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