AGENDA ITEM VI-H (1)

Transcription

1 Consideration of adopting the Committee s recommendation to the Board relating to a request from Texas Tech University for a Doctor of Medical Physics (D.M.P.) degree RECOMMENDATION: Approval of a Doctor of Medical Physics (D.M.P.) degree with the understanding that following implementation of the program, the institution will submit five annual reports confirming the presence of faculty and other resources consistent with institutional commitments. The reports will also provide an assessment of student progress. BACKGROUND INFORMATION AND PROGRAM DESCRIPTION Medical physics includes the science of placing the correct amounts of radiation during the performance of medical procedures. The field of study encompasses radiation beam calibration and characterization, quality assurance, instrument specification, acceptance testing, shielding design, protection analysis on radiation-emitting equipment and radiopharmaceuticals, and consultation with a physician to ensure accurate radiation dosages. Licensure by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) is not strictly required to practice in Texas. A candidate with at least a master s degree and appropriate clinical training could complete two years of residency (or one year with a Ph.D.) and gain a license to practice by taking the examination sponsored by the Texas Board of Licensure for Professional Medical Physicists (TBLPMP). The disadvantages of this method are that the candidates are on their own to find residencies, the Texas license would not be valid in the 16 states that require full ABR certification, and they are at a competitive disadvantage on the state and national job market. The preferred method of licensure is to apply directly for ABR certification. This qualifies candidates to practice in Texas, any other state and worldwide, without the monthslong interruption of applying for new licensure when moving from state to state. ABR credentials are also necessary for full membership in professional societies (also making candidates eligible for academic positions), and it places candidates well ahead in a competitive job market. The proposed D.M.P. would prepare students for ABR licensure by incorporating the two written ABR exams into the degree requirements. Existing M.S. degrees in medical physics are likely to be phased out in favor of new doctoral degrees because ABR licensure rules are scheduled to change in After that date, the only individuals eligible to sit for ABR examinations will be those who have had a minimum of two years of clinical training in a program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CAMPEP). At present, with existing M.S. and Ph.D. programs, it is the responsibility of the student to organize their clinical experience with employers who are willing to hire them for on-the-job training prior to licensure. The proposed program at Texas Tech University (TTU) is designed to incorporate a systematic, CAMPEP-accredited clinical experience into the degree program itself, graduating students fully qualified for professional practice on day one. The proposed D.M.P. is a unique collaboration between TTU and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). It is original in the nation for building in the first year of medical school into the medical physics degree, increasing the expertise and credibility

2 Page 2 of medical physicists in the profession and offering them a distinct advantage in the workforce. It would be highly influential in setting the standard for the design of other medical physics doctoral programs in Texas and around the country as other institutions phase out their M.S. degrees in order to meet the new accreditation standards. The proposed program D.M.P. is a new five-year clinical degree with an optional sixth year for ABR oral exam preparation for which students would receive fellowship credit. A dissertation is not required for the D.M.P. degree. Instead, students would be required to take a minimum of 61 semester credit hours (SCH) of graduate coursework beyond the B.S. degree, 37 hours of Medical Physics Clinical Practicum, and 10 hours of clinical rotations for a total of 109 hours. Throughout the students clinical experience, they would be required to write a series of review papers on assigned topics in the style and format of peer-reviewed professional journals in fields related to medical physics. Prior to graduation, students would go through two levels of written ABR Board examinations. Progression in the program is contingent upon passing of these examinations. Following graduation, students would sit for the ABR oral examination. NEED Employment Opportunities There is no direct way to measure the workforce demand for this degree since it would be only the second such degree in the U.S. to integrate both classroom and clinical training. The Texas Workforce Commission and the Bureau of Labor Statistics group medical physicists with several largely unrelated professions. Professional societies, discussions with administrators at other institutions, and placement information are, therefore, more likely to offer the most accurate information about the prospects for graduates of a medical physics program. According to Duke University, the current need is for approximately new medical physicists per year. In addition, about 50 percent of current medical physicists are over the age of 50. The Duke University numbers are corroborated by Professor Charles Coffey of Vanderbilt University, chair of the Working Group on a Professional Doctorate Degree for Medical Physics for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). Coffey states that there are approximately new job openings and approximately new graduates per year. While the numbers of job openings and graduates are starting to converge, the more important factor is a change in certification policies where two years in a CAMPEP-approved residency program are required for ABA

3 Page 3 Employment Opportunities (continued) Projected Enrollment Plan to Recruit Underrepresented Students Existing State Programs certification. According to Coffey, the consensus in the field is that master s students would be better served by remaining at the university for the two years of their new clinical residency requirements, at which point they would be awarded a D.M.P. degree. In 10 years, Coffey predicts, the D.M.P. will replace the M.S. degree in medical physics. In the interim, Coffey believes the workforce will favor the D.M.P. graduates hospitals will be more willing to hire qualified and boardcertified D.M.P. candidates rather than MS candidates who require at least two years of on-the-job training. The program plans to admit five students per year. The enrollment is limited to the number of D.M.P. students that the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center can accept into its first-year medical school courses. Site visits are planned for Texas A&M University-Kingsville to recruit students from the high-density Hispanic student population enrolled in the quality science and engineering programs there. Arrangements are also planned for recruiting partnerships with Prairie View A&M University, drawing upon their dominantly African American student population and their high-quality science and engineering programs. The program would present and host affairs at the Council of Graduate School Deans regional and national conferences (CGS), Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU). Furloughed and disabled veterans would also be solicited for the program release location. There are doctoral programs in biophysics at the The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (UTHSCMDA) and The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (UTSWMC). The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) offers a Ph.D. in Medical Physics through the department of Radiology. All of the above institutions have expressed interest in creating D.M.P. programs modeled very closely on TTU s proposal. All of the institutions would then cooperate to share faculty, facilities, equipment, and residency opportunities for their respective students. While the proposed program is not at this time a joint degree, the four institutions plan to work together toward a seamless collaborative D.M.P. program. The differences are that a Ph.D. degree is more academic than clinical, and an MS degree will not alone meet new licensure requirements: successful completion of the D.M.P. results in practice-ready graduates by combining training in both traditional

4 Page 4 physics and biology with medical courses and an accredited clinical experience. Faculty Other Personnel Facilities and Equipment Library, Supplies, Materials Accreditation Sustainability Consultants There are 12 full-time faculty, plus four available adjunct faculty. There are plans to hire additional full-time faculty in key subject areas if the program is approved. Adjunct faculty are drawn from the physics or biology departments, and additional faculty would be drawn for collaborative teaching from multiple institutions: TTU, TTUHSC, UTHSCMDA, UTSWMC, and UTHSCSA. TTU reports that all necessary facilities for the D.M.P. program currently exist. Sophisticated medical equipment resources would be shared with a variety of participating institutions and private clinics across the state. Current library holdings are appropriate to support the proposed program. The library also subscribes to major electronic databases, and it has full access to inter-library loan. The Commission of Medical Physics Educational Programs (CMPEP) is the relevant accrediting agency. CMPEP was consulted in advance about the curriculum of the proposed program, and TTU anticipates full accreditation. TTU reports that projected sources of income would continue to be greater than projected costs from the first year of the program. Consultants for the site visit, which took place in February 2010, were selected from the only other existing D.M.P. program (Vanderbilt University), plus nationally ranked programs in medical physics at institutions where the D.M.P. degree is being considered. The consultants were Professors Charles Coffey (Vanderbilt University), Ehsan Samei (Duke University), and Bruce Gerbi (University of Minnesota).

5 Page 5 NEW FIVE-YEAR COSTS No new costs. 1 SOURCES OF FUNDING Formula funding (Special Professional level) 2 : $1,120,306 Est. 5-Year Costs $0 Est. 5-Year Revenues $1,120,306 The Chief Executive Officer of the institution has certified, and staff has determined, that the institution will have funds sufficient to support the proposed program. 1 Income is projected to be allocated for future faculty hires (salaries of whom must compete with the marketplace for advanced medical physicists), graduate student scholarships, travel for students and faculty, secretarial and bookkeeping support, new faculty positions, expendable supplies, and other program costs. These expenditures are not included in the costs section above since they depend upon the amounts generated in planned fundraising efforts and do not necessarily need to occur within the first five years of the program. 2 Based upon five students entering annually into the five-year program with no attrition.