It’s a Match: Medical Physics Residents Receive Specialized Training

Two new residents are now in Baton Rouge for specialty training in medical physics at Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center as part of the next stage of their education. The Mary Bird Perkins – LSU Medical Physics Partnership is providing students with unique training opportunities, researchers with facilities and resources that are hard to find, and most important, patients with the latest innovations and techniques for improved outcomes in their cancer treatments. In terms of training and education, one of the partnership’s key elements is a residency program, training the next generation of medical physicists. This program is coordinated through a matching service very similar to that used for physician residencies. Out of the 300 applicants each year, there are only 125 residency positions available in the country, meaning competition for admission is intense. The two newest residents matched for the Mary Bird Perkins – LSU program are Brittany Moore and John Doiron, who join two current residents completing two-year residencies at the Cancer Center. Moore received her undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University where she majored in physics and received a double minor in mathematics and environmental science. She then attended Duke University where she received her master’s degree in medical physics. Brittany is enjoying interacting with patients, physicians and the rest of the Cancer Center’s care team. Doiron studied at Louisiana Tech University where he received a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering. He then attended Louisiana State University where he was awarded his master’s degree in medical physics. Doiron learned about medical physics after receiving his bachelor’s degree and beginning  his work as a radiotherapy support engineer. Doiron says his passion for medical physics comes from being involved in patient care while also exploring his love of physics, engineering and leading-edge technology. The Medical Physics Matching Program (the “MedPhys Match”) provides an orderly process to help residency applicants obtain positions in medical physics residency programs of their choice, and to help programs obtain the best fitting applicants. The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the Society of Directors of Academic Medical Physics Programs (SDAMPP) endorse and sponsor the MedPhys Match. The administration and conduct of the MedPhys Match is carried out by National Matching Services Inc. (NMS), on behalf of AAPM and SDAMPP. In addition to the residency component, the Mary Bird Perkins – LSU partnership supports M.S. and Ph.D. programs within this elite and highly specialized discipline, and continues to attract the brightest minds from around the world. Robust medical physics programs are a rare find in community cancer centers, such as Mary Bird Perkins – Our Lady of the Lake Cancer Center, and are rather found in large academic facilities. The community’s support and generosity makes programs like medical physics possible and enhances the capabilities of the Cancer Center to offer advanced care.