachytherapy). Monitor Unit Second Calculations are done via RadCalc. Varian Velocity software is available for advanced image and plan fusion. There is an extensive list of radiation dosimetry equipment available for resident use and training.
The JTCC offers a wide range of radiation oncology procedures including 3D-CRT, IMRT, VMAT, SRS (both LINAC and Gamma Knife based), SBRT, TBI, IORT (breast), and HDR/LDR brachytherapy.