What Oncology Nurses Should Know About Medical Physicists in Radiation Oncology

September 10, 2020

As many as 50% of patients with cancer receive treatment with radiation therapy with the goal of cure or reducing pain and other symptoms. During a presentation at the inaugural ONS Bridge™ virtual conference, Sotiri Stathakis, PhD, DABR, offered nurses insights into the field from the perspective of a medical physicist.

“Radiation therapy is a multidisciplinary treatment approach. Understanding the roles of each team member makes the overall patient treatment more effective and safer,” Stathakis, professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology and Radiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, said.

He reviewed the principles of radiobiology, which is the study of the action of ionizing radiation on living organisms. The field elucidates the physics and chemistry of the processes by which radiation is absorbed as well as the response to radiation, which may be dependent on various parameters:

Medical physicists in radiation oncology consider all of those factors to determine dosing for optimal outcomes with reduced side effects. Side effects, Stathakis noted, occur when healthy tissue near a tumor (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249141.php) is affected. Most side effects are localized to the area treated and usually are short-term, although he said that some effects can be system-wide, such as fatigue (https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/248002.php).

The Role of a Radiation Oncology Medical Physicist

To help nurses better understand their medical physicist colleagues in radiation oncology, Stathakis reviewed their role in detail.

Dosimetry, which is vital to quality assurance, is one of their key responsibilities. Dosimetrists create and review treatment plans and take in vivo radiation measurements to ensure accuracy of each patient’s specific treatment plan. They also take absolute and relative radiation measurements to monitor that linear accelerators and radiation vaults are operating properly and within established guidelines.

In vivo treatment verification is one of their essential functions. Medical physicists in radiation oncology record the dose received, ensure that the prescribed dose was delivered, detect errors, and assess any clinically relevant differences between planned and delivered doses. Based on treatment verification over time, medical physicists make recommendations to treating physicians for adaptations if necessary.

Another aspect of the role involves choosing immobilization devices to quickly and accurately restrict motion during treatments and create reproducible conditions for treatments. Stathakis said that his team uses both simple devices (e.g., straps, grip rings, headrests) and more complex options (e.g., face and shoulder masks, head frames, compression paddles, wing and breast boards). They select devices that are lightweight and durable, have minimal effects on the treatment field, and will not cause image artifacts.

Other responsibilities of medical physicists in radiation oncology include:


Copyright © 2020 by the Oncology Nursing Society. User has permission to print one copy for personal or unit-based educational use. Contact pubpermissions@ons.org for quantity reprints or permission to adapt, excerpt, post online, or reuse ONS Voice content for any other purpose.