Senior Dosimetrist

The Royal Marsden Nhs Foundation Trust; Sutton; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a senior dosimetrist or related professional to join the Radiotherapy Physics group at Sutton for 13 months to cover maternity leave. The role focuses on treatment planning for external-beam radiotherapy and requires strong dosimetry experience to progress into advanced planning.

Band 7 is possible for experienced applicants; a lower band may be considered for less experienced candidates.

Qualifications

• DCR/HNC plus experience or an equivalent degree with HCPC registration.
• Broad knowledge of Radiotherapy and multidisciplinary team operations.
• Experience in dosimetry and treatment planning relevant to Radiotherapy.

Responsibilities

• Provide an efficient, high quality dosimetry service for Radiotherapy.
• Deputise in managing the dosimetry team to support Treatment Planning.
• Operate as IRMER 2017 defined Operator and use planning software for IMRT/VMAT/SABR.
• Discuss complex plans with clinicians, radiographers and physicists.
• Assist with image fusion and outlining of OAR; participate in teaching and development.
• Contribute to plan checking, QA, and clinical trials; maintain records and protocols.

Skills

Dosimetry

Treatment planning

IRMER

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Team collaboration

Education

Degree in Therapeutic Radiographer or equivalent

HCPC registration as a Radiographer

MSc in Radiotherapy or equivalent

Tools

Radiotherapy planning workstations

Excel

Word

PowerPoint

Specialist databases

Job description

Job summary

We are looking for an enthusiastic senior dosimetrist, junior physicist, clinical technologist or radiographer to join the Radiotherapy Physics group at the Sutton branch of the Royal Marsden Hospital, for a fixed-term 13 months to cover maternity leave. This post will focus mainly on producing treatment plans for all types of external-beam planning in the centre. For appointment at band 7, significant treatment-planning experience is required, showing the strong foundations to move into all areas of advanced planning. An appointment might be made at a lower band for a candidate with less experience.

Main duties of the job

• The post holder will be expected to provide an efficient, high quality patient dosimetry service for Radiotherapy. To deputise in the management of the team of dosimetrists where necessary to provide Treatment Planning Service to the Radiotherapy Department.
• The post holder will be an Operator as defined by the Ionising Radiation Medical Exposure Regulations (IRMER 2017).
• The post holder will be expected to use specialised planning software to perform routine conformal and complex IMRT, VMAT and SABR radiotherapy treatment planning for a range of treatment sites and indications for linear accelerators.
• Provide advice and discuss with the Clinical Oncologists, Radiographers and Physicists highly complex dosimetric treatment plans.
• Assist with image fusion of CT, MR and PET images, and outlining of OAR where necessary and participate in the teaching, training and development work of the Section.
• The post holder will be expected to participate in treatment plan checking and development including work up for radiotherapy trials, as part of the multi-disciplinary team which makes up the Treatment Planning Service.

About us

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is a world-leading cancer centre. Our role is to offer our patients the best cancer care available anywhere in the world, and to continue to make a global contribution to finding better ways of diagnosing and treating cancer. We employ over 4,500 staff in a diverse range of careers including nursing, medical, science, radiography, pharmacy, occupational therapy, finance and administrative services. We have two hospitals - one in Chelsea, London, and one in Sutton, Surrey - as well as a Medical Daycare Unit in Kingston Hospital.

At The Royal Marsden, we deal with cancer every day, so we understand how valuable life is. When people entrust their lives to us, they have the right to demand the very best. That's why the pursuit of excellence lies at the heart of everything we do.

At the heart of the hospital is our dedicated team. We offer a stimulating and dynamic working environment, a wide range of staff benefits, learning and development opportunities and clear career pathways. There are opportunities to work flexibly across a range of areas and specialities and we welcome flexible working requests from point of hire to support employees work life balance. We are looking for employees who aspire to excellence, share our values and can play a crucial role in our on-going achievements.

Job responsibilities

• Assist with outlining of the anatomy for organs at risk.
• Carefully check treatment plans and dosimetry calculations carried out by other planning staff.
• Advise clinical oncologists on the effects of various treatment plan options on patient dose distributions. Discuss and agree approaches with clinical staff to create optimum treatment plans. Advise on replans and cases with previous treatment.
• Attend clinical audit meetings as required, advising and explaining technical treatment planning issues for individual patient to clinicians.
• Understand the operation of the treatment machines and appreciate their potential and limitations with regard to treatment techniques.
• Provide treatment radiographers with advice on planning aspects of the treatment and attend the set-up of patients on CT, mould room and treatment machines, as required.
• Re-plan patient treatments where required due to changes to the treatment regime or patient anatomy. Calculate the required dose and optimise choices for treatment completion in the light of established protocols and under supervision.
• Carry out quality assurance and dosimetry support duties, as required.
• Assist in producing written protocols for localisation, treatment planning and radiotherapy treatments as part of the Departments Quality System. Participate fully in implementing and maintaining this system, including reporting to line manager errors discovered. Participate in working parties to agree changes to protocols affecting Radiotherapy Physics and Radiotherapy, and assist with implementing and making local documentation for clinical trials.
• Maintain accurate records of all work performed.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Therapeutic Radiographer or equivalent (e.g. DCR, HNC plus experience)
• HCPC registration as a Radiographer
• MSc in Radiotherapy or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Broad knowledge of the field of Radiotherapy
• Good working knowledge of radiographic procedures in Radiotherapy and multidisciplinary team operations
• Specialist knowledge of treatment planning and Radiation Dosimetry as applied to Radiotherapy treatment
• A good awareness of the workings of computerised treatment planning, including their underlying algorithms and inherent strengths and weaknesses
• Experience working in Dosimetry for at least 4 years after registration
• Some experience in complex planning including non-routine techniques and protocols in Dosimetry
• Specialist training in treatment planning techniques
• High level of understanding of patient and staff risks arising from Radiotherapy treatment
• A good awareness of treatment setup procedures and imaging protocols
• Able to prioritise and manage own work
• Able to exercise own initiative when dealing with issues within own specialist area of competence
• Knowledge of employment procedures and practices
• Able to use Excel, Word and PowerPoint to set up documents and spreadsheets, extract information and give presentations
• Able to enter information into specialist databases
• Trained on and able to use Radiotherapy planning workstations and other related computer systems effectively

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is an equal opportunities employer.