Supervisory Therapeutic Medical Physicists (TMPs) work in Radiation Oncology and have responsibilities to include: protection of patient and others from potentially harmful or excessive radiation; establishment of adequate protocols to ensure accurate patient dosimetry; measurement and characterization of radiation used for radiotherapy; the performance and supervision of treatment planning; determination of delivered dose; advancement of procedures necessary to ensure delivered dose integrity. Basic Requirements: United States Citizenship: Non-citizens may only be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy. Education. Master's degree or higher in a physics, science, or engineering discipline recognized by an accredited college or university with at least 30 semester hours in medical physics, health physics, radiological science, physics, engineering, chemistry, or biology; or an equivalent foreign degree and coursework substantiated by the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services. Board Certification. Persons hired or reassigned to TMP positions in the VHA must be board certified in the field of therapeutic medical physics by an approved certifying body. The board certificate must be current and the applicant must abide by the certifying body's requirements for continuing education. Approved Certifying Bodies (a) The American Board of Radiology (ABR) in any of the following field titles: 1. Therapeutic Medical Physics 2. Therapeutic Radiologic or Therapeutic Radiological Physics 3. Radiologic Physics or Radiological Physics (b) The American Board of Medical Physics (ABMP) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics. (c) The Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine (CCPM) in the subfield of Radiation Oncology Physics. Physical Requirements. See VA Directive and Handbook 5019. English Language Proficiency. Therapeutic Medical Physicists (TMPs) must be proficient in spoken and written English as required by 38 U.S.C. 7402(d), and 7407(d). Grade Determinations: GS-14 Experience. In addition to the basic requirements, completion of a minimum of 1 year of progressively complex experience equivalent to the next lower grade. In addition to the experience above, the candidate must demonstrate the following KSAs: 1. Ability to oversee the technical development and implementation of new radiotherapy techniques and modalities. This includes knowledge of current standards of care, VA policies, trends and changes in delivery technology, as well as fair, principled, and decisive leadership practices. 2. Ability to optimize technical infrastructure and workflow for streamlined operations in the department of radiation oncology. This includes the knowledge and application of techniques such as Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). 3. Ability to assess the qualifications and abilities of current and prospective employees, to include staff performance evaluations and professional development. 4. Advanced knowledge of regulatory requirements, manufacturer's standards, and professional society guidelines for performing quality assurance of radiation therapy equipment to include accelerators, simulators, and high dose rate/low dose rate brachytherapy delivery systems. 5. Ability to use written and verbal communication with a strong command of technical writing considerations. 6. Ability to collaborate with the members of other disciplines and supervisors and to represent the profession both in and outside of VHA. This includes knowledge of the roles, contributions, and interrelationships with other health care specialties and supporting divisions. 7. Knowledge of instructional methods and documenting competencies. 8. Ability to manage and supervises employees. Assignments For all assignments above the full performance level, the higher-level duties must consist of significant scope, complexity (difficulty), and range of variety, and be performed by the incumbent at least 25% of the time. A supervisory TMP provides professional, scientific, and clinical practice of therapeutic medical physics for external beam and brachytherapy treatment procedures from treatment simulation to treatment planning to the actual treatment delivery. The incumbent oversees the technical development and implementation of new radiotherapy techniques and modalities; oversees the activities of all other TMPs, dosimetrists, and other staff members assigned to the unit; directs the technical aspects of treatment procedures; and, performs duties qualifying them as a supervisor to include planning and directing work, developing performance plans, evaluating staff performance, and other administrative functions. The supervisory TMP has full supervisory responsibility for a staff that includes lower level TMP positions and other clinical and professional staff within the unit. The employee directs the implementation of new equipment and processes through oversight of the following activities: assesses radiation therapy equipment needs; monitors acceptance testing and commissioning of new radiation therapy equipment; evaluates the adequacy of room shielding and radiation surveys; develops and implements treatment processes in concert with a radiation oncologist; and, ensures the precision and accuracy of treatment delivery. The employee optimizes technical infrastructure and workflow for streamlined operations in the department of radiation oncology through the mastery and application of techniques such as Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA), Root Cause Analysis (RCA), and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA). The employee directs the radiation therapy treatment planning team through oversight of the following activities: designs and approves of treatment plans; monitors the accuracy of treatment data recorded in the patient's medical records; provides consultation to the radiation oncologist regarding difficult treatment cases; performs patient-specific treatment validation measurements; develops medical physics policies and procedures for the delivery and quality assessment of advanced treatment modalities such as intensity modulated radiation therapy, stereotactic body radiation therapy and brachytherapy. The employee develops, operates, and documents the medical physics quality assurance program; ensures regulatory compliance; supervises the Radiation Safety Officer's radiation safety program; and, trains and educates radiation oncology team members in safe operations in Radiation Oncology. References: VA HANDBOOK 5005/83, PART II, APPENDIX G48. THERAPEUTIC MEDICAL PHYSICIST QUALIFICATION STANDARD, GS-601, Veterans Health Administration dated July 8, 2015. The full performance level of this vacancy is GS-14. The actual grade at which an applicant may be selected for this vacancy is GS-14. ["Major duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following: Linac QA: Participate in the calibration of radiation beams from treatment units. The incumbent will provide machine quality controls of the OBI, EPID, and Rapid Arc systems. Provide Physics QA of every IMRT patient treatment plan. External Beam Treatment Planning: Supervise treatment planning, the components of which are: (a) supervision of patient contours and/or imaging studies (e.g., CT), (b) determination of dose at different points within the treatment volume, (c) selection of beams (together with their angles, weights, collimation, and filtering), (d) generation of isodose curves or other information and dosimetry, and (e) selection of wedges, bolus, and other devices necessary for proper treatment. Cross-check hand calculation and computer calculations made by others. Radiation Modifier Fabrication: Participate in (a) the preparation of radiation therapy treatment devices such as custom field blocks, tissue compensators, and build-up boluses, and (b) the planning and the production of molds, casts and other immobilization devices. Patient Positioning Supervision: Establish and supervise accuracy in patient positioning for treatment. Responsible for follow-up plans; treatment setups during the course of patient treatment; and proposing changes, depending on the initial plan of treatment, such as reduced field size, and changes needed for safety purposes, such as blocking of spinal cord or other sensitive structures and organs, etc. Chart/Plan Checks: Review the ongoing treatments given to each patient. This includes (a) participation in clinical conferences with physicians to review current patients and consult on new patient treatments, and (b) certification of the accuracy of dosimetry and all pertinent entries made by technologist. Research Protocol Support: Documenting dosimetry information for patients enrolled in the various Co-Operative Group clinical trials (RTOG, SWOG, CALGB, ECOG, etc.), investigator initiated clinical trials, and/or industry sponsored clinical trials. Meeting Participation: Participate in local, regional, and national meetings to keep abreast of new developments and to facilitate exchange of information and ideas. These include meetings, conferences, seminars and workshops at universities, other government agencies and other institutions. Attend meetings and workshops within and outside of the VA to transmit and exchange significant developments in the medical physics specialty. Work Schedule: Monday to Friday, 8:00 am - 4:30 pm\nTelework: Not Available\nVirtual: This is not a virtual position.\nFunctional Statement #: 612-00959-F\nRelocation/Recruitment Incentives: Authorized. Recruitment or relocation incentives may be paid to a Highly Qualified candidate.\nPermanent Change of Station (PCS): Not Authorized\nFinancial Disclosure Report: Not required"]