Application Process
The admissions process follows a formalized procedure under the direction of the resident selection committee, which consists of an application review committee and an interview committee. The top candidates are identified on the basis of their application and are brought in for an on-site one-day interview. Typically, ten applicants per open position are interviewed. It should be noted that due to COVID-19, the onsite interview may be replaced with virtual interview using video conferencing.
The JTCC program participates in the Medical Physics Residency Application Program (MPRAP) as well as the MedPhys Match Program. Applicants must use the MPRAP system and must participate in the MedPhys Match Program specifying the JTCC program code 25311. The MedPhys Match is endorsed and sponsored by The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Programs (SDAMPP). It provides an orderly process to help applicants obtain positions in medical physics residency programs of their choice, and to help programs obtain applicants of their choice. As such there are key deadlines related to the application process outlined on the match website and communicated to the participating applicants and Institutions. The MedPhys Match is carried out by the National Matching Service Inc. The match was first implemented in the residency year beginning in 2015. It is important to underscore that the application and interview process essentially remains unchanged in that applicants must apply to the programs of their choice and both applicants and Institutions interview and evaluate each other independently of the MedPhys Match.
The application and interview process begins with the listing of the position (see below). Approximately one week following the deadline for submissions, the applications are reviewed by the application review committee consisting of the program director and at least all the Therapy Physicists faculty from the steering committee. Applications are divided into groups and each group is scored by at least three faculties. A rank list is created and the top twenty ranked applicants are discussed in a meeting of the review committee. A final decision is reached on which applicants will be invited to an interview. This process requires two meetings of about one and a half hours each.
In line with our pre-requisites and program goals and objectives, we select applicants who have graduated from a CAMPEP accredited program and in addition, based on the strength of their academic records, desire to pursue a career in clinical medical physics and the potential to become leaders in the field. Prior clinical experience factors into the decision but is not a requirement. Admission policies are non-discriminatory. Generally, ten candidates are interviewed per open position, which is approximately the same rate as in the physician residency program.
Candidates are notified of our decision approximately four weeks before the interview day. An information package is mailed to each candidate that includes flight and hotel information as well as other logistics. Consistent with other physics and physician residency programs, candidates are expected to pay their own travel and accommodation expenses. Prior to the day of the interview, several members of the physics section host an informal evening get together with the available interviewees.
No more than 20 interviewees are invited for one open residency slot each year. The interviews are conducted in one day. The interview process consists of the following:
- An introductory breakfast with words of welcome from the Director of the Division of Medical Physics, Dr. Ndlovu; and an overview of the department and program given by the program director.
- Interviews with the members of the interview committee (about 20 minutes each).
- Lunch provided by the department
- Snap presentations by candidates of their research and/or clinical work (10 minutes each) during lunch and another extended break.
Immediately following the interviews, the committee meets to review candidates. The program director reiterates the emphasis of candidate selection. The candidates are then ranked. In the event that there is significant variability in the ranking with no clear consensus as to the top picks, the review committee will re-adjourn and deliberate further. The candidates’ submitted references may be contacted at this point if deemed necessary. Given that we will not be using MedPhys matching service this year, we will select and extend an offer to the top ranked candidate.
All admission records will be kept. These include:
- Graduate degrees (graduate name, university, year, and degree),
- Transcripts containing grade point averages,
- Letters of recommendation.
Current Application Review Committee:
Joe Barbiere, MS; Alex Kapulsky, PhD; John Napoli, MS; Alois Ndlovu, PhD; Igor Rebo, PhD; Roland Teboh Forbang, PhD
Current Interview Committee:
Members of the application review committee plus one of the faculty physician members of the steering committee (Anthony Ingenito, MD or Brett Lewis, MD, PhD)
Tentative admission timeline for the next recruitment cycle
November 15, 2023 – Day 1
Position posted on: AAPM online placement service, Physics Today, HUMC website, MedPhys mailing list.
January 14, 2024 – Day 60
Deadline for applications
January 21, 2024 – Day 67
Complete initial ranking of applications. Each application is reviewed by at least 3 members of the Application Review Committee. The program director and director of medical physics will review all applications. Each application is scored and ranked on a spreadsheet.
January 26, 2024 – Day 72
Meeting to rank final top ten candidates. Goal: invite 10 applicants per spot.
February 1, 2024 – Day 78
Rejection/invitation emails sent out
February 26, 2024 – Day103
Interview day (Top 10). Morning welcome session and overview. Interviews by 6 physics faculty/staff and two Physician faculty. Snap 10 min presentations by each interviewee during lunch time and one extended break. Wrap-up meeting at the end of the day. Compare and tally interviewers’ rankings.
March 4, 2024 – Day 110
References contacted as needed. Possible makeup Interview day
March 11, 2024 – Day 117
Meeting of interview faculty. Final ranking agreed upon to be submitted to MedPhys Match before the deadline. Note that the deadline for MedPhys Match rank order list is 3/20/2024 and the match results are announced on 3/27/2024. Also note that between 3/27/2024 and 4/20/2024, program directors send letters of confirmation of the MedPhys match result to matched applicants within 10 working days of the release and applicants must return the letters of confirmation in accordance with the programs instructions within 10 days of receipt ( https://natmatch.com/medphys/schedule.html
Recruitment Efforts
Applicants are recruited through advertisements placed in the following venues:
- AAPM online placement service
- Physics Today
- HUMC website
The John Theurer Cancer Center (JTCC) of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), Department of Radiation Oncology is accepting applications for its CAMPEP accredited medical physics residency program for a start date of July 2024. The residency is a two-year program designed to provide strong competency in clinical medical physics. Residents entering a medical physics residency educational program shall have a strong foundation in basic physics. This shall be demonstrated either by an undergraduate or graduate degree in physics, or by a degree in an engineering discipline or another of the physical sciences and with coursework that is the equivalent of a minor in physics (i.e., one that includes at least three upper-level undergraduate physics courses that would be required for a physics major).In addition, residents must either 1) have graduated from a CAMPEP-accredited MS or PhD graduate program, or 2) possess a PhD in physics or related discipline and have completed a CAMPEP-accredited certificate program, or 3) possess a PhD in physics or related discipline and have satisfactorily completed courses equivalent to those in a CAMPEP-accredited certificate program, as determined by the CAMPEP Graduate Education Program Review
Committee (GEPRC).
The JTCC program participates in the Medical Physics Residency Application Program (MPRAP) as well as the MedPhys Match Program. Applicants must use the MPRAP system at https://aapm.org/MPRAP and must participate in the MedPhys Match Program specifying the JTCC program code 25311 (https://www.natmatch.com/medphys/).
The application must include the following.
- Applicant’s CV
- Copy of degrees and Transcripts of Graduate Education
- Recommendation Letters from 3 references
The deadline for application is January 14, 2024.
Note that all the materials listed above will be submitted as part of the MPRAP application.
Facility and Equipment:
The Department of Radiation Oncology consists of 6 medical physicists, 5 dosimetrists, 4 radiation oncologists, 27 radiation therapists, 6 nurses, 2 medical physics residents as well as several associated support staff. The department treats approximately 160 patients per day on the external beam radiotherapy service and 16 patients per month using brachytherapy. While radiation therapy at HUMC has been offered to patients for decades, the current location opened 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.
Employer and Environment:
The John Theurer Cancer Center is part of Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC), the flagship hospital of the Hackensack Meridian Health network, which includes 16 other hospitals and more than 500 ambulatory care centers, fitness and wellness centers, home health services, rehab centers, and skilled nursing centers spanning from Bergen to Atlantic counties in NJ. Hackensack University Medical Center is frequently ranked by the US News and World Reports and is currently the number one hospital in NJ.
For more information about our residency program, please visit our website at https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org/en/Healthcare-Professionals/HUMC/Medical-Physics-Residency