Basic Requirements:
Citizenship:
Citizen of the United States. (Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with chapter 3, section A, paragraph 3)
Board Certification:
Persons hired or reassigned to TMP positions in the VHA must be board certified in the field of therapeutic medical physics by an approved certifying body. The board certificate must be current & the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education.
1. Approved Certifying Bodies:
a The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles:
1. Therapeutic Medical Physics
2. Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics
3. Radiologic Physics or Radiological Physics
b The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics
c The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics
(2) Exception for Non-Board Certified, Entry Level Candidates: Non-board certified TMPs designated by the certifying agency (e.g., American Board of Radiology) as "board eligible", who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements, may be given a temporary appointment as a graduate TMP under the authority of 38 U.S.C. § 7405(c). The appointing official may waive the requirement of certification for a period not to exceed 2 years for a TMP that provides care under the supervision of a board certified TMP at or above the full performance level. This exception only applies at the GS-12 entry level. For grade levels at or above the full performance level, the candidate must be board certified. Temporary appointments of non-board certified TMPs may not be extended beyond 2 years, or converted to a new temporary appointment.
3) Failure to Obtain Board Certification: Uncertified TMPs must actively pursue obtaining board certification from the date of their appointment. At the time of appointment, the supervisor will provide the uncertified TMP with the written requirements for board certification, the date by which board certification must be obtained, and the consequences for not becoming board certified by the deadline. Failure to obtain board certification by the prescribed date will result in removal from the GS-601 TMP series & may result in termination of employment.
(4) Loss of Board Certification: Once board certified, TMPs must maintain a full, valid & unrestricted board certification to remain qualified for employment. Loss of board certification may result in termination of employment.
GRADE REQUIREMENTS
Creditable Experience:
(1) Knowledge of Current Medical Physicist Practices:
To be creditable, the experience must have required the use of knowledge, skills, & abilities (KSAs) associated with current professional TMP practice. The experience must be post-master's degree or above. Experience satisfying this requirement must be active professional practice, which is paid/non paid employment as a professional TMP.
(2) Quality of Experience: Experience is only creditable if it is obtained following graduation with a master's or doctoral degree in medical physics, physics, or another relevant physical science or engineering discipline from an accredited training program and includes work as a professional TMP directly related to the position to be filled. Qualifying experience must also be at a level comparable to TMP experience at the next lower grade level. For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher level duties must consist of significantly larger scope, administrative independence, complexity/difficulty and range of variety as described in this standard at the specified grade level and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time.
(3) Part-Time Experience: Part-time experience as a professional TMP is creditable according to its relationship to the full-time workweek..
(4) Clinical Training/Clinical Residency: TMPs go through a post-graduate clinical training program in therapeutic medical physics before they are eligible to work as a TMP. The post-graduate clinical training may be substituted for creditable experience on a year.
Grade Determinations:
In addition to the basic requirements for employment, the following criteria must be met when determining the grade of candidates.
GS-13 Therapeutic Medical Physicist (Full Performance Level)
(a) Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade level.
(b) Assignments: The full performance level TMP is board certified & performs the clinical practice in its entirety with considerable discretion & independent judgment. Specific tasks including: recommending an optimal modality and treatment technique; evaluating quality, safety, and accuracy of treatments planned and delivered, ensuring the radiation dose is carried out correctly and completely; safely operating all planning and delivery devices. Implements radiation therapy of outstanding technical difficulty and responsibility, providing knowledge-based solutions to resolving issues where no rule-based solutions exist. Plans & directs a specialized program encompassing all aspects of external beam and brachytherapy treatment procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery. Provides technical oversight for the work of entry level TMPs, monitors the accuracy of data recorded in the patient's medical records; provides consultation to the oncologist; performs patient-specific treatment measurements; develops medical physics policies & procedures for the delivery & quality assessment of advanced treatment modalities. The TMP develops, operates and documents the medical physics quality assurance program and ensures compliance within the Radiation Safety safety program. Safely utilizes and properly operates all radiation oncology equipment and is qualified and responsible for educating radiation oncology team members in safety issues relate to radiotherapy planning and delivery.
(c) Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:
In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs:
1. Knowledge regarding the safe & efficient use of all radiotherapy devices for external beam radiotherapy.
2. The ability to evaluate & ensure correct & safe operation of radiotherapy equipment through complex problem diagnosis & scheduled quality assurance.
3. Knowledge of the scientific, clinical, & technical applications of high dose rate & low dose rate brachytherapy treatment simulation, planning, dosimetry, & treatment methods.
4. in the professional, scientific, & technical aspects of shielding methods for external beam radiation delivery systems, radiation survey methods, developing procedures, setting action levels, delivering radiation safety training, developing & documenting competencies, & reporting. This includes an in-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements & guidelines for radiation shielding & personnel protection.
5. Ability to exercise independent professional judgment in the performance & evaluation of calibration, acceptance testing, & clinical commissioning procedures for all types of external beam photon & electron beam delivery systems. Skilled in the evaluation of acceptance testing and commissioning results of CT simulators.
6. Technical skills in 3-D treatment planning, intensity modulated radiation therapy treatment planning, & stereotactic body radiation therapy planning. This includes specialized knowledge of clinical process steps & resource requirements for planning & delivery of radiation oncology treatments.
7. Ability to process information from multi-modality imaging datasets for treatment planning, treatment verification, & radiotherapy response assessment.
Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, visit
https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/.