Clinical Scientist Radiotherapy Physics - Northwood, United Kingdom - East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust

Description

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Clinical Scientist Radiotherapy Physics who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

Due to continued expansion we have a vacancy in our Radiotherapy Physics team at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre. You will be joining an enthusiastic, dedicated and friendly team from both radiographic and physics backgrounds who create a dynamic, vibrant working environment that focuses on patient-centred care. The multi-professional team constantly strive to improve patient treatments through the application of cutting-edge techniques and the latest radiotherapy technology.

This is an exciting time for the department as we await the installation of two Varian Halycon and one Varian Ethos linacs, to enhance our existing treatment machine portfolio. Hypersight and Identify are also being commissioned.

The treatment planning team utilise AI and script automation technology to ensure radiotherapy patients receive optimal, high quality treatment plans with minimal delays to their cancer treatment pathways.

In addition, you will receive a High Cost Area Supplement of 15% of basic salary, subject to a minimum payment of £4,314 and a maximum payment of £5,436

Our Values are Include, Respect and Improve. It is important that you understand and refer to our values during your recruitment process and beyond

Main duties of the job

Our internationally recognised Brachytherapy department undertakes a range of treatments using both LDR and HDR techniques.

In Dosimetry and QA, you will work with an extensive library of modern dosimetry equipment and detector technology. Modern trend analysis through QATrack has recently been implemented and Per Fraction secondary MU check is being rolled out.

This post is suitable for candidates who are due to complete STP/Route 2 within 6 months. Applicants who have not yet completed their training may be considered for appointment via annex 21.

You will provide support to all aspects of the work of Radiotherapy Physics (acting as duty Physicist), and in areas of research and development, which may be designated from time to time by the Head of Radiotherapy Physics

You will work over a range of areas in Radiotherapy Physics - treatment planning, undertake routine and complex treatment planning for external beam radiotherapy.

Check routine treatment plans produced by other staff, analysing options and appraising whether plans are clinically acceptable.

Assist with the provision of routine physics support to brachytherapy treatments.

Assist with the provision of routine physics support to stereotactic physics service, including treatment planning and machine QA.

Assist with providing routine support for physics dosimetry and quality control in radiotherapy, according to established protocols.

Working for our organisation

At East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, we are proud of the range of general and specialist services we provide and our 6,000 or so dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible and innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:

• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation and our staff and patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees. This means that any employee is entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns and we are committed to listen and consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made and considered formally, and will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications / Training

Essential criteria

• good (1st or 2:1) Honours degree in a relevant subject (physics or engineering). Completion of a formal period of training within radiotherapy physics (eg Scientist Training Program or Route 2)
• Registration as a Clinical Scientist or equivalent international qualification

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience working within a radiotherapy physics environment
• Specialist training and practical experience on linear accelerators, treatment planning systems and dosimetry
• Training in either stereotactic physics or brachytherapy

Skills

Essential criteria

• Able to communicate complex information to individuals e.g. postgraduate level physics to other professional groups.
• Ability to use own judgement involving complex facts that require analysis, interpretation and comparison of a range of options as, for example, in analysing the results of scientific measurements or processes, which may conflict, and deciding upon an appropriate course of action.
• Ablity to create spreadsheets, electronic documents and individual 3D computerised patient treatment plans for radiotherapy
• Highly developed physical accuracy and dexterity in order to be able to manipulate equipment, for example, in setting up and using delicate instruments to make precise measurements to detect and calibrate radiation doses within "phantom" patients; to load milimetric, radioactive iodine-125 seeds in theatre. The post holder is also required to use 3D visualisation skills in treatment planning.
• Able to act independently, without supervision, within professional guidelines, but can refer to his manager where necessary. The individual's manager assesses work at intervals
• Able to concentrate where the work pattern is unpredictable, for example when working as duty physicist, or performing complex calculations. Occasionally, there will be a requirement for prolonged concentration
• Teamwork

Desirable criteria

• Presentation of material to groups of staff
• Use of Macros in Excel
• Relevant use of computer programing skills (eg MATLAB, ESAPI, Python)

Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Specialist theoretical knowledge of the range of work procedures of radiotherapy physics at least to Masters level with associated practical experience
• Knowledge of patient and machine dosimetry in radiotherapy (external beam and brachytherapy)
• Understanding of patient and staff risks arising from treatment planning computer system errors, equipment failure, treatment errors and incorrect dosimetry.
• Broad knowledge of radiotherapy techniques and clinical applications Understanding of relevant legislation, national standards, professional and other guidelines (eg IRR, IRMER, ISO 9001, BSI and ISO standards, professional and regulatory body reports and guidelines.)
• Knowledge of imaging and therapy techniques and procedures used in nuclear medicine
• Knowledge and understanding of patient and staff risks arising from use of ionising radiation with unsealed radionuclides, including equipment failure, procedural defects and human error.

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.