About the Chief
Medical Physicist
 |
|
Office Address: |
Tri-State Regional
Cancer Center
Medical Physics Section
706 23Rd Street
Ashland, Kentucky 41101 |
|
|
|
Office Phone: |
|
606-329-0060 |
| |
|
|
Michael S. Gossman, M.S,
DABR, RSO |
|
|
Personal History: |
|
Birthplace: |
New Albany, IN |
|
|
|
|
Educational History: |
Undergraduate:
1990-1995 |
Indiana
University Southeast, New Albany, IN. Minor
in Mathematics.
University of
Louisville, Louisville, KY. Bachelor of
Science in Physics
|
Graduate:
1995-1997 |
University of
Louisville, Louisville, KY. Master of
Science in Atomic Physics (SPS
National Physics Honors).
|
Academic Residency:
1997-2000 |
Vanderbilt
University, Nashville, TN. Therapeutic
Radiologic Physics.
|
Clinical Residency:
2000 - 2003 |
Radiological
Physics Consulting, Louisville, KY.
Baptist
Memphis Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN.
Parkview
Medical Center, Fort Wayne, IN. |
|
|
|
|
Medical
Licenses: |
|
KY (State pending
requirement) |
|
|
|
Certifications: |
Diplomat of the
American Board of Radiology
(Therapeutic Radiologic Physics) - 2003 |
|
|
|
|
Appointments: |
- King’s Daughters
Medical Center, Ashland, KY – Privileged Clinical
Medical Physicist
- AAPM Therapy Physics - Radiation Safety
Subcommittee (2nd term) Member
- AAPM Task Group No.152: Electronic Brachytherapy
Member
- AAPM Clinical Practice Committee Member
- AAPM Task Group: Placement Services Redesign
Member
- AAPM Working Group on Response to Radiation
Incidents Member
- Medical Dosimetry Journal – Physics Advisory
Editor
- Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics –
Editorial Reviewer
- Ashland-Boyd County-Catlettsburg, KY Office of
Emergency Management - Radiation Safety Advisor
- Greenup County, KY Office of Emergency Management
- Radiological Triage Physicist Liaison
|
|
Professional
Organizations: |
American Board of Radiology (ABR)
American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM)
American College of Radiology (ACR)
American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and
Oncology (ASTRO)
Health Physics Society (HPS)
Tennessee Radiological Society (TRS)
National Physics Honor Society (SPS)
Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) |
|
|
|
|
Work History:
|
|
1997 –
Present |
|
|
Clinical
Health Physicist |
Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nashville, TN. |
|
|
Consulting Resident Medical Physicist |
Radiological Physics Consulting, Louisville, KY. |
|
|
Resident Medical Physicist |
Baptist Memphis Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN. |
|
|
Resident Medical Physicist |
Parkview Hospital, Fort Wayne, IN. |
|
|
Staff Medical Physicist |
Erlanger Medical Center, Chattanooga, TN. |
|
|
NRC Medical Physicist Consultant |
United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Rockville, MD. |
|
|
Chief Medical Physicist & RSO |
Tri-State Regional Cancer Center, Ashland, KY. |
|
|
|
|
Chief Medical Physicist & RSO
Michael S. Gossman, M.S, DABR,
RSO
The
essential responsibility of a medical physicist’s
clinical practice is to assure the safe, effective and
precise delivery of radiation to achieve the
therapeutic result prescribed in patient care by
radiation oncologists. The chief medical physicist
oversees efforts from therapists, dosimetrists and
additional consulting/staff medical physicists, all of
which comprise the Medical Physics Section. The term
medical physics, as it is used here, involves health
physics, diagnostic radiology physics, nuclear medical
physics and radiation oncology physics.
In this
scientific field, the use of principles and accepted
protocols of physics is important to assure the
correct quality, quantity, and placement of radiation
during the performance of a radiological procedure.
Some occupational objectives include: radioactive
material handling, measurement and calibration,
radioactive material placement or removal in patients,
particle accelerator radiation beam output scanning
and characterization, equipment quality assurance,
instrument and device specification, acceptance
testing and commissioning of radiation emitting or
detecting equipment, image quality assessment and
optimization of imaging systems and processes,
shielding design and protection analysis,
determination of dose delivered to patients and others
exposed to radiation, consultation and treatment
planning with radiation oncologists to determine dose
to be delivered, development of institutional policies
and procedures, education of radiation safety, and
direct communication with state and federal regulatory
bodies who govern the practice of radiation therapy.
The
radiation
oncology physicist is primarily and professionally
engaged in the evaluation, delivery, and optimization
of radiation therapy. Their role here has
administrative, clinical, research, and educational
components. In addition to their advanced degree,
these individuals will have received instruction in
the concepts and techniques of applying physics to
medicine and practical training in radiation oncology
physics. A major responsibility of the medical
physicist is to provide a high standard of clinical
physics service and supervision. Some additional
responsibilities for quality assurance are to insure
that all particle accelerators are correctly
calibrated according to accepted protocols and that
periodic testing of therapy equipment is maintained to
certify that therapy units and planning systems are
performing according to appropriate specifications.
Such evaluations often lead to the initiation of
further measurements and refinements for different
treatment techniques, scientifically. Many of these
are derived from highly specialized patient treatment
plans. It is the responsibility of the medical
physicist to assure that the beam and source data are
correctly entered into the treatment planning system
and that the dose output from the machine is delivered
accurately.
Another major responsibility of the physicist is to
establish a dose calculation procedure that can be
used routinely throughout the department and to prove
the accuracy of computer-based treatment planning.
The radiation oncology physicist is responsible for
establishing treatment planning and treatment
procedures. This includes both the technical aspects
of the process and the flow of procedures detailed in
the process. The medical physicist ensures that
policies and procedures contain proper elements of
good clinical practice, accurate technical delivery of
treatment, radiation safety, quality control, and
regulatory compliance. It is important that this chief
medical physicist provide education, training and
supervision in these areas for dosimetrists and
radiation therapists. It is also important to work
closely with radiation oncologists so that clinical
aims as well as scientific abilities are both
understood and used coherently. The supervisory
physicist responsible for the entire scientific
program is the chief physicist. This individual is
also the facility radiation safety officer (RSO).
The
American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM),
the American College of Radiology (ACR), other medical
societies are working together with the United States
government to provide appropriate guidance for
hospitals to utilize medical physicists in the event
of an incident involving radioactive material. The
hospital associated medical physicist may be called on
to contribute their expertise in the event of an
accidental or intentional release of radioactive
materials, since they are the radiological experts
when it comes to radiation measurement, analysis,
shielding, decontamination and containment of
radioactive material. All medical physicists have an
important role in the event of any such incident. Each
respond in the appropriate manner to prepare,
coordinate, train and resolve such an incident. In the
process of meeting this obligation, medical physicists
are key in the development of disaster plans
associated with their immediate work environment, with
special emphasis on incidents involving radioactive
material.
Unlike any
other scientific medical field, medical physics it is
a federally regulated field. The Nuclear Regulatory
Commission (NRC) has mandated that any radioactive
material implanted in a human for the purposes of
radiation therapy must involve a supervising NRC
Authorized Medical Physicist. Medical Physicists have
obtained a Master’s degree in medical physics or
directly related field of expertise, and completed
residency in the specialty field for a minimum of 2
years, prior to board eligibility. The primary
qualification for the practice of medical physics is
certification in the appropriate scientific sub-field
by the American Board of Radiology (ABR), American
Board of Science in Nuclear Medicine (ABSNM) or the
American Board of Health Physics (ABHP). Our chief
medical physicist has achieved the qualifications
stated below. To contact the chief medical physicist,
please click on the link below.
Chief Medical Physicist [DABR]
–
Michael S. Gossman, M.S, DABR,
RSO
Qualifications
-
American Board of
Radiology
- Diplomat in Therapeutic Radiologic Physics
-
Kentucky State
Approval
- Expert Radiologic Physicist
- Authorized Medical Physicist for
radioactive material
applications as needed at Tri-State Regional Cancer center and
King’s Daughters Medical Center
- Radiation Safety Officer at
Tri-State Regional Cancer Center
-
King’s Daughters
Medical Center privileged
|