Thinking of Becoming a Medical Dosimetrist? Here’s What You Need to Know!

Hey everybody, welcome back to my channel.

I'm Sean, a radiologic technologist and I also do several other modalities.

One of the professions that you've asked about is medical dosimetrist.

What is a medical dosimetrist?

What do they do?

I'm going to get into it, so this is what we're going to cover.

What is medical dosimetry?

How do you enter the field, the day to day duties of a medical dosimetrist and whether AI is going to take over their jobs.

Now, what's the difference between a medical dosimetrist and a radiation therapist?

Do you need to know a lot of math and if so, what type can you work remotely as a medical dosimetrist?

How competitive is the schooling for it?

Is it great for introverts?

Do you get to work along or do you have to collaborate?

And what are the typical work schedules and do you have to take call?

So stick around.

I'm going to be covering all of those things.

Let's get started.

Medical dosimetry, what is it?

Medical dosimetry is all about designing radiation treatment plans for cancer patients.

These professionals work closely with radiation oncologists and medical physicists to calculate the precise dose of radiation needed to get cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues.

This is a great mix of science, technology and compassion.

Now, how do you enter the field?

First, to become a medical dosimetrist, you'll typically need to get a bachelor's degree in a related field like radiation therapy or physics.

After that, you're going to need to complete a formal medical dosimetry program accredited by the jrcert, which is the Joint Review Committee of Education and Radiologic Technology.

Finally, you're going to have to take a certification exam through the mdcb, which is the Medical Dosimetrist Certification Board.

It's a competitive field, so strong grades and a solid understanding of radiation therapy are going to be key.

Number three, what are the day to day duties of a medical dosimetrist on a day to day basis?

A medical dosimetrist.

They create detailed radiation treatment plans using specialized software.

They analyze the imaging data, calculate doses and assure patient safety.

Collaboration is a huge part of the job and they work closely with radiation oncologists, therapists and physicists to make sure everything is accurate and effective.

Number four, let's talk about the money.

I know that's what you came for.

Entry level medical dosimetrists can expect to earn 80 to $90,000 per year for average salaries in the profession.

Could look to be about, about 110, 110,000 annually.

But for experienced dosimetrists, it's more along the lines of 150,000 and more.

It just depends on your location, your facility, your certifications and the all of the above.

You just.

But it's, that's not a bad salary.

Will AI take over medical dosimetry jobs?

I see it all over social media.

Will AI take over radiologist jobs?

But medical dosimetry, you think they sit at computers, they do calculations, computers can do that.

But we still have a human aspect to this job.

So the question on everyone's mind is will AI take over while AI is being integrated into treatment planning systems is there to assist in the calculations.

So it's unlikely.

We can't say for sure on anything, but it's unlikely that it would truly fully replace medical dosimetrist anytime soon.

The human element to interpreting patient needs, collaborating with the care team and adapting plans to unique cases is something AI cannot do.

Certain things robots and computers just can't do.

You need a human on certain things.

So, okay, and who would not want a human checking behind computers?

Are medical dosimetries the same as radiation therapists?

That's a great question.

Nope.

Pretty much, no.

But let me explain to you why they.

They both work in radiation oncology, but their roles are different.

Radiation therapists deliver the radiation treatments to patients, so they are more patient direct, whereas medical dosimetrist, they design the plans for the therapist, radiation therapist to follow.

Both play crucial roles.

One is not here and one is not there.

They are co workers in radiation oncology with two different roles, but each is needed.

Each is needed because they require different training and different expertise.

Number six, do you have to be strong in math?

That's a great question.

And what math do you have to be strong in?

So math is going to be a big part of medical dosimetry.

You may ask why you need to have a solid grasp on algebra, geometry, physics principles.

Because they're going to help you calculate the doses, the angles that you're going to need to ensure accuracy of these treatment plans.

Don't worry, you will get plenty of practice.

That's why you go to school and get training, hands on training, didactic training.

But many of you have never seen radiation therapy.

I rotated for a long time through radiation therapy and that's where years ago I learned what a medical dosimetris was.

I know some people say it's new, it's not new.

They've been around for a very long time.

A very strong profession that is very knowledgeable and they're part of medical imaging.

So when I hear people say it's this new secret profession in medical imagery, it's not.

I've been doing it for 22 years.

It's been around for as long as I've been in school and longer.

And there are people in that profession of medical imaging that have a lot of experience and some do not have a radiologic technology background.

They have.

Some don't have a radiation therapy background.

Some went through biology major and decided or physics major and decided to go into medical dosimetry.

There are different pathways into this program, into into this career, and many have been doing it for very many years.

It has been around for a very, very long time and it has grown exponentially.

It's just amazing after 22 years to see how far medical dosimetris has.

Medical dosimetry has come along and doing radiation therapy training.

When I was going through school, like I said, I rotated through.

You get to see how each tumor, even if it's a tumor in the neck, every patient's treatments plan is going to be different.

It's going to be based off of where that tumor is.

It's going to.

So your angles have to be correct.

If a patient gains weight, if that tumor shrinks, they need to change the angulations and they've got to get it right because you're not hitting just a tumor, you're hitting the tumor cells.

This is so precise, you guys, you can't get in there and just.

I'm close.

Imagine that.

That's you on a table.

This job is that important.

Like, seriously, as someone who's had several members of my family go through radiation treatment is serious.

It's very serious and it's personal.

I love the profession of medical imaging is personally touched me and it's touched my family.

So I appreciate the medical dosimetrist that are out there.

And chime in in the comments if you've ever heard of medical dosimetrist or ever thought about going to school for one or had the experience to have a radiation treatment plan for a family member or not.

I just shared mine.

I would love for y'all to share yours.

Can you work remotely?

Great question.

You guys are coming with excellent questions.

Everybody wants to work from home, but guess what?

This is a medical job where you can work from home.

But before you get too excited, but you got to get the experience first before you can work remotely.

No company is going to trust you straight out of medical Dosimetry school working remotely.

You got to get in there and get the experience.

Work around experienced technologists and physicists and be able to learn how to calculate and do those things and think on your feet and create plans without someone being there to watch you or check over you or help you out.

It takes time.

So don't go into the field expecting I'm going to go for a remote job right when I graduate.

No, it's going to take time.

You're going to need to get in there.

And also it depends on who you work for.

Not all facilities.

If you look for jobs in medical dose symmetry, there are some that say, we need you on site.

This will be an on site job.

Maybe you rotate to different cancer centers within large organizations.

That's very possible.

Or maybe it's a hybrid job.

But again, you're gonna need to get that experience because every radiation therapy machine is not the same.

You got to know the machines.

There's so many intricate things that are going to be dependent on if and when you can work remotely, but plenty people do it.

So get that experience, get in school, get that experience, and then go work remotely if you want to.

Now, is school competitive?

We're talking about school.

Yes, it's very competitive to get into a medical dosimetry program.

There are not a lot and they have limited spots.

They're not like taking 20, 30, 40 people in these medical dosimetry programs.

Not in an accredited one, they're not.

So you want to make sure that your college courses that you've taken, your grades are really good.

That is going to help you really shine when it comes to acceptance into this program.

And if this is your goal, make sure that you focus on getting good grades and gaining experience in related fields like radiation therapy.

That is always a plus.

There are a couple of programs out there that you can get into medical dosimetry with without being a radiation therapist.

Sure, many people do it.

If that's not you, and you want to get a background in radiation therapy to really amp up your, your application to get into a school and you're a radiologic technologist, take another year, get the certification in radiation therapy, get about a year experience and apply to a medical dosimetry program and you can then become a cert, get a certificate in medical dose symmetry, or you can actually go get a bachelor's or you can get a master's.

I hear a little tip in a couple groups.

I'm in.

You want to get the master's in medical dosimetry.

I hear that is like top tier.

And why not?

If you already have a bachelor's, why not go for the master's in medical dose symmetry?

Let me know what you think about that.

Would you go for the master's or the bachelor's Now?

If you're an introvert, you might want to know Do I have to deal with people as a medical dosimetrist?

Good question.

And absolutely you do have to deal with people.

It's a job.

You're working in healthcare.

This job.

Medical dosimetry.

Even though you're not working with patients, you are still working and collaborating with the team.

Medical dosimetrists frequently consult with radiation oncologists and medical physicists to ensure their treatment plans are safe, effective and tailored to each patient's needs.

So collaboration is going to be key in this role.

So if you don't like people, whether patients or not, probably not the job for you.

You got to be a team player on this kind of position.

If you're a more independent person, you may not be a good fit for medical dosimetry.

But if you work really well in teams and you love to collaborate, this is your job.

Final 1 what type of schedule do medical dosimetrists work?

What have you heard?

Well, most medical dosimetrists, they work a regular business hour shift, Monday through Friday high.

However, in some cases you may have to take call.

I know you're wondering like who takes call on the weekends or have to work on weekends or take call for medical dosimetry.

Some patients cannot make a Monday through Friday treatment plan and the hospital may be that busy with radiation treatment plans that they may need you to work on weekends to cover.

Maybe they're doing radiation therapy treatment plans on the weekend and there there's something that might come in.

You never know.

Your schedule may not be a Monday through Friday.

You may only be able to get a PRN job at the area you're in.

Maybe jobs are kind of sparse, but hang in there.

This is a really good profession and there are plenty of jobs out there.

And as technology increases, I've seen the medical dosimetry and radiation therapy profession really explode with jobs.

So just hang tight and I hope you've enjoyed this.

There you have it.

Everything you need to know about medical dos symmetry.

If you're interested in combining science, technology and patient care, this may be the perfect career for you.

Don't forget to like subscribe and share this video with anyone curious about a career in radiologic technology, medical imaging, and radiation therapy.

Thanks for watching and requesting this video, and I'll see you and I'll see you in the next video.