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MRO Medical Physics Residency Program

MRO Medical Physics Residency Program is pending accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc. (CAMPEP).  Previously, MRO was an affiliate site to the University of Minnesota CAMPEP residency from 2015 to 2020. Our two-year residency program offers in-depth, hands-on training designed for candidates with an MS or PhD in Medical Physics from a CAMPEP-accredited graduate program.

This training program involves full participation of the physics resident in the clinical routine, under the supervision of the program directors and the program faculty. The intent of the program is to provide hands-on clinical education and to prepare the graduate for the ABR board certification examination and a professional career in radiation therapy.   Our residency program equips future medical physicists with the knowledge and clinical experience needed for independent professional practice, covering critical areas such as equipment specification, acceptance testing & commissioning, treatment planning, clinical dosimetry, brachytherapy, linear accelerator calibration, quality assurance, advanced treatment procedures,  patient safety, shielding & radiation safety.

“It’s important for patients to know that a highly-qualified physicist checks every procedure. And at MRO, all our physicists have the same American Board of Radiology (ABR) certification as our radiation oncologists.” Raj Varadhan, Director of Physics, supervises a highly-qualified staff of 14 physicists at 11 MRO Therapy Centers. Today, advancements in cancer treatment technology have expanded the role of the physicist in the personalized care of each patient.

Experience is offered in the special procedures of Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) on both Varian and Elekta platforms, intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), Stereotactic Ablative Radiation Therapy (SABR/SBRT), and low and high dose rate brachytherapy.

The residency-training program is designed in accordance with American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Report 90 Guidelines and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs, Inc. (CAMPEP).

Once matched into the program, residents are considered employees of MRO.

Admitted students are eligible to enroll in health, dental and other employee benefits.

Employment for the second year of training is specifically conditional to passing the end of year one examination.

Application Requirements

Prospective applicants are encouraged to review introductory resources on the field of medical physics, including the following publications from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine:

Applicants must hold a PhD or MS degree in medical physics . We also welcome applicants with a PhD in a related field such as physics or biomedical engineering provided they have completed a CAMPEP-accredited certificate program by the time they begin the residency program . In addition, all candidates must meet the eligibility requirements to sit for Part I of the American Board of Radiology certification examination.

Preference will be given to graduates of medical physics programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Education Programs. However, applicants from other qualified programs will also be considered during the review process.

Program Director

Raj Varadhan, Director of Physics, PHD, DABR, DABMP