Medical Physicist (PET Imaging)

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Contribute to the routine clinical scientist activities in the PET Centre, including quality control testing and maintenance of medical devices.
• Take part in the medical physicist duty scanning rota, providing technical support and first line troubleshooting to the PET Centre routine scanning operation.
• Contribute to the development and optimisation of protocols and procedures for clinical and research scanning and incorporate recent advances in PET-CT and PET-MR methodology into clinical practice. Ensure that all new procedures are appropriately tested, validated, documented, and communicated to all relevant groups.
• Play a leading role in the conduct of quantitative PET studies, taking responsibility for all technical aspects and co-ordination of specific PET clinical research studies. This will involve working closely with clinical researchers/collaborators and performing methodology development and statistical data analysis as appropriate.
• Contribute to clinical research methodology development, implementing and validating novel techniques, and take a hands-on role in the acquisition, analysis, and publication of research data.
• Work alongside others to provide expertise in data processing and handling for PET-CT and PET-MR data, including for total body PET data, such as studies looking at biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and dosimetry for new compounds. This will include the development of new data processing procedures and writing/documenting software tools and utilities for data acquisition, transfer and analysis.
• Play a leading role in designing, implementing and managing bespoke data storage, sharing and analysis platforms for our research data, working closely with other experts and stakeholders to create and maintain a system that is robust and future-proof.
• Provide expertise in the management of PET image and raw data flows and data migrations, including knowledge of the DICOM protocol, PACS systems and basics of networking.
• Develop and advise on radiation protection procedures for the scanning suites and the cyclotron/laboratory facilities, promoting the highest level of regulatory compliance and best practice.
• Write and review specialised protocols, working procedures, risk assessments and other documentation, including for complex research protocols.
• Contribute to departmental and divisional teaching and training activities including delivering lectures and contributing to student examinations where appropriate.
• Train and provide advice to junior staff.
• Provide advice and support on matters within your expertise relating to the administration of radioactive substances and patient radiation exposure, including drafting ARSAC and Ethics committee submissions.
• Ensure the PET Centres compliance with all relevant regulations including the Ionising Radiations Regulations and the Ionising Regulations Medical Exposures Regulations, Environment Agency permits, and the General Data Protection Regulations.
• Give clear, adequate, and appropriate radiation safety advice to staff in the PET centre, researchers, members of the public etc.
• Liaise with clinical, technical, administrative, and scientific staff and with clinical collaborators, industrial suppliers and collaborators, and representatives of regulatory bodies, communicating material of a specialist and complex nature clearly.
• Write technical reports and scientific papers for publication.
• Make presentations for technical meetings and scientific meetings both within the department and at scientific conferences.
• Undertake other tasks and responsibilities appropriate to the position as necessary, including working flexible hours if required.
• The role will require the post holder to be physically on site for most of the working time.

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Experience working as a medical physicist in a PET or Nuclear Medicine imaging department
• Experience in manipulation, archiving and sharing of large datasets such as from clinical studies
• Experience of programming in relevant languages
• Demonstrable experience working with and coordinating between diverse stakeholders

Desirable

• Experience of providing technical, scientific and regulatory support to clinical and research PET or nuclear medicine studies
• Expertise in manipulation, archiving and sharing of large datasets such as from clinical studies and/or experience of large IT/networking projects
• Experience and/or expertise in biodistribution, pharmacokinetics and dosimetry data analysis of PET clinical studies

Knowledge and skills

Essential

• Knowledge of nuclear medicine technology, methodology, equipment, clinical and research applications and basic science
• Knowledge of legislation and best practice for radiation safety in nuclear medicine scanning and laboratory settings

Qualifications

Essential

• MSc or other higher degree in physics or another appropriate subject
• State-registered Clinical Scientist, or working towards registration

Desirable

• PhD in medical physics or related subject
• Medical Physics Expert certification, or working towards certification

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Employer details

Employer name

Kings College London

Address

St. Thomas's Hospital

249 Westminster Bridge Road

London

SE1 7EH

Employer's website

https://www.kcl.ac.uk (Opens in a new tab)