SOUTH KINGSTOWN – If the want ads this fall in The Washington Post are any indication, the new, five-year medical physics degree program at the University of Rhode Island, in partnership with Rhode Island Hospital, could create a pathway to success and good, high-paying jobs: employers from 33 different states advertised more than 100 medical physicist physicians, with starting salaries ranging from $82,600 to $135,000.
The program combines a bachelor of science in physics degree with a master of science in medical physics. The 162-credit dual degree program, which will be launched September 2011, will be the first of its kind in New England.
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Medical physicists have become an important part of the radiation therapy caregiver team, working closely with the doctor (radiation oncologist), nurses, radiation therapists and medical dosimetrists, according to university officials.
Treating cancer is no longer one size fits all. “Cancer treatment is highly personalized and targeted,” says Yana Reshetnyak, who with her husband Oleg Andreev, both URI associate professors of physics, research new ways to target and treat cancerous tumors.
“We believe the biological and medical physics division will grow and bring great benefits to Rhode Island. The investment in medical physics is an investment in Rhode Island’s future, and it is a good investment,” Andreev said.
The degree evolved through the couple’s collaborative work with Rhode Island Hospital’s Medical Physics Division of the Radiation Oncology Department.
“Medical physicists play a vital role on the radiation therapy care-giving team,” said Edward S. Sternick, medical physicist-in-chief in radiation oncology at Rhode Island Hospital. “They are responsible for testing the machines, such as CT scanners, to determine radiation output, as well as for calculating each patient’s radiation dosage. It is a highly specialized and growing field.”
The new five-year degree program will enable URI, Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and Rhode Island Hospital to take a leadership role in medical physics education.
