The Supervisory Therapeutic Medical Physicist serves the Oncology Department at the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center. The TMP will manage the radiation therapy treatment planning team. Physicist(s)' care will cover the range of Radiation Oncology services as would be provided in a state-of-the-art civilian medical treatment facility and the standard of care shall be of a quality, meeting or exceeding currently recognized national standards as established by ACR Guidelines for Radiation Oncology. To qualify for this position, applicants must meet all requirements within 30 days of the closing date of this announcement. Basic Requirements: To qualify for appointment to this position, all applicants must possess the following: Citizenship: Be a citizen of the United States. Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. English Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). Education: Master's degree or higher in a physics, science, or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics, health physics, radiological science, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology; or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. 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 and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education. Approved Certifying Bodies: (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles: Therapeutic Medical Physics Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics 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. May qualify based on being covered by the Grandfathering Provision as described in the VA Qualification Standard for this occupation (only applicable to current VHA employees who are in this occupation and meet the criteria). Grade Determinations: GS-14 Supervisory Therapeutic Medical Physicist Experience: In addition to the basic requirements, completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade (GS-13). Assignments: For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. A supervisory TMP provides professional, scientific, and clinical practice of therapeutic medical physics for external beam and brachytherapy treatment procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery. The supervisory TMP has full supervisory responsibility for a staff that includes lower level TMP positions and other clinical and professional staff within the unit. Demonstrated Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: Ability to oversee the technical development and implementation of new radiotherapy techniques and modalities. This includes knowledge of current standards of care, VA policies, trends and changes in delivery technology, as well as fair, principled, and decisive leadership practices. Ability to optimize technical infrastructure and workflow for streamlined operations in the department of radiation oncology. This includes the knowledge and application of techniques such as Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). Ability to assess the qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees, to include staff performance evaluations and professional development. Advanced knowledge of regulatory requirements, manufacturer's standards, and professional society guidelines for performing quality assurance of radiation therapy equipment to include accelerators, simulators, and high dose rate/low dose rate brachytherapy delivery systems. Ability to use written and verbal communication with a strong command of technical writing considerations. Ability to collaborate with the members of other disciplines and supervisors and to represent the profession both in and outside of VHA. This includes knowledge of the roles, contributions, and interrelationships with other health care specialties and supporting divisions. Knowledge of instructional methods and documenting competencies. Ability to manage and supervises employees. Reference: For more information on this qualification standard, please visit https://www.va.gov/ohrm/QualificationStandards/. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. Physical Requirements: See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. ["The responsibilities of the Supervisory Therapeutic Medical Physicist include but are not limited to the following: Provides professional, scientific, and clinical practice of therapeutic medical physics for external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy treatment procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery. Provides and ensure timely efficient coordination, troubleshooting including mechanical, technical and any corrective measures required to ensure continuous safe efficient operations of the Radiation Oncology Clinic. Responsible for attaining the necessary training and education for providing support and oversight for radiation oncologists in delivery systems using National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines. Use expertise to process information from multi-modality imaging datasets for treatment planning, treatment verification and radiotherapy response assessment. Direct all administrative and technical functions essential for the American College of Radiology (ACR) accreditation, Radiological Physics Center (RPC) validation and management of the Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) program. Directs the radiation therapy treatment planning team through supervision of the following activities: design and approval of treatment plans, monitors the accuracy of the treatment data recorded in the patient's medical records, provides consultation to the radiation oncologist regarding difficult treatment cases, performs patient specific treatment validation measurements, develops medical physics policies and procedures for the delivery and quality assessment of advanced treatment modalities such as intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy, stereotactic radiotherapy and brachytherapy. Supervises the activities of all other CTMPs, Dosimetrists and Radiation Therapists assigned to the unit, and directs all technical aspects of treatment procedures. Evaluate treatment and document treatment delivery and deviations with the radiation oncology leadership team. The CTMP may also provide consultative services to the Radiation Safety Officer, National Radiation Oncology Program (NROP), National Health Physics Program (NHPP), other VHA programs and federal agencies. Develops, performs and documents the required operations of the medical physics quality assurance program. Ensures regulatory compliance with the healthcare system's radiation safety program and works closely with the Radiation Safety Officer. Develops and implements treatment processes in concert with the radiation oncologist and ensures the precision and accuracy of treatment delivery. Provide and ensure timely efficient coordination, troubleshooting including mechanical, technical and any corrective measures required to ensure continuous safe efficient operations of the Radiation Oncology Clinic. Directs the implementation of new equipment and processes through oversight of the following activities: assesses radiation therapy equipment needs, monitors acceptance testing and commissioning of new radiation therapy equipment, evaluates the adequacy of room shielding and radiation surveys. Develops and implements treatment processes in concert with the radiation oncologist and ensures the precision and accuracy of treatment delivery. Ability to communicate clearly both in writing and verbally with exceptional clarity for all audiences. Collaborate with the staff of other departments and represent the radiation oncology service and therapeutic medical physicist profession both in and outside of Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Proficient user and subject matter expert in the use of the treatment planning system, record and verify systems, treatment delivery systems, and multiple QA equipment and software programs and the Electronic Medical Record (EMR). The CTMP will also be an expert in complex treatment delivery in the following special procedures: Intensity Modulated Radiation therapy (IMRT), Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT), Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS) and Brachytherapy. Responsible for all other duties as assigned. Work Schedule: 7:00am-3:30pm Telework: Eligible, determined by agency. Virtual: This is not a virtual position. Functional Statement #: 000000 Relocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized Permanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized"]
The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is the largest integrated health care system in the United States, providing care at 1,321 health care facilities, including 172 VA Medical Centers and 1,138 outpatient sites of care of varying complexity (VHA outpatient clinics) to over 9 million Veterans enrolled in the VA health care program. VHA Medical Centers provide a wide range of services including traditional hospital-based services such as surgery, critical care, mental health, orthopedics, pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy. In addition, most of our medical centers offer additional medical and surgical specialty services including audiology & speech pathology, dermatology, dental, geriatrics, neurology, oncology, podiatry, prosthetics, urology, and vision care. Some medical centers also offer advanced services such as organ transplants and plastic surgery.
