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Radiation Therapists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Provide radiation therapy to patients as prescribed by a radiation oncologist according to established practices and standards. Duties may include reviewing prescription and diagnosis; acting as liaison with physician and supportive care personnel; preparing equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, and protection devices; and maintaining records, reports, and files. May assist in dosimetry procedures and tumor localization.

Related: Cardiovascular Technologists & Technicians Medical Dosimetrists Nuclear Medicine Technologists Radiologic Technologists & Technicians Respiratory Therapists

Industries: Health & Counseling

Summary
Details

Educate, prepare, and reassure patients and their families by answering questions, providing physical assistance, and reinforcing physicians' advice regarding treatment reactions or post-treatment care.
Enter data into computer and set controls to operate or adjust equipment or regulate dosage.
Observe and reassure patients during treatment and report unusual reactions to physician or turn equipment off if unexpected adverse reactions occur.
Photograph treated area of patient and process film.
Position patients for treatment with accuracy, according to prescription.
Follow principles of radiation protection for patient, self, and others.
Train or supervise student or subordinate radiotherapy technologists.
Review prescription, diagnosis, patient chart, and identification.
Photograph treated area of patient and process film.
Store, sterilize, or prepare the special applicators containing the radioactive substance implanted by the physician.
Help physicians, radiation oncologists, or clinical physicists to prepare physical or technical aspects of radiation treatment plans, using information about patient condition and anatomy.
Check for side effects, such as skin irritation, nausea, or hair loss to assess patients' reaction to treatment.
Observe and reassure patients during treatment and report unusual reactions to physician or turn equipment off if unexpected adverse reactions occur.
Provide assistance to other healthcare personnel during dosimetry procedures and tumor localization.
Store, sterilize, or prepare the special applicators containing the radioactive substance implanted by the physician.
Educate, prepare, and reassure patients and their families by answering questions, providing physical assistance, and reinforcing physicians' advice regarding treatment reactions or post-treatment care.
Enter data into computer and set controls to operate or adjust equipment or regulate dosage.
Assist in the preparation of sealed radioactive materials, such as cobalt, radium, cesium, or isotopes, for use in radiation treatments.
Train or supervise student or subordinate radiotherapy technologists.
Maintain records, reports, or files as required, including such information as radiation dosages, equipment settings, or patients' reactions.
Calculate actual treatment dosages delivered during each session.
Administer prescribed doses of radiation to specific body parts, using radiation therapy equipment according to established practices and standards.
Schedule patients for treatment times.
Prepare or construct equipment, such as immobilization, treatment, or protection devices.
Check radiation therapy equipment to ensure proper operation.
Administer prescribed doses of radiation to specific body parts, using radiation therapy equipment according to established practices and standards.
Act as liaison with physicist and supportive care personnel.

Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.

Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Education

Associate's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

No on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

129100/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

62.07/hr

Currently Employed

340

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Concern for Others
Dependability
Cooperation
Integrity
Self Control

Automatic lathe or chucking machine
Brachytherapy units
Computed tomography CT or CAT radiotherapy simulators
Desktop computers
Digital cameras
Distance meters
Drilling machines
Electrometers
Eye shields
Heat guns
Hospital intercom systems
Lasers
Medical cinefluoroscopy units
Medical computed tomography CT or CAT scanners or tubes
Medical exam or non surgical procedure gloves
Medical imaging wet darkroom or daylight processors
Medical linear accelerator intensity modulated radiation therapy IMRT collimators
Medical linear accelerator intensity modulated radiation therapy IMRT three dimensional units
Medical linear accelerator intensity modulated radiation therapy IMRT two dimensional units
Medical magnetic resonance imaging MRI scanners
Medical positron emission tomography PET units
Medical radiation dosimeters
Medical radiation films or badges
Medical radiological positioning aids for general radiological use
Medical radiological shielding aprons or masks or drapes
Medical radiological shielding freestanding or portable screens or curtains
Medical ultrasound or doppler or pulse echocardiograph or echocardiograph units for general diagnostic use
Medical x ray intensifying screens
Medical x ray units for general diagnostic use
Mobile medical services automated external defibrillators AED or hard paddles
Notebook computers
Phantom dosimeters
Power drills
Power saws
Radiation detectors
Radiotherapy teletherapy cobalt 60 units
Respiratory monitoring kits
Sawing machines
Skinfold calipers
Still cameras
Vacuum molding machines
Water baths
Wood chisels
X ray and fluoroscopy RF radiotherapy planning simulators