Careers in Medical Physics

Krista Burton^1
1Northwest Medical Physics Center, Lynnwood, WA 

American Association of Physics Teachers Annual Winter Meeting, Portland, OR (2023).
* Invited presentation *

Working in the field of medical physics can take many different forms, with careers including regulatory, industry, clinical, research, and/or teaching responsibilities. Medical physicists work in a variety of specializations, including health physics, imaging science, nuclear medicine, and therapy radiation physics. Depending on their specialty, a day in the life of a medical physicist may involve calculating the thickness of concrete shielding required for a proton therapy vault, modeling the radiobiological effects of various radioisotopes, using machine learning to improve computer-aided diagnosis of disease, or acquiring linear accelerator data with a high-precision water tank. The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), an AAPT affiliated organization, offers resources for educators interested in discussing a real-world career field for students who hope to help patients while pursuing a career in physics.