r/RadiationTherapy

I’m about to graduate from radiation therapy school and I’ve been really conflicted on what direction to go next career wise. Right now I’m stuck between pursuing medical dosimetry or medical physics. I already have my bachelor’s degree in Biology, and I want to start applying to programs within the next few months, but I keep going back and forth.

I honestly feel more drawn to dosimetry because I like treatment planning and the day to day role and I hear a lot of great things from dosimetrists enjoying their job and how they have a flexible/great worklife, but what’s holding me back is constantly hearing people say AI is eventually going to take over a lot of the dosimetry field. I’m not sure how true that actually is, especially long term, so it’s been making me second guess things.

On the other hand, medical physics seems very stable and something im interested in, but from what I understand it would add a lot more years of schooling and training before actually being fully established in the field. Sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it or if I’d burn out before getting there.

I know there is a great difference in responsibilities/salary for both careers, but for people already working in either field, what would you realistically recommend right now? How do you see the future of dosimetry with AI? And for physicists, was the extra schooling and residency worth it in the end?

I don’t really know what to do here. I’ve been at my local community college for three years, practically drained every last bit of savings shooting for acceptance into the program at ccbc.
I just got my letter saying I have not been accepted.

That straight up have no idea what to do anymore. I kinda had all my eggs in this basket, because this is what I really wanted to do.

Does anyone have any advice? Or at least has anyone else gone through this? I’m trying my best to stay functional, but I really don’t know what to do.

I’m a freshman in highschool for privacy reasons I won’t be saying my age, my current grades are a 93% total and I’m not sure if that’s enough to enter radiation therapy (assuming i keep up my grades.)

I've got chronic low back pain from spondylolisthesis and fibromyalgia, a chronic pain disorder. While I manage both, I do require a quarterly steroid epidural to keep the back pain in check. I'm supposed to do PT everyday for the rest of my life and right now it's more like a few times a week. While I avoid opioids, I do take an NSAID and muscle relaxant at bedtime, otherwise the back pain is too great.

I understand the nature of the job requires assisting patients and needing to lift heavy patients and that part is repetitive and can aggravate the lower back. I have also gleaned that you're part of a team that's rotating out so you don't spend all day lifting patients.

Based on this info, would you recommend against this career choice for someone with my pain issues? I am a divorced single mom and I need a high paying job to afford the HCOL area we're in. I'm considering pivoting my degree because I need to be very realistic about physical demands.

Thank you for your help!

I know it may not be required, but do you think I'd be a more competitive candidate for hire if I did have my CT license?

Hey everyone!! I took my boards the other day at PearsonVue and it said 80 on the screen! I was very excited but now reading things online, they say that score can change! Can someone let me know how true this is and if so how much did it affect your score!

Hello all! My girlfriend had a Rhabdomyosarcoma in her neck and face at 16 years old. The doctors saved her life by putting her through harsh radiation therapy (which I’m sure many of you are familiar with) but what they didn’t tell her was how the lasting side effects will change her life forever, she’s in constant pain and discomfort and she lost half of her jaw along with a lot of her teeth to necrosis, 17 years later she’s battling fibrosis, severe atrophy of the jaw, torticollis and trygeminal neuralgia. All I’m asking of this community is to please give me some ideas or names of doctors that maybe you’ve seen in either NY or FL that aren’t afraid to do what they need to do to fix their patients issues and save my love from being in pain every single day. Please. Any help would be much appreciated.

Does anyone know the specific date Broward is supposed to send out decisions this year?

I still can’t believe that out of hundreds of applications & my CC only holding 10 seats I was one of the very few who got accepted into the program finally! It’s been a long time coming for me, and after being rejected the year prior I made sure I worked HARD to strengthen my application this year and it totally paid off. Anything is possible when you keep God first and never deny yourself a chance at something you think isn’t possible for you anymore.

If anyone has any tips for me to prepare my transition into the fall semester I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you for the support 💯

After a year of my first surgery and having radiation therapy I noticed a severe dry eye. I went to about five different doctors over the course of 6 years and only two tied it radiation therapy and one was able to figure out what exactly was wrong this year. YAY

I had an obstructed tear duct due to radiation therapy and it’s quite common, but I’m not sure why no one talks about it. I was referred to an oculoplastic surgeon, who did test on my eyes and noticed they weren’t draining on either eyes. I was then scheduled to have Dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR surgery): Treatment for a Blocked Tear Duct.

Currently going through recovery but so far my tearing has reduced! I’m curious to know if anyone else has experienced dry eyes and has done DCR to help with it.

Hi everyone, so I’m currently pursuing a degree in Biology but have since decided that I’d rather go into Radiation Therapy. I currently have a 2.85 GPA which is I know is pretty low, but I do plan to bring it up a bit with the semester I have left to go. I have the pre-reqs I’d assume most schools would want completed, such as Physics 1 & 2, Anatomy and Phys 1 & 2, basic gen eds, etc. I mostly have Bs and Cs in those courses but would like to know with my stats and having no prior experience as a radiation tech, what schools should I try applying to? I’ve looked into many, the most fitting I’m seeing is Cambridge and Northwestern, but any other recommendations would be highly appreciated! I’m willing to relocate and I’m okay with the school not being JRCERT, and I’d prefer the program to be no more than 2 years long.

Any freestanding clinics out there doing IV contrast at time of sim, or do you send patients to IR?

I’m looking for some advice from current RTs/students, especially anyone familiar with California licensing.

I was recently accepted into a Radiation Therapy program at JPU. The school itself is legitimate and approved by the California RHB, and they told me graduates are eligible to sit for the ARRT boards through their institutional accreditation (ACCSC). However, I noticed the RT program itself does not appear to be JRCERT accredited (their dosimetry program is, but I can’t find RT listed).

My goal is to work in California long-term and eventually pursue medical dosimetry.

JPU told me graduates have been able to get licensed, but I’m nervous about attending a non-JRCERT RT program and potentially running into issues later with ARRT, California licensure, or employment opportunities.

For anyone in RT:
- How important is JRCERT accreditation in the real world?
- Would attending a non-JRCERT RT program be a major risk if the program is still ARRT eligible?
- Has anyone attended JPU specifically and successfully gotten licensed/worked in California?

I’d really appreciate honest advice because I’m trying to make the smartest long-term decision.

I literally take boards this upcoming week and i’m worried about not passing. Those who recently took boards (after they changed the scaling), what was your main study source?

TL;DR: Accepted to an out of state 2-year program but would prefer to stay in-state. If I decline, I move to a waitlist with no guarantee of local admission.

I was recently accepted into a 2-year Radiation Therapy program, but it’s located two states away. While I’m excited to have been accepted, I’m feeling very conflicted for a few reasons: I have no income to qualify for an apartment, though I do have a decent amount of savings to keep me afloat for a while. Surprisingly, the school is offering me in-state tuition rates, which saves me about $38,000 over the course of the program.

I can either accept the spot now or decline and ask to be placed on the waitlist for my preferred in-state locations. However, if I decline, I forfeit my guaranteed spot, and there is no guarantee I’ll get into an in-state program this cycle.

Has anyone else moved cross-country for their program? I’d love to hear from students or therapists who had to make a similar choice.

UPDATE: I decided to waitlist

Hey I’m looking to get into radiation therapy in Florida and I’m wondering what’s the new grad pay, I keep seeing different numbers all over the internet

Hi everyone, I’ve been teaching physics and math review for therapy students for a long time and am finally branching out into the online space to help more people. I’ve just released my free math quiz and a new webpage for free math resources that I spent many hours putting together. You do have to subscribe to my email list to get the quiz but you can immediately unsubscribe afterwards if you want. I’m also finishing up a math review online course that’s made just for RT students. (It will be a paid course but this first beta release will be discounted). It’ll be released to my email list within the next couple weeks! I’m really excited about all of it! I hope it helps some of you. RTPhysics.com/math-quiz

For those who went to Broward College for Radiation Therapy, do they send the email with their answer of whether you got in or not to your personal email that you used for the limited access application? Or your school email?

For some reason when I went to check on my application status, my password wasn’t going through and when I did finally get in it said I didn’t have an application history. I emailed the health science department email but I’m hoping the response email goes to my school email.

Also if anyone knows when the emails are going out I’d appreciate it!

Hello! I’m located in the Bay Area and graduated UC Irvine with a B.S. Biological Sciences. I’ve been researching radiation therapy and I think it would be a good fit for me, but I’m overwhelmed on where to start and how to get there. Most radiation therapy programs in CA are for a B.S., but would I need to get another B.S. or should I do a radtech program first then therapist certification? Basically how do I become a radiation therapist starting at a biology B.S.? :)

• Currently work as a process technician at an engineering place
• Took chemistry and physics series at UCI although my grades and gpa aren’t the most competitive
• I took physio but got a C+ in the class (might retake at CC?) and A in the lab

I believe the only pre-req I’d need is anatomy and maybe medical terminology. and I should ask around for volunteering/shadowing hours?

Any kind advice is appreciated <3

Hi! I currently just applied to Chattanooga State Radiation Therapy Program in Tennessee. I heard it's pretty competitive and wanted to reach out to see if anyone has had any experiences in the program or are currently in the program to see kind of what you personally think my chances of getting in are. I'll give some information:

I currently have a 3.25 GPA and already have an Associates degree from the same college I am receiving my degree in Radiography in. I only got two C's in the radiography program, however, it was in Physics and the other was in Procedures I at the very beginning of the program. I know physics is a big portion of the program. When they asked my biggest weakness, I was straight honest with them and said I am a weak test taker and I am learning better test taking/study strategies to be able to help me. They seemed to have appreciated my honesty. I also had my personal letter of recommendation write 3 pages about me! (He is my boss that I have known for almost 10 years and he knows everything about me and the first person I went to when I found out my mom got cancer in 2018). He seemed to have really feel confident that I was going to get in the program. I also completed 30 hours of clincal observation hours instead of the recommended 24 (I wanted to look eager, and I actually am). They also asked me if I thought I was going to be working during the program and I said no and that I wanted to focus on this program. I felt WAY more confident than I usually am during interview and seemed like my outgoing self. With ALL that being said and the information I have provided, if you were/are currently in the program, what do you think my chances of getting in are? I welcome honestly and also any advice :)