Education level
Job area
Your role as a medical physicist
As a medical physicist, you’ll be an expert on radiation. You’ll use these skills to help us provide safe and effective delivery of radiation to patients for imaging or to treat diseases like cancer.
This includes:
- giving safe and effective radiotherapy (radiation treatment)
- working with other health professionals to guide treatment decisions and safe care.
- ensuring all equipment related to radiation is performing as it should be
We have full time, part time and casual roles.
What your day might look like
Medical physicists often work in major hospitals or treatment centres. You’ll start the day by checking in with your team and getting ready for any technical tasks.
You’ll test, calibrate and check the following to make sure they’re safe and reliable:
- radiological devices like x-ray, CT and MRI scanners that do medical imaging
- radiotherapy machines that produce high energy beams to treat cancer and tumours
- equipment used in the production, preparation and imaging of radioactive materials (radiopharmaceuticals)
A big part of your job will be meeting with other health professionals to help them plan patient care. You’ll give technical and scientific advice about:
- working out radiation doses
- designing treatment plans
- keeping patients and staff safe in the hospital in areas where radiation is used
You might also take part in research to improve treatments and imaging techniques.
Qualifications
Bachelor's degree in science or applied science with a postgraduate qualification in medical physics
Professional registration and licences
Most medical physicists register with the Australasian College of Physical Scientists and Engineers in Medicine (ACPSEM) but it's not essential.
You also need a Queensland Radiation Use Licence. Read more about this on the Queensland Health website.
Pay and benefits
Your pay rate and benefits will depend on your role and your pay point. In your first year you’ll start at health practitioner grade 3, pay point 1.
We also offer:
- development allowance and retention incentives for some roles
- regular wage increases
- a superannuation rate of 12.75%
- a supportive workplace with flexible working arrangements
- several types of leave
- salary packaging
- help with radiation licence and ongoing professional development costs.
If you're moving to start a new job with us, you may be able to get help with moving and travel costs.
Professional growth
You’ll develop your professional skills through:
- orientation programs for new staff
- workplace learning and coaching
- self-directed learning
- professional development and upskilling opportunities.
- clinical and medical research.
Career paths
Getting experience as a medical physicist or doing more study can lead to other roles.
- Health physicist
- Clinical educator
- Radiation Safety Officer
If you plan to do more study, ask your training provider if your past studies can count towards a higher qualification.