Clinical Technologist

Royal Marsden; Kingston upon Thames; On-site; GBP 40,000 - GBP 60,000; Full time

Job description

We are looking for an enthusiastic clinical technologist, junior physicist, dosimetrist or radiographer to join the Radiotherapy Physics group at the Sutton branch of the Royal Marsden Hospital. This post will focus mainly on producing treatment plans for all types of external-beam planning in the centre. Some 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.

As part of the planning team, you will work on the full range of treatment sites at a specialist centre. Treatment planning is performed using the RayStation treatment planning system, with most treatment sites planned using a VMAT technique. We have established workflows for adaptive radiotherapy (plan of the day and oART), 4DCT, and breathhold techniques. Multimodality imaging (CT, PET-CT, MR) is used for planning of several treatment sites. Recent clinical development work has included expanding adaptive radiotherapy planning, and developing planning techniques for helical delivery on our new Radixact units. The Radiotherapy Department in Sutton has 6 Elekta linacs, an Elekta Unity MR-Linac, a Cyberknife S7, and an Accuray Radixact with the second being commissioned. The Royal Marsden has led a number of recent clinical trials which have changed practice nationally.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will be expected to provide an efficient, high quality patient dosimetry service for Radiotherapy.

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 VMAT radiotherapy treatment planning for a range of treatment sites and indications for linear accelerators.

The post holder will assist with image fusion of CT, MR and PET images and discuss dosimetry of treatment plans with the Clinical Oncologists, Radiographers and Physicists.

The post holder will be expected to participate in development work including work up for class solutions and radiotherapy trials, as part of the multi-disciplinary team which makes up the Treatment Planning Service.

Working for our organisation

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For further information on this role, please see the attached detailed Job Description and Person Specification

Produce routine and complex treatment plans plus associated dosimetry calculations in accordance with clinical prescription and agreed procedures. Check that all patient images required to produce treatment plans are available. Analyse requirements and make complex
judgements regarding treatment parameters and patient dose effects to produce the required dose distribution over the treatment volume, using computerised planning systems as appropriate.

Assist with outlining of the anatomy for organs at risk as required.

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.

Attend clinical audit meetings as required, advising and explaining technical treatment planning issues for individual patients.

Person specification

Education/Qualifications

• Degree in Physics, Therapeutic Radiography or equivalent [eg BSc, DCR, HNC]
• Registered with HCPC as Clinical Scientist or Radiographer; or registered with RCT or eligible for admission to the Register of Clinical Technologist or equivalent registration scheme.
• MSc in Physics, Radiotherapy or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

• Broad knowledge of the field of radiotherapy physics
• 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 systems, including their underlying algorithms and inherent strengths and weaknesses.
• Experience working in Radiotherapy Physics or Radiotherapy.
• Experience in Radiotherapy Physics treatment planning, with emphasis on Conformal and VMAT treatment plan production for a range of clinical sites
• Knowledge about the radiation equipment to make safe and reliable measurements in the quality control process

Skills Abilities/knowledge

• 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
• Aware of relevant legislation, national standards, professional and other guidelines [e.g. IRR, IR(ME)R, ISO 9001:2000]
• 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.
• Highly developed perception of physical accuracy and hand-eye coordination (e.g. when carrying out precise outlining of body organs on treatment planning computer interfaces, manipulating three dimensional computer models).
• Good spatial, three dimensional awareness skills.
• Able on occasion to exert moderate physical effort (Assist in moving patients or equipment such as electron applicators)
• Able to communicate complex information across professional boundaries (for example, when resolving complex planning issues and options with medical staff).
• Able to train groups of other professional staff and students (e.g. provide training to medical staff and physicists in treatment planning)
• Knowledge of employment procedures and practices.

The Royal Marsden values diversity and is committed to the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority groups. We particularly welcome applications from Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates and candidates with disabilities.

As a Disability Confident Employer, we are working to create a workplace that enables all staff to reach their full potential. We are committed to this because we know that greater diversity and inclusion will lead to an even greater positive impact for the people we serve.

Due to the high volumes of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close any adverts before the published closing date once we have received a sufficient number of applications. We advise you to submit your application as early as possible to prevent disappointment. Please ensure your information is accurate to avoid errors with processing your application

All applicants will be contacted by email to the address supplied on your application. Applicants are advised to check their email accounts regularly and to ensure that email filters are set to allow our emails.

Flu Vaccination – What We Expect of our Staff

At The Royal Marsden we have an immune compromised patient population who we must protect as much as we can against the flu virus. Each year, seasonal flu affects thousands of people in the UK. Occurring mainly in winter, it is an infectious respiratory disease capable of producing symptoms ranging from those similar to a common cold, through to very severe or even fatal disease.

The wellbeing of our staff and patients is of the upmost importance to us, and it is the expectation of The Royal Marsden that all patient-facing staff have an annual flu vaccination, provided free of charge by the Trust.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.